As S.C. delegation stands tall against debt deal, a hot dish of ridicule is served

Image by Flickr user Samantha Decker

Perhaps you've heard that the nation's leadership is barrelling towards a financial implosion over the debt ceiling and spending cuts?

If so, then you've likely also heard that South Carolina's five Republican U.S. House members are standing tall to make sure that the House votes for as many cuts and as little spending as possible. (If not, then read this.)

And there's been quite a bit of interesting reaction to this.

First I'd like to point out Republican Senator John McCain's strong detest of the tactic being used. He spoke on the Senate floor against it, at one point invoking the realm of Middle Earth, in part:

But what none of these critics have is an alternative strategy for achieving anything nearly as fiscally or politically beneficial as Mr. Boehner’s plan.

The idea seems to be if the House GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue, and the public will turn en masse against Barack Obama. The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would somehow escape all the blame.

Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor.

While a bit lengthy, that speech is well worth read (do so here.)

Meanwhile South Carolina columnist Brad Warthen has penned his own thoughts on the matter with a more local perspective.

In part:

Yesterday, the five Republican members of South Carolina’s congressional delegation “distinguished” themselves by being the most obstinate state bloc in the GOP caucus. Not that the Boehner plan was anything to write home about, or anything likely to get us toward a resolution. Today, I see that Boehner’s doing better among his caucus, but for all I know, our guys are still firing on Fort Sumter. 

Read his whole piece here.

In a nutshell, Warthen is equating the desire to be as cheap as possible with the budget as a lost hope that will do little good and more likely cause harm to our national, state, and local credit ratings — and distract us from key developments like Iran's purported funding of al Qaeda.

Filed in