On Monday, I posited that President Biden and the Democrats were losing the debt ceiling battle. The last few days only confirms that reality. For months, Biden publicly refused to negotiate on the issue, calculating that House Republicans would fail to pass legislation on that front, allowing Democrats to run wild with an anticipated blame game. But the lower chamber majority defied expectations and passed a sensible bill that significantly increases the debt limit while imposing modest spending restraint on the federal government. The White House maintained its 'no talks' stubbornness for days, then quasi-relented. They've been incoherent at times, seemingly incapable of adapting to the inconvenient reality that the House GOP has deprived them of the political piñata they were expecting to batter, with the media's help.
To his credit, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been pressing the advantage, returning repeatedly to the key, simple, easily-digestible point that his party alone has actually passed a bill, while Democrats have done nothing to avoid a catastrophic default. This was quality messaging ahead of his meeting yesterday:
"We passed a bill...you've just identified the problem. No Democrats. Every Democrat voted against raising the debt ceiling." That, right there, is the wall Democrats and their media allies keep pounding their head against. Look how ridiculous these people look, having voted against the GOP-passed bill to avoid default and raise the debt ceiling:
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: "The Republicans continue to govern in a way that is clueless, callous, and with great contempt, and I would say godless, because faith without works is dead." pic.twitter.com/vknciurZP6
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 25, 2023
Republicans have the facts on their side here, and they also have public opinion in their corner too. A CNN survey published this week had progressives braying because it showed how badly they're losing:
CNN POLL CONDUCTED BY SSRS
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 23, 2023
May 17-20
What Should Congress Do
On The Debt Ceiling?
Raise only if spending cut 60%
Raise no matter what 24%
Not raise, let US default 15%
https://t.co/odw40YGlI7
Only one-fourth of the public agrees with the Democrats' position, in a realm (budget/debt showdown) that often favors Democrats. A just-released Fox News survey yielded nearly identical results:
A new Fox News poll confirms CNN's poll released earlier this week: Only ~1/4 of Americans favor the Democrats' position on raising the debt ceiling w/o any spending restraint. And in a reversal from past dynamics, more would blame POTUS than Congressional R's for a default: pic.twitter.com/pV9iokOThX
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 25, 2023
As alluded to in my tweet, by a three-point margin, more Americans would blame Biden for a default than the people with whom he refused to meet on the subject for months on end. It should be more lopsided than that, especially because the public heavily favors the GOP position. But back in 2011 -- the last time we experienced a major showdown over the debt ceiling, back when then-Vice President Biden was the lead Democratic negotiator who made multiple major concessions, and when the national debt was half of what it is today -- the picture was much uglier for the GOP. They stood to be blamed by a 15-point margin over Obama. Biden is performing 18 percentage points worse today, relative to Obama back then. The dynamics are not in his favor. Which is why his spokesperson is forced to toss out silly, unserious, dubious bleats like this:
KJP: "This is a manufactured crisis, plain and simple..." pic.twitter.com/uYVjUNm2Iq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
KJP IN MAY: "We are not going to negotiate over the debt limit..."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 23, 2023
KJP TODAY: "We are negotiating on the budget. I've always been very clear about that..." pic.twitter.com/9jKKsWAVi9
What Democrats would like their friends in the press to know right now is that they're big mad about what's happening:
We also want to lay down a marker once again and tell you that the anger in the House Dem Caucus right now is palpable. Many rank-and-file Democrats feel as if they’re going to be asked to vote for a package that is slanted toward GOP demands with little for them in return
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 25, 2023
These people chose not to even try to raise the debt limit when they controlled all of government, opting instead to use a precious 'reconciliation' package to double the size of the IRS and spent lavishly on Green New Deal programs. Then they lost an election, resulting in divided government, thanks to the will of a majority of voters -- millions more of whom voted for a Republican House than a Democrat-held one. They can rage all they want. The choices of their own party, and then voters, have led them to this moment. We shall see how this plays out over the next few days -- time is running low -- but if they end up coping and seething, they can blame themselves for any concessions about which they're unhappy.
The Left is still pushing the insanely and patently illegal "14th Amendment" lawlessness (it's truly wild that a Senator is now arguing that the core purpose of the 14th Amendment is to allow the president to do something he absolutely cannot do), which Biden has half-embraced rhetorically (to his shame), but does not appear willing to go down that path. This is the rising ideology within the Democratic coalition, which is dangerous and anti-constitutional. Speaking of which, I'll leave you with this, which also references this appalling abuse of power:
'Country Over Party' sermonizers: dEmOcRaCy Is At RiSk!
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 25, 2023
- Mostly silent on Dem NC Gov declaring *state of emergency* to thwart legislature vote on education policy he disagrees with
- Mostly silent on (or supportive of!) insanely illegal '14th Amendment' debt ceiling "solution"