And here’s the story from Matt Yglesias:
Late Monday, the Treasury Department announced that the federal government will hit the statutory debt ceiling in the middle of October, setting the rough date for the next political/economic crisis. Republicans have been offering a lot of wild theories about their negotiating strategy around this, but on CNBC this morning Secretary Jack Lew said the right thing about the administration’s bargaining strategy—there is no strategy because there is no bargain.
Getting sucked into a negotiation over raising the debt ceiling back in 2011 is one of the biggest mistakes the Obama administration ever made. It’s one they avoided repeating the second time around and should never try to repeat again.
“Mistake” in the sense that the sequester took the cookie jar away from a President with his mouth still jammed full of Thin Mints he has no intention of ever paying for, and setting us on a path towards something nearly resembling fiscal sanity. So, if promoting the country’s fiscal and economic health is a “mistake,” then, yes, we know exactly where Obama stands. Yglesias, too.
So what does Boehner do? If it were me, I’d adjourn. Pack up, go home, and tell Lew Congress will reconvene when he’s ready to negotiate.
Because until then, what is there to talk about?
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