Just Look At This A-Hole Mitch McConnell’s Stupid Oversized Blank Check

He keeps giving more reasons to nuke the filibuster.

Republicans are threatening to let the US default on its debt, because they're assholes. That's apparently still a surprise to some Democrats who perhaps naively assumed the GOP wouldn't hold the nation's economy hostage for political purposes ... again. SenateMajorityMinority Leader Mitch McConnell has convinced every member of his caucus, excluding Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, to vote “no" on raising the debt ceiling. He reportedly received a "standing ovation" from Republicans when he shared his evil scheme. These guys claim they believe in God, but they sure aren't afraid of going to hell.

McConnell and his crew wants Democrats to “own" the debt hike, which pays for spending Congress has already authorized, so he's forcing them to do so via reconciliation. They can't raise the debt ceiling otherwise because of the filibuster, which Sinema informs me promotes bipartisan consensus. It's like McConnell enjoys proving her wrong on daily basis.

This morning, McConnell appeared at a press event with an oversized blank check. We know it's blank because there's no dollar amount listed and it's literally stamped “Blank Check." As a public servant, McConnell's an excellent prop comic. This was the blank check's first appearance before presumably heading on tour.

Mitch McConnell at presser on debt ceiling, flanked by this check: “The debt ceiling needs to be raised… My advic… https://t.co/HNiv50cHH9

— Max Cohen (@Max Cohen) 1632327444.0 

I'm no financial whiz but $3.5 trillion is a discrete dollar amount. Democrats have said how much the "Build Back Better" plan will cost, so this isn't a "blank check" situation. Still, the fake check is a marvel of modern political dysfunction. It's supposedly from the "bank of Biden, Sanders, Pelosi, and Schumer," but who would send a blank check to a bank? I'm already confused. The check is signed “American Taxpayer," which would exclude the GOP's wealthiest donors. The memo line on the check is “Reckless Tax-and-Spend Spree," but that's like the old ladies from The Producers writing Bialystock and Bloom checks with the memo note, “For Obviously Awful Play That I'll Never See A Dime From." It's hard to feel sympathy here for the check writer.

The blank check is supposedly paid to the order of “Democrats' Socialist Agenda." There's very little that's actually socialist about President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda, but Republicans think universal child care is a socialist plot because, as previously mentioned, they're assholes.

McConnell declared: "The debt ceiling needs to be raised… My advice to this Democratic government — don't play Russian roulette with our economy."

However, McConnell is the one with the gun pointed at Democrats' heads. He's invented this rule where Democrats are solely responsible for avoiding economic collapse because ... they just are, okay? (For the record, and of course, Democrats routinely raise the debt ceiling for Republican presidents, and Republicans routinely raise the debt ceiling for Republican presidents. But you knew that already.)

 From the Washington Post:  

"Let me make it perfectly clear. The country must never default. The debt ceiling will need to be raised. But who does that depends on who the American people elect," McConnell told Punchbowl News on Tuesday, acknowledging he will vote for a policy outcome he says he doesn't want to occur.

The Post correctly observes that McConnell is full of shit: Congress has previously lifted the debt ceiling under the existing (though peculiar) Senate rules that require at least 60 votes to do almost anything. And Senate Democrats haven't had 60 votes since around the time voters noticed Barack Obama was Black.

OK, so McConnell thinks Democrats are on their own because they're the big bad party in charge. Fine, he should inform Sinema and Manchin so they'll finally give up on this "bipartisanship" dream. Sinema might've sucked up to Susan Collins during the bipartisan infrastructure deal, but unlike Sinema, Collins hasn't forgotten what her political party is.

"The Democrats have added enormous amounts of debt, including the $1.9 trillion package, now $3.5 trillion on top of that, so they bear the responsibility for increasing the debt limit," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters this week.

Yep, Collins is spinning the COVID-19 relief bill as more reckless Democratic socialist spending. Meanwhile, Republicans are shamelessly taking credit for all the positives from the stimulus.

 The Treasury Department warned that if the debt limit isn't raised, the US government will run out of money to pay its bills in October. As long as Democrats are in power, Republicans wouldn't bother opening a bottle of water if the nation caught fire. All they care about is pinning the blame on the political donkey.

[ Washington Post ]

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