Republicans Mulling What They Will Demand In Exchange For Debt Ceiling Hike Before They Cave And Just Raise The Debt Ceiling

The surrender addicts in the GOP need a hit but before they can surrender they need to pretend they are going to fight for something. With the debt ceiling hike coming up this month they have narrowed their phony demands down to two options.

Several House members told The Washington Post on Monday that Republican leaders have narrowed their list of possible debt-limit strategies to two options: trading a one-year extension for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, or trading a one-year extension for repeal of a provision of the Affordable Care Act.

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A clean debt-limit extension is not yet on the GOP’s radar....

Oh it will be. It will be.

You know how I know the GOP will fold on all of these things? Boehner has already said he won't push this to default.

See, the key to playing chicken is to make the other guy you won't swerve first. Announcing before you start your engine that you will be turning away well before you come close to colliding sort of eliminates the other guy's incentive to give in.

Also, you may have noticed the GOP has a bit of history when it comes to this sort of thing. Remember Boehner's pledge to tie hikes in the debt ceiling to equal or greater spending cuts? Yeah, that died with the Ryan-Murray budget deal that busted the sequester to pieces.

Now if the GOP is going to try this, why are they even thinking of pushing the Keystone Pipeline? Isn't this the year of ObamaCare (and amnesty)? Why would you make this about anything other than OBAMACARE? Even if they cave on it, and they will, at least they'd be making people aware of something I best most people don't know...sure you'll be paying more but you'll also be bailing out the insurance companies for the privilege.

Oh and have you noticed the stock market has been tanking for a couple of weeks? Of course the media isn't really playing that up because it's not good for Obama but the second they can tie "Your retirement account is shrinking because the GOP is playing games with the debt ceiling!" you know they will. Is that a lie? Sure. Will it matter to Team Media/Democrat? Not a bit.

Personally, I think they should just pass the damn debt ceiling. They are going to do it anyway and they won't get anything for it. The list of GOP surrenders is long enough, there's nothing to gained by adding another one.

posted by DrewM. at 12:11 PM

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