comment: >
  
  whats funny is republicans are threatening to hold Americans hostage 
  like admitting we arent on the same side
context: Both McCarthy and the Democrats are down one vote each right now. McEachen's special election is Feb 21.  Not sure how long Stuebe will be out with his injuries  So it is getting trickier and trickier for McCarthy given that Republicans voted to require physical presence to vote in the Chamber. >
  
  Ah, classic "we will let the folks who need to pretend to be moderate cross the aisle as long as it doesn't actually change anything" tactic. >
  
  Susan Collins has entered the chat >
  
  GOP on student loan relief: "You made the debt. You have to pay it off."
  GOP on paying the country's debts: "Yeah. We're just not gonna do it." >
  
  Republican small business owner that got a $300,000 PPP loan that was forgiven: 'I just think the government needs to spend responsibly'. >
  
  Oh so you’ve met my Dad? >
  
  If you ever inherit his business remember to not be a crooked, stingy asshole and pay your employees what they're worth. >
  
  I’d never inherit his business bc I’d run it into the ground…apparently I’m “too nice” for business. And I’m so ok with that lol. >
  
  Welcome to the business world >
  
  Not necessarily,  Costco's CEO pisses off half of the financial advisors or more so. Because he's thinking LONG term. There's a difference with modern day business men and long-term gains.
  Most now a days are just greedy f**ks that have no analytical skills beyond a 12 calendar year. Then when their business starts to plummet 2 or 3 years later due to their shady business tragedies they start to cut heads without realizing their own decisions led them there. >
  
  You already voted to spend the money.  You don't get to vote against actually writing the check. >
  
  Which hopefully will be the path forward chosen if they take us to the brink. The admin just orders the treasury to keep paying the debts - because congress authorized it already. >
  
  I’m sure it makes other countries who purchase US bonds feel extra warm and fuzzy knowing that they r one MTG or Matt Gaetz away from their money turning into toilet paper >
  
  We were one RBG away from losing reproductive freedom. >
  
  Rgb should have retired when Obama had a supermajority (for that 2 weeks or whatever).
  But hubris.
  So instead she died on the court and her conservative replacement helped roll back her entire life's work in a week >
  
  And people should of listened when trump said he would appoint Justices that would overturn Roe, and there should be some punishment for women who get abortions.  But here we are. >
  
  People did listen, that’s the problem >
  
  haha, there's plenty of people who voted for him that told me they'd never take away abortion rights. I was told trump was just saying it to get votes, but wouldn't actually follow through on it.
  they don't like talking about it now. >
  
  Well, Trump was just saying it to get the votes, but he had to follow through on it and actually really enjoys inflicting pain on his enemies due to his malignant narcissism >
  
  well he didn't actually do  it, he just appointed justices to the supreme court who were gangbusters to do it for him.
  Knowing Trump, he either barely understood or didn't care what they were going to do. >
  
  Fun fact:
  Purposefully defaulting on your debt because you refuse to pay bills you've already racked up isn't "fiscally conservative." >
  
  I'd love to meet a "fiscal conservative" without multiple maxed out credit cards. >
  
  Bonus points if he is not on any kind of government assistance, or living on inheritance. >
  
  I am fiscally conservative in my private life but would not impose my beliefs on others.  No inheritance, no maxed out credit cards, and not on any kind of government assistance. I just hate the feeling of spending what I don’t have or owing people money other than stuff like car loan or mortgage. >
  
  So in another words you live your life opposite how Republicans manage money. >
  
  Bingo >
  
  I'm glad we're finally getting the memo on dealing with these assholes. >
  
  Pretty much. Just like we don't negotiate with terrorists we shouldn't negotiate with insurrectionists. >
  
  Terrorists or a republican congress what is the difference? >
  
  A Republican Congress kills more people. >
  
  They take the economy hostage every year! >
  
  If Republicans were to follow through and let the Government default, it would sky rocket interest rates -- that would really hurt major donors.
  Thus, I believe they are bluffing. >
  
  Stock market would shit the bed, billionaires would lose a fortune.  Billionaire oligarchs run the GOP.  It is all a bluff. >
  
  Stock market downturns are good for the ultra wealthy? It's an opportunity to buy up stock at huge discounts. Downturns usually affect people who don't have cash on hand to capitalize on it and who will need to liquidate (now depreciated) assets to stay solvent. >
  
  A debt default would not be a normal dip in the markets.  It would be financial armageddon. >
  
  This. You think the Great Depression or '08 financial crisis was bad?
  The ENTIRE global economy would crash overnight. Hell it'd probably crash faster than that. >
  
  Funny how they didn't care how much debt we were in when they had both houses and the executive branch. Instead they just gave huge tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy, putting us in even more debt. Let's not pretend that this is anything but part of their "Starve the Beast" tactic >
  
  Don’t want to watch ten mins. What’s the synopsis. >
  
  Crank up the spending/debt and cut taxes (mostly for the wealthy/corps) when in power, and complain apocalyptically about the debt when out of office. >
  
  Oh. So basic understanding of rules for thee not for me gop politics >
  
  Yes, the TLDR here seems painfully obvious with the benefit of four decades of hindsight.
  “OMG National Debt!!! when Clinton/Obama/Biden is in the oval, but it’s crickets and tax cut Santa Clause when under Reagan/Bush/Trump”
  IMO it’s still important to understand the history here though. This behavior did NOT organically come about. It all stems from a formal theory and proposal by a GOP strategist (Jude Wanniski) in 1974, at a very low point for the GOP post Nixon.
  The proof that this decades-long behavior was intentional and shamelessly implemented by GOP leadership…. it is a damning distinction. This fact needs more visibility.
  Maybe this is preaching to the choir here. But it’s my hope that if facts such as are more widely known, it may further push the “mushy middle” swing voters away from the party of selfish scheming psychopaths. >
  
  The U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists, insurrectionists, or the GQP, they’re essentially all one in the same. If the Dems caved on this, that would unleash the GQP to even more complete mayhem >
  
  What is there to actually negotiate, though? They stand for nothing. They want nothing but unpopular regression. Like, there’s no middle to meet in. >
  
  Republicans want soundbites they can use for going onto FOX or Newsmax in order to make it seem like they actually did something.
  It's 100% pure optics and propaganda. >
  
  My second week as a bartender a patron ordered a shot of The Macallan 25, the most expensive single malt we had. To give you an idea of the cost, a couple could have had dinner and a decent bottle of wine there and spend less than that one drink. He nearly finished it before claiming it was off and refused to pay. That’s the dick move these republicans are trying to pull. My manager came out and offered the guy two choices: pay or talk to the police officers who were waiting at the door for him. That’s how Biden should play this. >
  
  I like a bit of scotch sometimes, so I decided to look it up. Runs about $2700 USD retail for a bottle. At restaurant mark-up, that's one expensive individual drink. The guy probably went into the transaction with that plan. >
  
  He was a regular but his usual drink was The Macallan 12. I’ve since become a single malt drinker and I’ve had the 25 a couple times and the 18 quite often. The 18 is a smoother and mellower version of the 12, clearly the same malt. The 25 has more viscosity and is sweeter and to my taste a totally different drink. That may have been his reaction. Dunno. But he paid, apologized, and from then on tipped me well. It was an interesting job, one of many side gigs I’ve had over the years. >
  
  Can someone remind me if the GOP held the debt limit hostage when Donald was POTUS? >
  
  They did shut down the government though. Was that 2018? >
  
  Correct. And with a majority in each. >
  
  Beyond parody >
  
  Deadbeat Republicans don’t want to pay their debts, sounds just like Trump/Elon. >
  
  Dark Brandon: "Congressman, you can have my answer now if you like.  My offer is this - nothing.  Not even the effort to dig your party out of batshit crazy land, which I would appreciate if you did personally." >
  
  Good. I support President Biden on this. No negotiations. Zero. Zip. None. If there's a melt down let the Republicans own it. You wanted the House? You got it. >
  
  As we learned from Trump, casinos can go bankrupt and so the House doesn't necessarily win. >
  
  Eh they'll just copy the new casino craze - telling you that you didn't actually win that jackpot but it was a system error that let you win it so have this $25 gift card and fuck off. >
  
  Put the corporate and high income personal tax rates back where they were before Reagan. VOILA! No more deficit and plenty of money for things like food for school kids, veterans' benefits, and national health care. >
  
  I agree with raising the corporate tax. Personal income tax doesn’t touch the people who really need their taxes increased - middle-high income folks that derive their income from jobs in HCOL areas will get hammered by this while Bezos will still pay less than his secretary, since they don’t draw a salary.
  We need something like a high-value (~1m+) personal loan tax or a .01 tax on stock trades to properly tax the rich. >
  
  Plenty of millionaires that make way less than Bezos aren't paying a fair share. >
  
  I have to take issue with this description. There are plenty of people who are “millionaires” on paper - there are families in California and Texas who are millionaires on paper because they have lived in the same house for decades who live hand-to-mouth.
  A $250k salary doesn’t go very far in these places when you’re paying a mortgage and raising a family.
  The “upper-middle class” are in the 600-750k range in a lot of these places, middle-class starts around 200k and anything below 100k is (literally) poverty.
  The ability to seriously shelter assets isn’t really available to a lot of folks until you get to that upper-middle spot, and even then, if most of your income comes from a job and not appreciating assets, you’re still being taxed a whole hell of a lot.
  On paper, with regard to income tax, guys like Bezos and co are in the same tax bracket as the factory worker that pays the same amount in income taxes.
  These folks just take out personal loans for day-to-day incidentals, and the tax obligation on those are low due to the disproportionate utilization by much lower-income folks.
  EDIT: I’d be willing to bet that once you factor in for debt/income ratios, you’d see a correlation between d/i ratio (factoring for interest too) and the total taxes (per year) paid as a percentage against the % total growth of their wealth. >
  
  Democrats just need to figure out how to publicize what is happening because if the worst happens, people will just blame the president if they don't follow all of this closely >
  
  The message is simple. Congress controls the budget. >
  
  You underestimate the stupidity of the American public. They're currently blaming Brandon for the high price of eggs, despite news coverage of the avian flu outbreak decimating poultry right now. >
  
  The GOP had 0 issue raising the debt limit three times under Trump. 
  But now that there is a Democrat in office suddenly the deficit matters again. >
  
  That’s how it always is. >
  
  Will someone pleas call them out for the utter failure of the trump tax cuts to “pay for themselves “ >
  
  They don't pay for themselves even though several middle class income groups are paying more taxes right now because of it, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation analysis. >
  
  The party of Trump and Kevin McCarthy literally tried to overthrow democracy barely two years ago.
  The fact we're even still discussing anything at all with them is just a terrifying indictment of how utterly fucked we are as a nation. >
  
  I would like to see the dems open with raising taxes on over $1 million back to Reagan era levels and Social Security Expansion, tax all income not just to the cap.  Take a strong position and make your case to the populace at large >
  
  Unfortunately while Republicans hold Congress reform like this seem unlikely. They're very busy researching Hunter Biden's penis >
  
  The point is to change the conversation, let then yell into the void about Hunter Biden and put forth a different vision and articulate the differences. >
  
  I agree. Pointing at the republicans and screaming “At least we’re not like those fascists” is no longer good enough for me, it’s not real leadership and it’s not fixing the economic pain that is driving the rise of fascism. I expect more from the most powerful and wealthy political party on earth. >
  
  Kevin knows he needs to ask 14 more times in order to get anywhere. >
  
  If dark Brandon sticks to this, he will earn my respect and my support for the next election.
  I never been super sold on him (voted for him for sure and wish the best) but this is what democrats need, call on the republicans bullshit. >
  
  
  If dark Brandon sticks to this, he will earn my respect and my support for the next election.
  
  This has been the standard line from Presidents since forever. 
  There isn't anything to negotiate. There is no compromise. Either one political party voluntarily puts the country into default for no reason, or they don't. >
  
  President Obama did, and I think he probably regretted it because he never did again. >
  
  You don’t negotiate with terrorists. Good to see the Biden admin got the memo. >
  
  We really need to talk about the 7 TRILLION added to the national debt during the trump admin. >
  
  That's 22% of the entire national debt. Something to remember when you're talking to "fiscally conservatives" that want to cut the debt when Democrats have the presidency, and raise it when the Republicans have it >
  
  Bro it was more like 8 tril to 15 tri... so a 90% increase. 22% as of NOW after other policies had to be put down to counter the absolute dumpsterfire that went on
  We found out the punishment of electing a nimrod, never fucking again. 
  Criticize, both sides, always, but dems are really showing they were right this whole fucking time since 2008 >
  
  This is basically a hostage situation and we're all the hostages. There's a bomb in the room that needs to be defused once every year. We could simply choose to have the bomb be permanently defused, or not for there to be a bomb at all, but the person who has the defusing code wants to say "give me what I want or I'll let the bomb blow us all up!" every year, so they will only defuse it temporarily.
  At some point you have to call their bluff, you can't keep letting them get what they want. And you have to hope they're not so fucking insane that they let the bomb go off and kill us all just for spite. >
  
  Negotiate with these nuts, Jack >
  
  Look fat, you’re going to honor the full faith and credit of the United States and you’re going to like it >
  
  And while you’re doing that, I’ll have two scoops of mint chocolate chip, Jack. >
  
  Nanomachines, son! They harden in response to physical trauma. You can't hurt me, Jack. >
  
  Look at Biden doing his job.  Go Biden go.  Stop letting these bullies get away with, well bullying. >
  
  You don't 'negotiate' with republicans, you submit or nobody gets anything. The base actually believes they can stick it to libs with a government shutdown, and not affect them at all. Wait till all the food stamp money dries up in rural red America. >
  
  Good.  McCarthy already exhibited that he's capable of breaking when he plays "chicken".   He gave in to get his speakership and gave up a lot of his own power and shit all over committee integrity to make 20 people who had no other option get what they want.  He caved to them, he'll cave to everyone.   
  Unfortunately, this is going to impact a lot of people which is a real setback in these stupid games. >
  
  About fracking time. Don't negotiate with terrorists (or traitors). >
  
  Trying to flex his power as speaker when he's already given all of it away. >
  
  This is the benefit of having a career senator as POTUS. He knows the game. And he is a decent man. It’s so utterly opposite of Trump. I didn’t like GW Bush  as a president but he had decent qualities as a person. How “conservatives” supported and still support a grotesquely indecent man like Trump doesn’t surprise me but I will hold it against them for at least 20 years until the right wing electorate is significantly different due to a new generation. I won’t ignore the hypocrisy of current conservatives defending family values in one decade and supporting a filthy immoral traitor the next. >
  
  Absolutely the right call. Negotiating here is pointless and damaging. >
  
  Once again, the GOP wants to ignore the US Constitution:
  
  Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection and Other Rights
  ”The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.” >
  
  They have a tendency to gloss over the civil war amendments >
  
  While I agree with fiscal responsibility, refusing to pay debts is not a part of that. 
  Should we have more balanced budgets? Yes. However, there are more ways to balance a budget than just cutting spending. Taxes are a part of the equation. How about increasing the income limit on social security taxes or repealing (fully or partially) Trump/Bush era tax cuts? >
  
  Good. The debt limit is nothing but a game of "stop hitting yourself." Not playing is the only way to make it stop. >
  
  This dick measuring contest every couple of years is so exhausting and STUPID!
  That said, Biden better have the biggest one. >
  
  I'm printing my Mccarthy "I did that!" stickers rn. >
  
  FACT: Trump contributed to 25% of the national debt in all of our nations history. Food for thought >
  
  Just for fun, they should anti-negotiate. 
  First offer: raise the debt ceiling and put the metal detectors back in the House.
  Second offer: raise the debt ceiling, put the metal detectors back in the House, an take MTG off all committees.
  Etc. >
  
  I guess the white house finally understands why you don't negotiate with terrorist. >
  
  Republicans trying to hold the country hostage for money they helped spend. Fucking deadbeats. >
  
  Irresponsible ‘bargaining’ (threats!) with the entire integrity of the American economy for political theater is only something that shitbag fascist russian sympathizers like mccarthy would do. Stop voting for this cult trash. >
  
  Easy. Let’s just start stopping payments for things in the states represented by all who vote against it. >
  
  US creditworthiness is being held hostage by the GOP.   If US payments are delayed by domestic politics, we are not a trustworthy economic leader. >
  
  WH to McCarthy/GOP: Go fuck yourself and each other. >
  
  Congress authorized the budget.  Those bills get paid.  Eat a bag of dicks, Kevin. >
  
  Republicans are really relying on their voters not understanding what a debt ceiling is. >
  
  So they're relying on Republican voters to be uninformed simpletons?!?  Like that's ever worked for them before. >
  
  GOP - We will conceede nothing. Give us more power or we will wreck the country and destroy the economy.
  DEMS - NO
  GOP - Why won't the Dems work with us? >
  
  Never negotiate with terrorists.
  They are holding the US economy hostage. >
  
  There is nothing to negotiate. Republicans always lose this debate. >
  
  Biden watched what happened when Obama gave in and then what happened when he refused the next time the ceiling came around. 
  Don't get to keep doing it every time and expect anyone to trust you. >
  
  So Republicans are offering a choice between risking a global economic meltdown by forcing a U.S. credit rating downgrade, or beginning the process of stealing the money that hundreds of millions of Americans have contributed to with the belief that it would be returned to them after retirement. 
  I will not stand idly by and watch the history’s biggest grand larceny take place. Not when I’m one of those people who has contributed a percentage of my salary every month for more than forty years! Whoever tries to steal our money is going to wish that they were never born. 
  Instead, let’s have the top economic tier contribute their fare share. These people have used the labor of others to amass that kind of wealth, watching their net worth balloon to unprecedented totals, while squeezing the working class for every cent possible. 
  It’s time to return to the tax rate policies that existed immediately after WWII. >
  
  The way I understand the Debt Limit is that the spending was done. The Debt Limit is like when you get the bill and refuse to pay it because it's too much. Now isn't the time for squabbling, save it for the actual budget. >
  
  Exactly: you ate the dinner, drank the wine and finished dessert. Waiter hands you the bill and now you say you don’t want to pay >
  
  Year of the Trillion Dollar Coin! Come on! >
  
  Someone should call for a new vote for the speaker >
  
  They have the opportunity to influence two spending bills. We already know they will not and the government will shutdown for an indeterminate amount of time, because they hate the country when they don't control it and would rather watch it burn. >
  
  Well, McCarthy only needs abt 5 sane republicans to vote for raising the limit. Though he’ll probably need those 5 plus all the democrats to keep him as Speaker after that vote. >
  
  We do not negotiate with terrorists. >
  
  Can you imagine of McCarthy's group had to actually come up with their own budget? >
  
  Investigate gravity! Handcuff Davos! Prosecute dogs! Execute the blacks! Ashtrays for all! Enforce elbow room on airplanes! Turn the environment off! >
  
  Sorry guys, the United States doesn't negotiate with terrorists. >
  
  Could always tax
  The rich appropriately. 
  Just sayin. >
  
  Call their fucking bluff. Crashing the world economy fucks up the billionaires cash way more than working class, Republicans will never, ever allow that. >
  
  McCarthy is going to regret this job. >
  
  I hope Biden and Democrats stick to their guns and don't give in. Call McCarthy bluff >
  
  Fuck their feelings. >
  
  Tying future spending to the bill for what has already been spent is idiotic. >
  
  We pay for these 'entitlements'. Our paychecks are deducted for social security, medicade, and medicare. We have already paid for these and continue to pay. They are not 'entitlements', we have been paying for them. Our reps have been irresponsible and have rebranded our community safety net as an entitlement because they used our money.
  I do not think we dissolve these safty nets. But we need to make them untouchable for govt spending. That includes the 244k paycheck our senators receive. (with Healthcare for life) >
  
  There should be no negotiations. Article 14 clearly states the debt limit has to be raised. End of story >
  
  Hear me out here. Just do what a Republican would do and tell the treasury to pay it regardless.
  It’s time to just stop listening to these people as if they have any serious solution to anything other than trolling. >
  
  Republicans are quickly becoming a domestic threat. 
  And a whole lot of us have sworn to protect this country from threats both foreign, AND domestic. >
  
  Quickly becoming? They already are a domestic threat. There’s already domestic terrorism from the GOP side. >
  
  The abusers in the republican party are now at the "Don't make me hit you!" phase.
  Trying to leave your abuser is the most dangerous time, but its always worth it to enforce your boundaries.
  No, you get nothing for not purposely sabotaging the economy. >
  
  We don't negotiate with insurrectionists loving domestic terrorists. >
  
  We don't negotiate with terrorists!!! >
  
  Freedom Caucus wants Biden to resign in return for passing a budget.  McCarthy wants a win, some kind of concession, after looking so weak and to undermine Biden's tough talk during the 2022 election cycle.  Biden knows he can't negotiate because the GOP is too split to ever agree on anything.  The Democrats have laid to rest the goal of bipartisanship because its a dead end and everything the GOP wants is a step towards fascism. >
  
  If they shut down the government the first paychecks to be stopped should be to all of congress. >
  
  McCarthy’s gonna lose this one. >
  
  "We will not negotiate with terrorists." >
  
  We don't negotiate with terrorists >
  
  McCarthy wanted to be Speaker, he begged for the job, he should want to do the job. >
  
  The United States once held the stance, under Republican Jesus, to not negotiate with terrorists. Glad to see Dark Brandon keep the tradition alive… >
  
  That’s my boy,  not pulling his punches with these orange clown posse jerkoffs. >
  
  Yes! Need to absolutely stonewall these obstructionists. >
  
  Americans do not negotiate with these right wing demon possessed terrorists in the GQP. >
  
  If the Republicans put us in default, it will damage the country’s credit rating and cost us more money in the form of higher interest.
  If they want to cut spending, they’re free to pass a budget that cuts spending. >
  
  I just want him to say, "we don't negotiate with terrorists"
  Because that is literally what it is. 9/11 was an attack on our economy to make political gains. How is this any different?