Nuke The Debt Ceiling!

Joe Biden gets on board with an idea whose time is coming - use the Senate 'nuclear option' to put debt ceiling legislation beyond the filibuster. Both parties have done this with judges and Cocaine Mitch says he is fine with raising the debt ceiling as long as there are no Republican votes backing it.

Prior to the crushing defeats in the Georgia Senate run-offs that gave Sen. Schumer 50 votes in the Senate, Republicans warned that in such a scenario Democrats would end the filibuster entirely and squeeze through bills on DC statehood and an expanded Supreme Court with 50 votes plus VP Harris. Sen. Manchin has rejected that concept but he was apparently silent on nuking the filibuster:

Senate Democrats discussed carving out the exception at their weekly lunch on Tuesday. No conclusions were reached, but notably, according to participants, the two strongest opponents of filibuster changes, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, did not speak up in protest. They also did not speak up in support.

This debt ceiling stand-off will be resolved with a gimmicky trick play. My current guess ranks the nuclear option at Number One because it is quick and no more politically painful than reconciliation. Reconciliation is my second guess - its cumbersome and uses a scarce resource since per the current Senate "rules" (LOL) the Dems can only use it twice per session. (Their current plan is to use their second Reconciliation Card on the shrinking $3.5 trillion Social Justice and More bill, but they may do that next January in a new session.)

My third choice is a gadget play to be named later. The fourth choice last gasp is the Trillion Dollar Platinum coin. I don't think the coin is "legal" within the spirit of the law but in the current environment the real question is, can Treasury and Fed lawyers agree its 'legal enough', given the dire alternatives? As a recent example of this mentality, Biden extended the CDC eviction moratorium knowing the courts would eventually shoot it down (The Supreme Court did so, three weeks later.)

As to the platinum coin, I agree with this from Krugman:

Would any of these approaches basically mean using silly gimmicks to avoid catastrophe? Possibly yes. But given the stakes, who cares if the approach sounds silly?

Would using any of these gimmicks involve violating the spirit of the law even if they technically obey the letter? Of course — but Republicans are already doing that through their abuse of the debt ceiling.

Would any attempt to do an end run around the debt ceiling face court challenges? Yes. But the legal process would at the very least buy time to devise a better solution.

Well, yes - the trillion dollar coin is a terrible idea (per SecTreas Yellen!) but maybe not compared to the other terrible ideas on the menu. As to legal challenges, there is a real question about just who might have standing to sue if a coin were issued.

We should find out soon enough. My money is on nukes.

ERRATA: Rohan Grey, a young progressive professor, has a solid piece on the legal background to a platinum coin. We chatted on Twitter and I came away agreeing that the coin is legal enough that Federal Reserve lawyers could make a political decision to go either way. On the one had, I'd say that accepting the coin calls into question their independence. OTOH, rejecting it puts them in the role of refereeing a partisan Executive-Legislative showdown during a bond market meltdown. Both paths are perilous.

 

Comments

[Narciso]

oops

https://twitter.com/EmeraldRobinson/status/1446525780088037432?s=19

[Narciso]

hooah

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2021/10/08/florida-education-board-votes-to-withhold-funds-from-school-districts-with-mask-mandates/

[GUS]

What can't a mask do!!! Maybe he should have worn 2.

[Narciso]

hmm:

https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/whitlock-dave-chappelles-netflix-special-channels-patrick-henry-and-malcolm-x-and-lays-bare-the-war-between-black-men-and-the-alphabet-mafia

[Narciso]

say what?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/10/08/biden-white-house-will-provide-trump-records-to-january-6-committee/

[Pinandpuller]

If “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” then Fauci actually has a small utility as a healer for people like me; though in the balances he has been measured and found wanting.

[Narciso]

well it was his naptime

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/white-house-was-aware-in-july-of-haitian-migrant-surge-report/

[Pinandpuller]

Irresistible Immigration meets Inalienable Rights.

Who wins?

[1/2aboy&1/2aman]

Some knew 30+ years ago that Fauci was a liar, a fraud and a murderer. This should have included congress. No excuse.:

https://www.villagevoice.com/2020/05/28/an-open-letter-to-dr-anthony-fauci/

“Now you come bawling to Congress that you don’t have enough staff, office space, lab space, secretaries, computer operators, lab technicians, file clerks, janitors, toilet paper; and that’s why the drugs aren’t being tested and the network of treatment centers isn’t working and the drug protocols aren’t in place. You expect us to buy this bullshit and feel sorry for you. YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH OF A DUMB IDIOT, YOU HAVE HAD $374 MILLION AND YOU EXPECT US TO BUY THIS GARBAGE BAG OF EXCUSES!”

[Narciso]

but they made amends then, so it's all good!

[MissMarple2]

Doesn't anyone audit the accounts of federal departments?

[Narciso]

bohica

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2021/10/08/biden-administration-lauds-international-agreement-on-15-minimum-corporate-tax/

[henry]

Miss M, in theory auditing federal departments is GAO’s job. Sadly they always fail the audits and the assumption of fixing that “pays for” new spending. You might think that was a scam, but the government itself says it isn’t.

[henry]

MSM fluffing the Christmas follies.

@WSJ

The suspense over Senate Republicans’ ability to muster the votes needed to end debate on a short-term debt-limit extension provides a preview of an even tougher fight to come

[MissMarple2]

GiantMeteor2020
@eurekaskastle

Replying to
@PierreKory
The average age of congresspeople is well within the high risk category, yet mysteriously none of them died.

4:40 PM · Oct 8, 2021·Twitter

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

From Jason Whitlock's article;

What does Chappelle think?

He thinks that the Alphabet Mafia has created a world where we care more about hurting a gay person's feelings than about the murder of a black man. He thinks sexual identity and gender identity have an outsized influence over American culture. He expressed this opinion by pointing out that the rapper DaBaby did more damage to his entertainment career with his criticism of gay people than he did shooting and killing a black man inside a Walmart.

That's funny in a sad, sick sort of way.

[James D.]

On Turner Classic Movies right now, they’re playing a Nancy Sinatra TV special from 1967, even including the commercials that aired on the original broadcast (featuring Nancy singing the praises of RC Cola). It’s a trip.

[Narciso]

yes they want to neuter all normal expressions of masculinity, and let pathological behavior run rampant,

[Narciso]

btw it was the son of the defense minister who was dismissed 9 years ago, who bought the beverly hills property, not the most recent one,

[bubarooni]

Royal Crown Cola?

That takes me back in time...

[MissMarple2]

https://conservativebrief.com/chris-wallace-rips-52464/?utm_source=CB&utm_medium=BFT

Wallace Rips Biden Admin’s ‘Zero Dollar’ Claim for $3.5T Reconciliation Package

When even Chris Wallace gets exasperated, you know Biden is in trouble.

[Davod]

"Reagan Foundation Now Opposes Release of Would-be Assassin John Hinckley"

Why weren't they on this from the beginning?

[Narciso]

a day late, and a dollar short,

[MissMarple2]

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/575979-hillary-clinton-says-her-debut-fiction-thriller-looks-at-an

Hillary Clinton says her debut fiction thriller looks at an administration of 'near criminal incompetence'

[Narciso]

so looking in the mirror, then?

[MissMarple2]

Douglas Murray discusses where—and how—the left goes wrong: "They talk about equity when they mean discrimination. They talk about fairness when they mean unfairness on an amazing scale..." pic.twitter.com/3fSu671cFU

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 9, 2021

Murray on Tucker Carlson. Video at the link - 4 minutes.

[Len]

Tucker's whole show tonight was enough to make me think it's time to move into a cave somewhere.

[Davod]

Found this on an Australian veterans site, about army recruits:

" These recruits have for the last 10 weeks, trained together, showered together, slept together, farted together, yet they had to wear masks to the parade in an outside environment….
What a load of horseshit..!!"?

[MissMarple2]

Heading to bed.

Good night, all!

[Davod]

MM2. Sleep well.

[Narciso]

they are going after the exemplar aussie robert smith, for some guff in afghanistan fron 9 years ago,

[Narciso]

thats what they want us to do,

https://twitter.com/KimStrassel/status/1446654558608904194

[DCSCA]

'Hospital-gate: WH says Biden wasn’t trying to help friend ‘cut the line’ in ER'

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki insisted Friday that President Biden wasn’t trying to help a friend’s significant other get preferential treatment when he called a Pennsylvania hospital to ask why the in-distress woman was waiting so long in the emergency room to be treated.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/wh-says-biden-wasnt-trying-to-help-friend-cut-the-line-in-er/

Joe: having trouble getting theatre tickets. Can you give the boxoffice a call for us?

XOXO

[DCSCA]

'Tucker's whole show tonight was enough to make me think it's time to move into a cave somewhere.'

Ideological 'NeverTrump' conservatives, chased out of the GOP, who worship the musings of the irrelevant, Kristol-kissed, David French [who voted for Biden BTW] believe pro-Trump Tucka is a monsterous cable TeeVee dweeb weaned on the gravy from Swanson TV dinner Salisbury Steak meals.

Could it be the National Review types, the pontificating ideologues are angry and frustrated at being no longer in control of the GOP messaging; that is, no longer wagging the dog?

'Mmmmmmmmmmm. Could be!' - Bugs Bunny

[DCSCA]

Republicans stormed the castle in January.
Democrats stormed the Throne Room in October.
‘Gutfeld!’ tops the ratings in late night TeeVee comedy.

See the pattern?

Smart people do.

[jim nj]

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/10/08/nfl-play-of-the-year-double-punt-seattle-michael-dickson/

The NFL’s Play Of The Year Might Just Be The Double Punt From Seattle’s Michael Dickson

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I challenge the Babylon Bee to construct a parody of David French.
I'm feeling pretty confident in my chances of winning that challenge.
Biden is appointing eco-terrorists and admirers of the USSR and these so-called "conservatives" don't seem to mind one bit. I guess they finally found the one thing they really wanted to conserve all along; Leviathan. Or in a year or two, the committee for public safety.
The Jacobins were French after all.

[Melinda]

No, they just care about “Ubi Est Mea”. (Where’s mine?)

[DCSCA]

'Hillary Clinton says her debut fiction thriller looks at an administration of 'near criminal incompetence'

Is it titled 'Mirror, Mirror' ???

If so, the Roddenberry estate should sue.

[DCSCA]

'a day late, and a dollar short...'

Reaganomics. ;-)

[DCSCA]

'On Turner Classic Movies right now, they’re playing a Nancy Sinatra TV special from 1967, even including the commercials that aired on the original broadcast (featuring Nancy singing the praises of RC Cola). It’s a trip.'

Those boots were made for walkin'. ;-)

[Pinandpuller]

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-shocker-american-jewish-vote-clinched-biden-s-victory-and-trump-s-ouster-1.9300102

Related: Billy Crystal-‘Where’s Your Messiah Now?’

https://youtu.be/2Mo4mkyVoIw

[Pinandpuller]

“Mayorkas and the Chazarites think they can replace us, my father.”—Ramses, ‘*The Ten Commandments” deleted scenes

[anonamom]

I apologize if already posted.

On the declaration that parents--mothers--(citizens; taxpayers) concerned about their children's education who attend school board meetings are domestic terrorists.
Please share as you can.

https://cbradleythompson.substack.com/p ... ion-of-war

[anonamom]

oops!

https://cbradleythompson.substack.com/p/a-declaration-of-war

[James D.]

Those boots were made for walkin'. ;-)

Which, amazingly enough, was not played in the show.

[clarice]

https://www.nysun.com/national/take-a-second-look-at-the-jobs-report-private/91686/

[clarice]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mitch-mcconnell-caved-the-wily-kentucky-senator-has-another-move/

[clarice]

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/mitch-to-biden-i-stepped-up-to-fill-schumer-void-on-debt/

[Jim Eagle]

Another thing FJB can brag about: $80/bbl oil.

https://gcaptain.com/us-crude-oil-tops-80-for-first-time-since-2014-as-energy-crisis-threatens-supplies/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-e4f67b778c-170367618&mc_cid=e4f67b778c&mc_eid=73bd5292af

[clarice]

https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/06/world-renowned-psychiatrist-global-predators-fauci-gates-and-schwab-behind-the-covid-reign-of-terror/

[anonamom]

nothing at that MSN link clarice

[Jim Eagle]

anonamom,

You have to wait a few seconds then the MSN front page comes up.

[Jim Eagle]

sbw,

ICYMI:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-newspaper-tries-to-make-ends-meet-by-asking-for-donations-in-honor-of-its-reporters/ar-AAPh03G?ocid=uxbndlbing

[Melinda]

Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
JUST IN - Total blackout in #Lebanon after 2 of the country's biggest power stations shut down due to fuel shortages.

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1446813165111627779

[henry]

Has some facts, but very leftist spin.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/08/wisconsin-polarization-democrats-republicans/

[Melinda]

Emerald Robinson ✝️
@EmeraldRobinson
Our corrupt ruling class actually WANT global supply chain disruptions.

Why? It provides the justification for imposing government control over large sectors of the economy when the shortages begin.

It’s the Great Reset.

https://twitter.com/EmeraldRobinson/status/1446819959154352129

[Narciso]

he connected the dots, but it wasn't something we already didn't know, greenwald has turned out to be like randolph bourne, scourge of woodrow wilson,

french is the appalachian version of laroquettes character in stripes, who was thankfully exiled to alaska,

[Narciso]

the cheka, the stasi the block committee, operate mostly the same way,

[Melinda]

So, shortages are at the Ports, only, the chokepoint.

Over 1,000 Crew Members Are Stranded On 'Abandoned' Cargo Ships Globally Without Pay Or Food

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/we-cannot-survive-here-over-1000-crew-members-are-stranded-cargo-ships-globally-without

Law of the Sea requires at least one man on board, otherwise it's a salvageable vessel and can be seized.

[Old Lurker]

Mel "Law of the Sea requires at least one man on board, otherwise it's a salvageable vessel and can be seized."

You would think the ship owner would try to make that one guy very comfortable.

[Narciso]

not surprising as the pirates have taken over, like new providence

[Narciso]

heh

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/10/08/draxs-renewable-energy-plant-is-uks-biggest-co2-emitter-analysis-claims/

[Narciso]

decisions have consequences

https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1446565311206023175

[Melinda]

I did not know about this.

Chuck Ross
@ChuckRossDC
That time Alexandra Chalupa worked with convicted bombmaker Brett Kimberlin to try to surface some documents about Rex Tillerson that ended up being fraudulent. dailycaller.com/2017/03/21/for…

https://twitter.com/ChuckRossDC/status/1197549043754446848

https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/21/former-dnc-official-partnered-with-convicted-bomb-maker-to-investigate-trump/

[Narciso]

oh yes, derek shearer was the pass through, they told the carlos slim hack, they had tried to acquire documents in berlin, a bad mi spec script,

[Narciso]

now shambling man, has nixed any offensive weapons to ukraine and it's totes fine for her,

[Narciso]

yep

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/yeah-but-whos-the-real-terrorist/comments

[Narciso]

oops

https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/10/new-york-times-posts-lengthy-correction-after-badly-botching-story-on-vaccine-strategies-for-children/

[Narciso]

the earlier point isn't rhetorical, my research suggests they had always preferred the deobandi elements that became the taliban, massoud was the front man for public consumption, he did most of the fighting, ubl got most of the credit,

[MissMarple2]

A late good morning!

[Narciso]

feeling better miss marple?

https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/an-epidemic-of-the-vaccinated

[Len]

Week in Pictures. Mostly meh but a few good ones.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/10/the-week-in-pictures-brandon-for-veep-edition.php

[Narciso]

the absurdity has lost it's charm,

[MissMarple2]

Narciso,

Yes, although still a bit shaky.

[Narciso]

did they give you any medication to alleviate it

https://meaninginhistory.substack.com/p/mandate-update

[MissMarple2]

Narciso,

I have so may meds I have to put them in morning and evening pill boxes. They pulled me off two prescriptions.

[Jim Eagle]

What a kid would do to avoid either chores or a spanking but a grown man?

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/nyc-man-still-in-tree-after-climbing-up-to-avoid-arrests/

[MissMarple2]

Trying to do a few chores. Back later.

[Narciso]

why would he?

https://justthenews.com/government/state-houses/virginia-democratic-gubernatorial-candidate-wont-reject-endorsement-defund

[mike in houston]

Nice Article

The pageantry of Texas-OU returns this weekend. But soon, the game won’t be the same

It will be an emotional Saturday, a proud father watching his son follow his three-decade-old path.

Same rivalry game. Same position. Same Cotton Bowl stadium, taking the field through the same storied tunnel.

The contrast, though, will be equally vivid. Charles Thompson co-quarterbacked Oklahoma’s crimson and cream Sooners to Red River Showdown victories in 1987 and 1988. Casey Thompson will quarterback Texas’ burnt orange and white Longhorns in Saturday’s 117th edition of the rivalry.

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-longhorns/2021/10/07/the-pageantry-of-texas-ou-returns-this-weekend-but-soon-the-game-wont-be-the-same/

[Momto2]

This was funny and made me think of something Biden might say...but his account would be worse!

A young man was right out of Bible College was being interview by the pulpit committe. "Do you know the Bible?" Sure, let me tell you a one of the parables.

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell among stony ground. And the thorns rose up and choked him nearly half to death. He said, ‘What shall I do?’ Then he said, ‘I shall arise and go to my father’s house.’

And he arose, and climbed up into a sycamore tree. The next day Solomon and his wife Gomorrah came by, and they carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of him. And as he was going through the eastern gate into the ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there for 40 days and 40 nights.

And afterwards, he hungered and the ravens came and fed him. The next day the three wise men came and carried him down to Nineveh. And when he got down there, he found Delilah sitting on the wall.

He cried out, ‘Chunk her down, boys.’ And they said, ‘How many times shall we chunk her down, unto seven times?’ And he said, ‘Nay, but unto seventy times seven.’ So they chunked her down, 490 times. Then she burst asunder in their midst, and they picked up twelve baskets of her fragments. And they asked him, ‘Lord, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be?’”

The pulpit committee chairman said, “Folks, I think we ought to call him. I know he’s young, but he sure knows his Bible.”

[mike in houston]

here is the article I meant to post

Instead of following father’s OU legacy, UT’s Casey Thompson will write his own in storied rivalry

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-longhorns/2021/10/05/instead-of-following-fathers-ou-legacy-uts-casey-thompson-will-write-his-own-in-storied-rivalry/

[Jim Eagle]

Thanks, Mike but I am not ready to subscribe to the Dalas News. Paywalled.

[mike in houston]

That's strange Jim. I don't have a subscription but I can read the full article.

[DCSCA]

A Hunter Biden original sells for $500,000???

An original painting by the late Apollo 12 moonwalker turned artist, Alan Bean sells for under that.

And it's BETTER.

https://www.alanbean.com/available_originals.cfm

[Jim Eagle]

The most corrupt POTUS ever.

[henry]

Now the Peoples Revolutionary Army will peacefully occupy Taiwan while Biden tries to remember which flavor of ice cream he is eating.

@WSJ

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan days after China’s People’s Liberation Army sent a record 56 bombers and other aircraft on sorties near the self-ruled island in a single day

[Davod]

Found at Instapundit:

On Point: Texas Decides To Defend America: Fact, Not Brag, By Austin Bay on Strategy Page.

[Not just the border]

https://strategypage.com/on_point/2021092822346.aspx

[Davod]

"Hero: Someone had ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ paged at Chicago O’Hare International Airport"

https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2021/10/09/hero-someone-had-lets-go-brandon-paged-at-chicago-ohare-international-airport/

[Davod]

Andy McCarthy: The populist right’s infatuation with slaying the Facebook dragon is..."

https://hotair.com/headlines/2021/10/09/the-populist-rights-infatuation-with-slaying-the-facebook-dragon-is-asinine-n421283

[Melinda]

BBC Breaking News
@BBCBreaking
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigns amid corruption probe, and proposes foreign minister as his successor

bbc.in/3apDxqE

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1446902955354038275

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58856796

[Davod]

These Washington Post reporters.

"Men of Washington, DC instructed not to condescendingly coach women on how to parallel park"

The GIF is from one of the comments: https://twitter.com/i/status/1446506926217437189

https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2021/10/09/men-of-washington-dc-instructed-not-to-condescendingly-coach-women-on-how-to-parallel-park/

[Davod]

The conscience of psychiatry:

"...The psychiatrist stressed the goal of the globalists is to make people feel weak and helpless in the midst of the pandemic..."

"...His latest book, COVID-19 and the Global Predators, hit bookstores on September 30.

“Don’t get scared, get angry. Don’t get demoralized. They want that. There’s a whole school of public health that talks about how to intimidate and engender fear to get people to do what you want. It’s called “fear appeal,” he said. “So we have to know that there’s a war against us. They have a stealth war against us. So be proud. Be an American, be a patriot, stand up for liberty.”

https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/06/world-renowned-psychiatrist-global-predators-fauci-gates-and-schwab-behind-the-covid-reign-of-terror/

[anonamom]

https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/02/heroes-of-the-pandemic/

Heroes they are! The American physicians are risking losing their medical licenses (depending on which states they live in) by continuing to speak.
That DISinformation thing--not MISinformation, at this point, they have data to support early treatment, their concerns about the mRNA injection; but DISinfomrtaion--which means whatever the Board decides that means.

[Narciso]

dezinforma is what they do, but they label it as truth,

[bubarooni]

Truth.

Even that word no longer has meaning.

As the Left has marched thru our institutions, their number one target has been words.

Ask Gregor Mendel.

[Davod]

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: A Renowned Composer Showed His Class Othello Featuring Laurence Olivier. Students Led A Revolt And Now He’s Accused Of Racism.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-renowned-composer-showed-his-class-othello-featuring-laurence-olivier-students-led-a-revolt-and-now-hes-accused-of-racism

[Narciso]

thats why I put it as lowercase

[bubarooni]

At the end of Civil War, a devastating event in our Nation's history, reconciliation was achieved by allowing both sides to honor their dead.

Now, a university breed of 'activists' has decided that history is false.

We now tear down statues.

A compact has been broken.

Who will do something?