Today's debt limit meeting between the President and Congressional leaders takes place at 4 PM ET. Perhaps by then, we'll know if the McConnell scheme is a go.
The Hill looked at some costs and benefits for both parties from McConnell's proposal:
McConnell’s plan would benefit Republicans politically by placing the responsibility for raising the debt limit almost entirely with Obama. It would allow Republicans in both chambers to vote en masse against it without causing a national economic catastrophe.Yeah, the teabaggers aren't taking it well. They're not happy with McConnell:
It could also hurt Senate Democrats by forcing them to support several hikes to the debt ceiling ahead of an election in which they must defend 23 seats, though Republicans expect centrist Democrats would be able to vote against the requests, given the high threshold for overriding a veto.
The problem with McConnell’s plan for Republicans is the prospect of a conservative backlash because it would allow Obama to raise the debt ceiling without having to agree to deep spending cuts.
In a possible sign of trouble to come, members of the Senate Tea Party Caucus left a GOP lunch early on Tuesday where McConnell presented his proposal, and declined to comment on the plan.
Tea Party message boards were abuzz with the news of what one poster in the Tea Party Nation forum called the "Pontius Pilate Pass the Buck Act of 2011".Oh, well. You reap what you sow.
"If Mitch McConnell thinks caving to President Obama and allowing him to raise the debt ceiling without cuts is the way to become Senate Majority Leader he is sorely mistaken," said Brent Bozell, a conservative activist and chairman of For America, a conservative leaning nonprofit, in a statement. "The American people elected him to serve as a check on Obama's appetite for out-of-control spending, not to write him a blank check to continue the binge. It's these sorts of shenanigans that got Republicans thrown out of power in 2006."
Judson Phillips, Tea Party Nation's founder, said he didn't know all the details of McConnell's plan. But based on what he does know, he said, "I'd call it the Great Sellout of 2011."
"McConnell is one of those moderate Republicans who wants to surrender early and surrender often," Phillips said. "When I start to hear about a McConnell plan or a Boehner plan, I shriek in horror."
And, today's NY Times editorial sums up the GOP debt limit strategy -- cynical, then convoluted and cynical:
Political gain, not economic sense or sound policy, has always been at the core of Republican strategy on the debt-ceiling talks — a cynical ploy to appear serious about cutting spending while actually holding hostage the nation’s strong credit rating. Now that the real risks to their strategy are becoming apparent, including the possibility of cutting off Social Security checks, the more experienced members of the party are beginning to rethink their plans.Okay, we can breathe easier. Now, maybe someone in Washington can focus on creating jobs. That would be truly
On Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, proposed a convoluted fallback solution that would at least defuse the crisis his party created a few weeks ago by threatening to force the country into default on its national debts. The plan is no less cynical than the original threat, but if the House goes along, it may allow Washington, the credit markets and the American people to breathe a little easier.
