Could be a “Heads I win, tails you lose” situation for McConnell and Republicans, since Democrats will be blamed for any economic fallout.
© Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images These guys are gambling over the U.S. economy. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images If the U.S. government defaults on its obligations because the statutory debt limit is breached later this month, it will be Mitch McConnell’s fault for filibustering a suspension of the limit. The blame will rightly be shared by the 49 other Republican senators who have gone along with his cynical and hypocritical insistence that Democrats use the cumbersome budget process to raise the debt ceiling without GOP support. (Republicans were perfectly willing to accommodate the debt run up during the presidencies of Donald Trump and George W. Bush.) Republicans are in the wrong here; there’s just no question about it. On the other hand, “being right” will be cold comfort to the hordes of congressional Democrats who will almost certainly lose their jobs in 2022 if the economy collapses and/or goes into recession thanks to a debt default — not to mention the many millions of people whose lives will take a turn for the worse. “It was Mitch’s fault” is not going to protect Democrats, because voters typically hold the governing party (particularly if it has trifecta control of the White House and Congress, as Democrats do today) accountable for adverse conditions in the country regardless of who’s actually responsible.
