Jerry, While I will contact Republicans from your list, expressing the urgency of adding their names to the discharge petition, I would be remiss were I not to note that I have become increasingly concerned that the entire House Republican caucus does whatever McCarthy tells them to do. Accordingly, I believe the best path is to urge Biden, who has a constitutional duty to enforce the laws including spending that has been authorized by Congress, to invoke Section #4 of the 14th Amendment to avoid a default.
You aren't going to like this. First, as to positive action: President Biden is required by the Constitution to pay the nation's bills. If necessary, that is what is going to happen, unless Old Joe bends to the wishes of the MAGA people. Second, I have covered government as a journalist for over 30 years. I have stood on a balcony overlooking a demonstration ...people chanting and waving signs ... at the North Carolina State Legislature. I saw and heard legislators, primarily Republicans, laughing and making crude jokes about the demonstrators. Overall, under our current system, elected officials don't care about your phone calls. They don't care about your letters. They don't care about your emails. They don't care about your petitions. They care about getting reelected, and they care about the campaign contributions that allow them to buy the ads that get them elected. If it appears that the MAGA idiots are actually going to cause the loss of the full faith and credit of the United States and crash the economy (Think of what will happen to treasury bonds), I would bet that major campaign contributors (who actually make the decisions under our system today) will be hot on the phone to the members of Congress they put in office, and their calls WILL get through. This group should be contacting these major business owners and urging them, under pain of boycott or whatever, to tell their lackeys in Congress that they will back their opponents if they cause an economic disaster. As always, "It is about the economy, stupid." (Bill Clinton) and that means the personal economies of congressmen.
Good afternoon Jerry...Just to let you know that I just made phone calls to the 14 moderate Republican House members. For anyone reading this who hasn’t yet made the calls, it’s really easy and takes a total of about 20 minutes. The aides who answer the phones are really nice and appreciate your call.
Jerry, I read a couple of the other comments above and agree with your feeling about the Discharge Petition vs the 14th Amendment...the latter being way too risky and time consuming. I read today’s weekly Substack post by freshman Rep. Jeff Jackson (D)of North Carolina. He really spelled out the risk of the 14th route quite clearly.
Jerry, While I will contact Republicans from your list, expressing the urgency of adding their names to the discharge petition, I would be remiss were I not to note that I have become increasingly concerned that the entire House Republican caucus does whatever McCarthy tells them to do. Accordingly, I believe the best path is to urge Biden, who has a constitutional duty to enforce the laws including spending that has been authorized by Congress, to invoke Section #4 of the 14th Amendment to avoid a default.
I do share your blog with my small readership. I wish Facebook had not banned me. There I had many thousands of followers. Keep it up.
You aren't going to like this. First, as to positive action: President Biden is required by the Constitution to pay the nation's bills. If necessary, that is what is going to happen, unless Old Joe bends to the wishes of the MAGA people. Second, I have covered government as a journalist for over 30 years. I have stood on a balcony overlooking a demonstration ...people chanting and waving signs ... at the North Carolina State Legislature. I saw and heard legislators, primarily Republicans, laughing and making crude jokes about the demonstrators. Overall, under our current system, elected officials don't care about your phone calls. They don't care about your letters. They don't care about your emails. They don't care about your petitions. They care about getting reelected, and they care about the campaign contributions that allow them to buy the ads that get them elected. If it appears that the MAGA idiots are actually going to cause the loss of the full faith and credit of the United States and crash the economy (Think of what will happen to treasury bonds), I would bet that major campaign contributors (who actually make the decisions under our system today) will be hot on the phone to the members of Congress they put in office, and their calls WILL get through. This group should be contacting these major business owners and urging them, under pain of boycott or whatever, to tell their lackeys in Congress that they will back their opponents if they cause an economic disaster. As always, "It is about the economy, stupid." (Bill Clinton) and that means the personal economies of congressmen.
Good afternoon Jerry...Just to let you know that I just made phone calls to the 14 moderate Republican House members. For anyone reading this who hasn’t yet made the calls, it’s really easy and takes a total of about 20 minutes. The aides who answer the phones are really nice and appreciate your call.
Jerry, I read a couple of the other comments above and agree with your feeling about the Discharge Petition vs the 14th Amendment...the latter being way too risky and time consuming. I read today’s weekly Substack post by freshman Rep. Jeff Jackson (D)of North Carolina. He really spelled out the risk of the 14th route quite clearly.
Thanks for all you’re doing.