Here is John Boehner, explaining the Republican plan for negotiating over the upcoming debt ceiling:
I’m not going to risk the full faith and credit of the federal government.
Steve Benen suggests this is a “game over” moment. Sure, Boehner claims that Republicans will raise the debt ceiling only in exchange for big cuts in entitlements, but that’s an empty threat if he’s serious about not risking America’s credit rating. So that means there won’t be a big fight over the debt ceiling.
Maybe. Or maybe this is just boilerplate from Boehner and doesn’t mean much of anything. I’m not sure. But I agree that Boehner can’t have it both ways. Either he’s going to insist on dollar-for-dollar entitlement cuts or he’s going to back off from debt ceiling hostage taking. He can’t do both.
And while we’re on the subject, I’d still like to see just what entitlement cuts Boehner and his caucus want. They like to yak about this stuff endlessly, but they sure seem to clam up mighty quick when you ask for actual details.
