Congress: GOP hurting the economy on purpose?

[NNN0LHI]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/21/11791456-congress-gop-hurting-the-economy-on-purpose?lite

“House Speaker John Boehner maintained his hard line on the nation’s debt ceiling in an interview that aired Sunday, saying he is ‘not going to apologize for leading,’” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “Boehner rejected the notion that the anxiety of another debt battle could harm the nation’s economic recovery.”

He also noted though that his caucus is a pretty “disparate” one. “It is hard to keep 218 frogs in a wheelbarrow long enough to get a bill passed,” he said on ABC’s This Week.

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Paul Ryan backed Boehner. “If we fix the programs that are the drivers of our debt, then we reduce a debt crisis likelihood,” Ryan said. “Then we actually bring borrowing down, which opens up certainty for investors.”

AP’s Babington wonders: “Is GOP trying to sabotage economy to hurt Obama?”

[PDJane]

1. Yes.

But not just to hurt Obama.

Friedmanite economics is a vicious beast. There needs to be some balance, but the democrats aren't providing that balance.

Friedmanite economics works if all you care about is an increase in GDP. If you care about the people who provide that increase, it doesn't work.

[Cary]

2. Of course the GOP is trying to sabotage the economy to hurt Obama

Has the GOP done anything to earn the right to be given the benefit of the doubt? No. The GOP has not done anything whatsoever to earn the right to be given the benefit of the doubt. They have obstructed. They have taken huge campaign contributions from special interests whose agenda is anti-thetical to the general welfare. They have created more war and lower taxes for the super rich and created an environment where the top 1% has gleaned almost all of the benefit of all of the growth in the economy over the past 30 years.

Oh, but that's just an accident. Right? Pure coincidence.

Never mind that the intentional policies of the left have been proven to counteract the concentration of wealth. This is just "class warfare", right?

[11 Bravo]

3. I believe you can safely remove the question mark from your thread title.

[Raine1967]

4. If I may quote:

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Paul Ryan backed Boehner. “If we fix the programs that are the drivers of our debt, then we reduce a debt crisis likelihood,” Ryan said. “Then we actually bring borrowing down, which opens up certainty for investors.”

When do we get to call the Bush tax cuts a "program"? They are a HUGE part of the driver debt issue. The GOP refuses to acknowledge this.

How about we fix THAT program?

[Amster Dan]

5. 2 words:

Mitch McConnell.