WASHINGTON - All the national political news is focused on the upcoming debt ceiling debate. Should Congress vote to lift the ceiling on America's spending? Should the nation suffer the consequences of defaulting on our loans in order to stop the spending? How high should the debt ceiling be lifted in order to please the liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans?
Neither of those choices are what the Progressive Congress is calling for now. The Progressive Congress is lobbying to remove the debt ceiling altogether. No limits on spending. No restrictions on indebtedness.
And then they turn the argument into lecturing against default, that bills should be paid responsively. It's enough to boggle the logical, right leaning minds of American Conservatives.
Here's an email the Progressive Congress' leader Natasha Chart just sent out to their supporters:
Dear Member -
It's time to abolish the debt ceiling. What seemed like a simple way to consolidate federal debt in 1939 has turned into a yearly crisis that led, in 2011, to the first ever downgrade of the United States' credit rating.
Sign here to join with progressives in Congress who want to abolish the debt ceiling and put an end to this high-stakes blackmail.
The debt ceiling was raised seven times under George W. Bush without anyone making a fuss. Now, House Republicans have decided to use this routine legislation as an opening to renegotiate the entire federal budget, on short notice and with the threat of government default hanging over everyone.
A default won't just ruin our national credit rating. It'll stop checks going to troops in the field, Social Security recipients, and the air traffic controllers that keep our skies safe, among others. It would be chaos, and no one even knows how bad it would be, since the House majority has never been so irresponsible before.
If you tried what House Republicans are doing at home, it would be a little like taking out a bank loan to buy a car, driving it home and telling the bank that you didn't feel like making the payments you agreed to … then blaming the bank. It's no way to run a country.
Enough. Click here to stand with progressives and insist that the government should permanently agree to abolish the debt ceiling and pay its bills responsibly.
Keep fighting for a better government,
-n Natasha Chart
Campaign Director, Progressive Congress
