This isn’t getting the play it deserves, but it sounds like Boehner has said that the markets will freak if there’s no deal in place by tonight:
Reports have emerged that House Speaker Boehner told his caucus that their team needs to “provide a positive signal on a plan to avert a U.S. default by tomorrow.”
That’s right, by the time markets in Asia open tomorrow. That’s right, Sunday in DC is pretty much Monday in Asia — and the roller coaster of financial shocks could start if Boehner doesn’t get his act together.
Instead of August 2nd being the debt default deadline, Boehner’s tactics and now his statement to his own troops have created market expectations that will either be met — or be disappointed, possibly creating a real sell-off in American treasuries.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has said something similar:
“The irony of the situation at the moment, with markets opening tomorrow morning, is that the biggest threat to the world financial system comes from a few right-wing nutters in the American congress rather than the eurozone.”
Admiral_Komack
Boner won’t be able to get it up.
JCT
But, but the President is a soshulist.
This situation is psychotic in the extreme. Boehner’s comments that Obama has politicized this process by wanting the debt ceiling extension to go to the end of 2012 to help his re-election campaign was so bizarre that my faith in g_d (such that it is) was shaken. If anything should have “bought” a lightening bolt — that was it.
Davis X. Machina
No way is that a real guy, not unless Cameron had to offer the WWF some cabinet posts to cement his coalition
aimai
The DNC finally gets off its ass and starts robocalling 60 republican congressional districts sounding the alarm. Orindarily I’d think that this would produce some movement–movement on a clean bill just to get it over with. The Republicans have lost their play. But at least half the Republican caucus and still that 27 percent of crazies will never acknowledge defeat. Even as they get more worried about what happens I just don’t think they can assimiliate the information fast enough. Like a rabbit getting too many signals and becoming frozen with fear and indecision. I actually expect this situation will be solved by boehner and Pelosi voting a clean bill through on a voice vote and the senate hastily approving it with a similar lack of accountability to protect their own right wing members.
aimai
Mark S.
Does that mean they’re going to re-submit the Balanced Budget Amendment? Maybe with new sections banning abortion and gay marriage?
Because that’s about how serious these dumbfucks can get.
RalfW
Oops. Next.
cat48
Boner & Bitch McConnell refuse to just let this be over b/c Bitch wants to use it to run ads an aide told Rollcall! Yes, it’s Obama making it “political.” Sigh…..
I think the tan man has until 2:00pm. He best get on it.
RalfW
I wonder if Boehner did this (with coaching from the Biz set) do scare the bejebus out of the Teahadists?
If Asian markets really do open sharply lower, and the House continues to write unpassable bills causing the Dow to tank Monday, maybe the idiot freshen will see a correlation?
Nahh, how silly of me.
General Stuck
The POTUS Chief of Staff, left no wiggle room regarding any proposal must last beyond the election, or Obama will veto it. And it seems anything Boehner could get a majority gooper vote would have increments, so they can again politick on the debt ceiling doomsday button. Crazy sumbitches. And what I predicted when this first started, that the biggest danger was taking shit to the last minute, and a default happens by accident due to nutbug wingers not being able wipe their asses in time.
dr. bloor
Anything they send to the Senate is likely to get sent back to the House stripped clean. Boehner is aware that this is going to boil down to his being forced to pass it with Pelosi’s team and thirtyish corporate-owned Republicans.
Everything he’s doing now is akin to a two year old melting down at bedtime. The outcome is inevitable.
Patrick
“The irony of the situation at the moment, with markets opening tomorrow morning, is that the biggest threat to the world financial system comes from a few right-wing nutters in the American congress rather than the eurozone.”
Wrong, wrong wrong.
The biggest threat is that President Obama and the Democrat Congressmen and Senators won’t accept the truth of this situation.
The truth is, Eric Cantor’s deal is the ONLY deal that will pass.
Obama has two choices:
1. Let the country default, let the country fall into the toilet and have that on his head.
2. Convince the Democrat Party that the Republican Way is the only way, and get the Cut, Cap and Balance bill to pass and sign it.
We’re going to get the WH in 2013 anyway, but wouldn’t you rather not have the country default first, Dems?
Ted
Here’s the link to the Vince Cable quote. Wouldn’t it be great if the if the Democrats started speaking so bluntly.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/24/us-britain-cable-congress-idUSTRE76N16V20110724
TreeBeard
Vince Cable was already on my politicians-I-can-tolerate list thanks to his vow to wage war with Murdoch when he was media minister or something. (Yes, a guy named Cable in charge of Media. These things write themselves!).
But “right wing nutters”?! Good on ya, Vince!
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
American Exceptionalism. We’re No. 1!
MikeBoyScout
Somebody ring up the Chamber of Commerce and let them know their Frankenstein is out wreaking havoc on the community.
SRW1
Doesn’t this suggest Boehner is playing his last card? If the Asian markets open with a big slide on Monday, Boehner may get his caucus to yield and accept a deal. However, if the Asian markets aren’t in panic mode yet on Monday, Big Orange’s credibility with the TeaBagger caucus is gonna be entirely shot and he officially enters the status of a walking dead.
So, John Boehner (and the rest of the non-crazy) better hope the Asian markets tank enough on Monday. Is the equivalent of 700 points on the DOW going to be enough?
Talk about perverse.
Montysano
I’m starting to envision a Bachmann/Perry joint 2012 campaign rally, taking the stage in the style of President Mountain Dew Camacho, with Nickelback’s “Burn It To The Ground” (“Screamin’ like demons, swinging from the ceiling”) as the soundtrack.
“We got no fear, no doubt, all in, balls out” indeed.
Cermet
The terrozist are winning and they are in congress; as in the old saying – we have met the enemy and he is US republicians (leaders – not voters; most of them are sane even if I don’t agree with them.)
aimai
SRW1 makes a very nice point at 15 up above. Basically the teabaggers have thought the entire thing was trumped up from the get go. If Asia doesn’t tank enough–and I assume that anything other than riots in the street won’t actually count–then I think the teacaucus is just going to shrug and decide they don’t need to listen to Boehner at all. In that case for the sake of his multi million dollar donors Behner is going to have to compromise with Pelosi and take the political hit.
aimai
aimai
Also: I wonder if those WH meetings are short, now, because they consist entirely of Pelosi and Reid sitting with their backs to the table and occasionally saying to Boehner “why don’t you call us when you have figured out just how fucked you are and want us to unfuck things for you. On your way out the door.”
I mean, the only people in the world who really know just how much this is Boehner’s problem are Pelosi, Reid, and Obama at this point.
aimai
Ash Can
I’m not even sure a tanking of the various markets tonight and tomorrow will snap the crazies into line. My guess is that, rather than giving them pause, a market meltdown would give the crazies a positive rush, along the lines of “Wow, look how powerful we are! We did that! This is great!”
What I’m wondering is whether Boehner and the non-crazies could just quietly agree to ditch the crazies and work something up that doesn’t take their suicide-bombing demands into consideration — not all of them, anyway. I suppose Boehner’s desire to keep his speaker’s job is preventing him from doing that, but I have to wonder how nervous he’s getting at this point and whether or not he’ll feel pushed to take extreme measures like that.
Carol from CO
boehner’s doing everything he can to point the blame at the democrats,especially obama, when August 2 comes and there is no deal.
Barb (formerly Gex)
Ugh. My Brother-out-law (can’t get married in MN) is in town. He lives in Florida and works for Lockheed Martin, so you can only guess where he stands on all this.
While generally an okay guy, he seems to agree with me on a lot of things, but that can’t put a dent on being immersed in the Florida/DOD milieu.
It’s INFURIATING to be told the government spends too much money by someone who has made a killing from DOD spending on missiles we don’t really need save for unnecessary wars on brown people.
He’s convinced his wife’s small business is in the red because of the government. It’s not possibly because most start ups don’t make it, or there isn’t a market for what she’s selling, or even that she’s a crap businessperson. It’s obviously the government that is preventing her from achieving Galtian greatness.
But the ultimate was when he was pontificating on how it’s no big deal if we default and Moody’s downgrades our rating.
I’m glad he only visits every other year.
Ash Can
@aimai: And this, too. What is there to talk about at this point, anyway? Maybe they’re just trying to negotiate a way for him to save face if and when he finally just does the right thing. Sort of like arranging the exit of a despot.
cat48
I don’t think Obama is involved at all in negotiations any longer. The Teapublicans don’t want a deal with him & don’t trust the prez, so Boner can’t make a deal with him. Fuck the GOP!
dr. bloor
Make no mistake, this is always what this drama has been about, and it’s doubly absurd because the scenario in which he pulls it off has never existed.
MikeBoyScout
I’m not so sure Asian and the global markets will tank. Surely they can move down, but the majority of the wealth in the markets is not spread amongst the many, but held by the few.
Where will the wealthy put their money if not in US Treasuries? Eurobonds? Japanese bonds?
I suspect we (with the help of the teatards) are going to push in to new areas of financial havoc and disequilibrium as the US walks away from its role as a leading economic power in the midst of the global liquidity trap.
sukabi
someone needs to do a quick check and find out if Cantor and his band of idjits have made additional recent purchases into the “short the US and profit” ‘investment devices’… that information would open up a huge window on what the possibilities of a deal today would be….
and yes, I think they are all a bunch of self-important, treasonous know-nothings.
Dennis SGMM
@Ash Can:
It won’t. I don’t see how Boehner remains Speaker if he makes a deal that in any way angers the crazies. At this point the loonies are so full of themselves that the Repubs who might otherwise support Boehner have been cowed and they’ll probably remain silent for fear of being next on the hit list – if not now then certainly in 2012..
4tehlulz
Remember, the lessons the right learned from TARP was to stiffen their resolve in the face of market meltdown.
They must be delighted to test that so soon.
cat48
Boner is working on a Bill equivalent to Cut/Cap/Balance & I don’t know how he thinks that gets thru the Senate. They voted NO, and he MUST have 2 Votes! He won’t give on anything.
dr. bloor
Irrelevant, I’d guess. Cantor’s goal isn’t necessarily to block a deal, but to look ideologically pure at the end of the day and set himself up for Boehner’s job. An outcome in which a crash is prevented while looking pristine is a win-win for him.
Dennis SGMM
I’m just surprised that the Republicans haven’t advanced a bill calling for a national “Pray Away the Deficit” day. Yet.
Alex S.
East Asian countries hold more than $2 trillion in US Treasury bonds. Let’s see what happens tonight.
chopper
@MikeBoyScout:
i dunno. in a way the market almost needs to shit the bed this week. if it doesn’t, all sorts of goopers are going to have the idea that obama’s talk of severe consequences is a bunch of hooey and who cares if we default?
jrg
Has anyone compiled a list of GOPers who say that default is a good idea, or no big deal? I have a feeling that will be very handy in about a week or so.
dr. bloor
Wouldn’t work–they don’t evaluate data rationally. We’re talking about an essentially closed-loop, paranoid collective belief system. They’ll twist anything that happens to fit their narrative.
MikeBoyScout
@33 chopper,
The consequences of a default are not the short term adjustments of markets, but the near term impact to recipients of US government payments and the long term cost of a damaged credit rating.
but, hey, if we go fast enough toward the cliff, maybe, just maybe, the law of gravity may not apply. After all, gravity is soshulist because it is all about down.
sukabi
Cantor’s a self-serving asshole… sure he’s looking to take over Boner’s gavel, that doesn’t prevent him from making bank on the deal… and I still think it would be interesting if we could take a look at who in the congress stands to directly benefit if the US defaults…. I think it would be ‘illuminating’.
cat48
We might be screwed regardless:
Alex S.
@cat48:
Who said that? It is stupid analysis. If the US defaults the top-notch rating will be gone for sure.
cat48
Washington Post article & here’s a link to Ezra & an interview he did w/Standard & Poor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/how-congress-put-our-credit-rating-at-risk/2011/07/11/gIQA3WxhTI_blog.html
jwb
General Stuck: Since June, I’ve thought the most likely scenario is that Congress will pass nothing, that Obama will take whatever measures he can to ensure that the government not default, and that the House will impeach him for it. Nothing that has happened over the past six weeks has changed my thinking.
Alex S.
@cat48:
Thanks. It makes more sense in the broader context of Ezra’s interview. But the either-or situation is stupid.
Citizen_X
@General Stuck:
Starting to look a bit like the Cuban Missile Crisis, innit?
cat48
@jwb:
Obama’s really pissed about this or he would not have sent Daley on the Sunday shows. He can be a real attack dog when he chooses. Boner insists on doing all this again in 01/12 & Obama keeps saying he’ll Veto it! I can see an impeachment..
Yep, Cuban Missile Crisis!
Admiral_Komack
Top 10 Reasons Boehner Will Never Be Able to Deliver His Caucus on Debt Ceiling Vote
Author: Bill Schmalfeldt
Published: July 24, 2011 at 6:04 am
It was really clear from watching an unsteady, slurring Speaker of the House John Boehner at his hastily-called press conference Friday evening that there’s nothing he’d like better than to have a vote, approve a debt ceiling hike (even with the dreaded “revenue increases”) since he knows the vast majority of people with functional forebrains will rightfully blame the GOP if America defaults on its obligations.
But he can’t. And he won’t. He doesn’t have enough Republicans in the House of Representatives who will vote for a debt ceiling increase — ANY debt ceiling increase.
At the moment, there are 240 House Republicans, 193 Democrats and two vacancies. In order for a bill to pass the house, you need a simple majority which, in this case, would be 217 votes. Now assume the 193 Democrats ALL vote for the debt ceiling increase. You would still need at least 24 of the Republicans to vote for it too.
Boehner doesn’t HAVE 24 Republicans who WILL vote for the debt ceiling increase.
And here are the top 10 reasons why!
10. Like Colombian drug lords who will blow up an entire passenger jet to kill one guy, the GOP is willing to sink the world economy to “get” Obama.
9. It really doesn’t matter. We are in the “End Times” and Jesus is coming back to whisk the true believers to heaven with him.
8. Any day I’m gonna let some “nee-grow” tell ME what to vote for is the day I surrender my NRA membership.
7. Hey, won’t bankrupting the world economy cause the divide between the wealthy and the poor to become wider? It’s a win/win for OUR guys!
6. But if we vote for a debt ceiling increase, Rush will be MAD and say BAD THINGS about us!
5. We can still pay our bills. We won’t default. We can just send out post-dated checks.
4. Social Security? Medicare? Them’s mostly old people and colored cripples ain’t they? Fuck ’em. Let ’em die.
3. OK, we hire a tough Hispanic house maid and when the Chinese come knocking at the door looking for a payment, she tells them, “Meestah Congress, he no here.”
2. But if we vote for a debt ceiling increase, Grover Norquist will be MAD and say BAD THINGS about us.
1. Pass a debt ceiling increase? And let that uppity Obama wave his black ass in our faces for two years saying he saved America from financial ruin? No Thank You! I’d rather be a deadbeat, third world nation than let one of THOSE people have his way.
I’m sure there are many more reasons. But those are the top ones. So, stock up on the canned goods. We’re in for a long, depressing ride.
http://bit.ly/rchIJv
Frankensteinbeck
I think Dr. Bloor at 10’s point is very important.
Boehner does not control his caucus. As people have said time and again here, he can’t get the GOP to vote through any kind of remotely reasonable bill. That is, he can’t get the GOP to do it alone.
Pelosi may well remain the most powerful person in the House. It’s much more reasonable to expect 30 Republicans to break ranks than to expect Boehner to get a united majority without her. If 30 Republicans are willing to break ranks, Pelosi can deliver her Democrats to anything she finds acceptable.
Boehner wants to do this with a united GOP and without the Democrats. He can’t. But it can be done with a split GOP, and it can be done without one single Tea Party vote. But if that happens it will be Pelosi’s bill, and the fracture within the GOP house may explode.
Cain
@Dennis 28
If he loved his country, he wouldn’t give a shit about being speaker and do the right thing. Jeezus.. Can’t he figure that shit out. Even if he has aspirations to be president, he’s screwed as all he can do is pay for more military which isn’t going to help our economic crises, nboody will trust our currency.
God these republicans are fools.
Martin
Boehner keeps talking as though he just needs to bully Obama into accepting his deal, as though the Senate doesn’t exist at all.
I don’t see how Boehner can win this.
Thoughtcrime
He’s dead man walking.
Royston Vasey
8am (Monday) here in NZ
I think I’ll keep an eye on the Asian markets opening
WaterGirl
@ Royston Vasey
Let us know!