Is this the rankest form of hypocrisy or an acknowledgment that he went too far and is responsible for our credit downgrade? Eric Cantor sent out a memo to his caucus that warns them not to resort to brinksmanship in the appropriations process (which is now operating as part of an agreed-upon deal). The memo also says that businesses are sitting on cash that could be invested because of all the chaos in Washington. I mean, it’s his responsibility to make sure his team keeps its word on the appropriation levels, so I can see why he’s trying to talk some sense to his caucus. But it sure is rich for him to walk out of the talks and undercut any grand bargain, and then say that brinksmanship is screwing up the economy. No shit, Sherlock.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Cantor walking out of the negotiations and encouraging “brinksmanship” during the debt ceiling discussions gave S&P their ultimate justification in lowering the debt rating after their numbers were shown to not add up.
But there is more to that story apparently. Today’s NYT has a story which, at first glance, makes it look like the government is retaliating against S&P… but when you read deeper, it seems it may be the other way around. The Justice department has been investigating the ratings agencies actions leading up to the crash on Wall Street for some time. It seems they may have been onto something that made S&P uncomfortable so S&P started threatening a downgrade and ultimately went through with it because the DOJ didn’t back down. Now S&P is probably hoping to end the investigation by making it look like retaliation by the administration for the downgrade.
Expect the shrieking on the Right to commence in 5, 4, 3, 2…
I wish the Bush-Perry vendetta was the only political game in town, then I would relish it like a good, bad B movie. Unfortunately it’s just a second feature in the double matinee starring the asswipes already in Washington.
Ooops, wrong thread. đŸ˜‰