Nancy Pelosi Tells Dems to Hold Out For Clean Debt Ceiling Hike

     In an earlier piece we saw that Dems plan to let Boehner twist in the wind with the GOP plan for an extension on the debt ceiling through May-technically this would not be raising the debt ceiling but suspending it which the GOP sees as less politically problematic.

     http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/01/does-boehner-have-votes-to-pass-plan-b.html

     While on the one hand the President has said he wouldn't veto the GOP bill if it came to his desk, he didn't say if he supported it or would rather a clean bill that took it off the table long term. The House Dems have been similarly coy. Indeed, Dem House Whip. Steny Hoyer as vowed that the Dems will treat the latest GOP gimmick with "unrestrained derision."

      "At his weekly press availability on Tuesday, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) hinted at Democrats’ voting strategy for GOP legislation to increase the debt ceiling."

    “We will consider a bill called No Budget, No Pay Act, worthy of almost unrestrained derision,” he said. “Not necessarily a ‘no’ vote, but unrestrained derision.”

     "Not necessarily a “no.” The GOP bill, on the floor Wednesday, would allow the government to borrow to meet existing obligations through May 18. But it also includes a rider that would withhold senators’ pay if they don’t pass a budget by the April 15 statutory deadline."

    “This bill is a game bill. It’s not a substantive response to a serious problem, in my view,” Hoyer said. “Having said that, I’ve made it very clear that defaulting is not an option. All the Republicans leaders believe it’s not an option. And so I think, in that context, I’ll have to look at it.”

     "That doesn’t fully expose his cards. But it suggests that Democrats are playing a game of wait and see."

      "If the bill hits the House floor Wednesday afternoon, and Democrats withhold their votes (or register an initial ‘no’ vote), Republican leaders will have to find 217 members within their own ranks to pass the bill. If they do, then Democrats can vote however they wish. If they don’t, Democrats will have to decide whether to bail out the GOP — accept their largely innocuous debt limit offer as is — or take a risk and vote the bill down. That would put them in a position once again of forcing Boehner to abandon the Hastert rule, and pass a longer-term debt limit increase, stripped of legislative riders."

     "We'll let you know if and when Democrats signal their intent. But the Senate and White House have essentially signaled that they’re fine with either course of action. In the Senate, budget committee chair Patty Murray (D-WA )announced that she’ll put a budget on the floor later this year — complying, in effect, with the GOP’s demands. And the White House has indicated that President Obama would sign the bill if it passes both chambers.

     http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/can-republicans-pass-their-debt-limit-bill-without-help-from-dems.php?ref=fpb

 

    

     Put Pelosi in the camp for going for broke and getting a clean hike:

 

     "Nancy Pelosi privately urged House Democrats this morning to vote against the House GOP’s plan for a temporary suspension of the debt ceiling, a House Dem aide says. The Dem game plan: Dems are still holding out for the possibility that they can force Republicans to agree to a clean debt limit hike, possibly even one that lasts a year."

 

     "More to the point, Dems believe that if Boehner can’t pass the GOP debt limit bill with Republican support, it will give Dems still more leverage to push for a clean debt limit hike, perhaps a long term one. The idea is simple: The debt limit must be raised one way or the other. And so, if Republicans can’t pass their own solution, that will force Republicans to agree to a vote on a clean hike. Aides say that if the GOP proposal goes down, Pelosi and Harry Reid could come together behind a clean, three month hike or even a year-long one. The ideas is that Senate Republicans might have to support such a move, since the only other alternative at that point would literally be default. After that, Boehner would have to hold a vote on it, for the same reason, at which point it could pass largely with support for House Dems."
     "Dems will have gotten their clean debt ceiling hike, and Boehner will have been forced to pass yet another bill mostly with Democrats, while sidelining House conservatives once again. That’s a two-fer, or even a three-fer."

    "Of course, it’s always possible that Boehner will find the 218 votes. But if he doesn’t, that’s the endgame Dems are playing for."

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/23/nancy-pelosi-to-dems-hold-out-for-clean-debt-limit-hike/

    The reasoning is spot on. The GOP has to raise the debt ceiling no matter what. They can't refuse a Senate bill if Boehner's latest Plan B fails. It certainly makes sense for the Dems to wait and see if the GOP can pass this bill. If not, back to the Reid-McConnell show. Maybe even some more Biden.

    What a far cry this is from the days when the GOP could control the debate with only the House via the Hastert Rule!