“…One of the things the White House consistent
avoids mentioning is that the Debt Ceiling is not in the Constitution. It’s not
even implied by the Constitution. It is only an untested law passed by
Congress, with little or no real impact until 2011. But rather than challenge a
manifest absurdity, the White House cites the Constitution’s grant of authority
to Congress to borrow money and pay debts, as if those obligations can be
trumped by the Debt Ceiling law which has no constitutional basis.
“White House press secretary Jay Carney tosses out
a red herring when he tells reporters that the White House legal opinion says
the 14th amendment doesn’t give the president the authority to raise the
Debt Ceiling. He may be right in a narrow sense, but his point is totally
irrelevant.
“The president doesn’t have to raise the Debt
Ceiling this crisis. He doesn’t have to address the Debt Ceiling in any direct
way. All he has to do is ignore the Debt Ceiling and pay the
government’s bills.
“Does anyone think the markets have much confidence
in the United States now? Isn’t it possible that the markets, watching a
president acting with uncharacteristic clarity and vigor for the sake of the
common good, might even feel a bit more confidence in a country where the
lunatics were allowed to run the asylum for only a limited time?
“Would Republicans move to impeach the president
for acting to preserve the good faith and credit of the United States? Quite
probably. But so what? Why isn’t that a fight the president should
embrace? Why shouldn’t President Obama go fully on offense for sanity
against the crazies? Why shouldn’t he exercise the inherent emergency powers of
the presidency to defend the nation and the Constitution? Why shouldn’t
he act presidentially and lead for a change? Wouldn’t most people find that
refreshing after all the feigned limpness?
“And how much harder for the president would it be
to act responsibly against the Debt Ceiling, really, than the way he already
acts with even less authority to kill strangers with drones, also an
impeachable offense by any reasonable measure, and one for which he will never
be held accountable?”
For the entire article, “Denial in the Face of Default”
by William Boardman, Click Here.
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