Bill Clinton: I would raise the debt limit and "force the courts to stop me"

[spanone]

i'm with bill



*****************

Former President Bill Clinton said he would raise the nation's legal borrowing limit on his own if he had to and "force the courts to stop me" in order to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt obligations for the first time in history.

Clinton said he thinks President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill are going to cut a deal before August 2, "and that's smart."

But "if it came to that," he would raise the debt ceiling using powers granted under the 14th amendment of the Constitution. The amendment says that the validity of the public debt shall not be questioned.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner quoted from a copy of the amendment, which he pulled from his pocket, in a May interview with Politico, arguing that the clause undermines the Republican negotiating position that default is an option. Mr. Obama sidestepped the question in a subsequent press conference.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20080635-503544.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

[bananas]

1. k&r nt

[ZombieHorde]

2. Interesting. Recommended. nt

[upi402]

3. republican

now wants to chest thump


great

[Ragnarok]

4. Seems to be a growing trend...

...with just about everything these days. Shoot first, and let the courts figure it out.

[spanone]

6. i think it's great advice.

:thumbsup:

[SnoopDog]

5. So easy for Mr. NAFTA repeal Glass-Stegall Clinton to weigh in on this...

Do I need to say more?

[fascisthunter]

8. no shit

[EFerrari]

11. No kidding. n/t

[ddeclue]

17. Yeah you ought to say that the repeal passed by veto proof margins and Clinton couldn't stop it.

:)

[PoliticAverse]

7. Someone hasn't been following things...

Geithner now says the debt ceiling is constitutional and denies he ever claimed the 14th amendment could be used to override it.

[provis99]

9. yeah, ok Bill.

Seems you caved in to Newt Gingrich a whole lot while you were President.

[tavalon]

20. That's President Clinton

We don't call our current President "Barry" and we ought not to call the last truly elected (rather than selected) President "Bill".

[provis99]

21. whatever, tav.

[tavalon]

23. Okay, you win

Ya know, it's funny. I happen to like Tav as a nickname but I never get called it in real life, only on DU.

[Safetykitten]

10. Whatever Bill.

[ddeclue]

12. which is why Clinton is a million times better President than Obama..

he has a pair and used them - he doesn't spend all his effort trying to make nice with people who aren't interested in singing kumbaya and holding hands with him.

[tavalon]

19. Oh, you did such a good set up here, but I'm going to be good, really

But I can't help the amused thought that went through my head. I could've taken the rim shot, I really could have. :evilgrin:

[Joe the Revelator]

24. Apparently you were born in the late 90s

[w4rma]

13. Even fellow DLCer Clinton thinks Obama is being a fool. (nt)

[BlueCheese]

14. The country was much better off when he was president.

Why Democrats always feel a need to dump on the only successful president (jury still out on Obama) in the last 40 years or so is beyond me.

[riderinthestorm]

15. The Big Dawg shows how you negotiate. You stake your position to the farthest left

In this case, the 14th Amendment bomb, and go forward from there as you meet the hardest right position to begin the negotiating.

Unfortunately, it appears Obama has started to the right of center and is rapidly moving ever rightward.

I do horse deals all the time and this trader knows that you always have to be prepared to walk away from a deal if you don't get what you want. Obama appears to not have that "final line" (which should be no alterations to SS, Medicare and Medicaid as well as tax hikes on the rich) and is willing to give up beyond traditional Dem markers.

Clinton knew how to deal.

[Tatiana]

16. Hated some of his policies, but Bill knew how to stand up and not back down on some things.

I like to think Clinton has half-owned by corporate America. Obama is close to being a wholly-owned stooge of the uber wealthy.

The position should be "raise the debt limit." Period. No exchange of anything for raising the debt limit. It is a routine matter that has been accomplished dozens of times without conflict or fanfare. Clinton is right in that if Republicans refused to do their jobs and raise the limit, the President should just cite the 14th amendment and raise the debt ceiling himself. Leave the courts to sort the mess out. In the meantime, the Republicans would see that the President was serious and might be more inclined to do what their corporate masters want them to do anyway without "negotiations."

We shouldn't be negotiating about raising the debt limit.

[tavalon]

18. Big dog and I don't agree on a lot of things anymore

but I couldn't agree more with this. This is the advice Obama needs to be listening to right now. President Obama, please put President Clinton on your speed dial and take Rahmbo off.

[deaniac21]

22. It's very easy to make a statement such as this when you aren't

actually faced with the decision.