It’s 2023. The GOP has control of both houses of Congress. A huge fight over the debt ceiling is looming. Both sides know the Republican leadership is going to take hostages, because that’s what Republicans do. The only question is, what will the ransom be?
McCarthy and McConnell, pressed by a restless base and their extremist members, come up with a brilliant idea. Why not demand a nationwide ban on abortion as the price for not destroying the nation’s credit? Force the Democrats to either give up their signature culture war issue–without eliminating the filibuster–or run in 2024 with asset prices plunging and the economy in chaos. Sure, it would be bad for the country, but so what? Politics is about gaining and exercising power, not doing good for the American people.
Biden refuses the deal. He tells the GOP that the Constitution requires him to pay the nation’s debts, and that he will continue to do so, whether they raise the debt ceiling or not.
It’s now 11:59. The donor class, which stands to be the big loser if the country defaults, is screaming for relief. Do the Republicans appease them and back down, or do they heed the base and blow everything up? Stay tuned.