THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN’T, AND WON’T, DEFAULT ON ITS DEBT OBLIGATIONS

One remarkable aspect of the shutdown/debt limit battle is the irresponsibility (on the part of the Obama administration) and incompetence (on the part of the news media) concerning the claim that the federal government will default on its debt obligations if Congress fails to raise the debt limit. President Obama and his minions have clearly suggested that default is a real possibility:

“As reckless as a government shutdown is … an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse,” Obama said on Thursday. Clearly targeting Republicans, he said a default would be “the height of irresponsibility.”

Then, on the same day, Obama’s Treasury Department released a brutal statement that said a default would prove catastrophic, causing credit markets to freeze and leading to “a financial crisis and recession that could echo the events of 2008 or worse.”

Within the last few hours, Obama repeated that Congress must “remove the threat of default and vote to raise the debt ceiling.”

But there is no threat of default. Constitutionally, the federal government must pay its debts. The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4, states:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Via: Powerline

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Shutdown Continues, House Passes Solutions, President Still Refuses to Negotiate

Beginning on October 1, 2013, the federal government entered a partial shutdown due to a lapse in funding. Prior to this, the House of Representatives offered and passed multiple funding measures to keep the government open. The Senate and President Barack Obama, however, disagreed with some of the bill’s components. Instead of working with House leaders, they chose to let the government shut down over their insistence on a continuation of last year’s funding levels to support the expansion of Obamacare. 

I know many Americans are concerned about the government shutdown and it can be disconcerting when our nation’s political leaders cannot get along.

This is not the first time that our country has had a divided government or experienced a shutdown due to disagreements between the President and congressional leaders of opposing parties.  However, in prior instances, both the President and respective leaders have found ways to engage in regular discussions to resolve issues.

President Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich were fierce opponents publically, as were President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill, but they always found ways to work together to advance our nation’s interests and their respective policy agendas.

What’s different today is that President Obama has repeatedly and preemptively announced his refusal to negotiate with congressional leaders about operations of the federal government or the level of spending under his Administration.

Congress has a constitutional responsibility and authority to oversee federal spending and the Executive Branch’s execution of the law, including addressing our nation’s unsustainable debt levels and the problems associated with ObamaCare and its implementation.

The President himself has acknowledged some of the failures of ObamaCare by granting waivers to big business, big labor and other special interests, but insists on leaving individual Americans and families exposed to its serious flaws. He has granted these waivers unilaterally even though they are neither authorized by law nor consistent with his enumerated powers in the Constitution.

And now, because of President Obama’s continued refusal to work with Congress, the government remains partially closed.

Via: Issa.house.gov

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VA chief issues dire warning, says millions of veterans might not get payments

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki issued a dire warning Wednesday about the impact of a prolonged budget impasse, saying millions would see their benefit checks halted if the stalemate is not resolved in the coming weeks. 

Shinseki said more than 5.18 million checks worth $6.25 billion could soon be held up. 

"I will not be able to pay all these beneficiaries (without a budget)," Shinseki testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. 

He said that if something is not done by Nov. 1, "I will not be sending checks out." 

Though some Republicans have accused the Obama administration of making the impact of the partial shutdown worse than it needs to be, Shinseki claimed his hands are tied. 

"What is best for veterans and for all of us right now is a budget for the entire federal government," he said. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the most highly staffed divisions of the government during the partial shutdown, with only a small percentage of workers furloughed. But Shinseki claimed the department's money will nevertheless run dry for a variety of benefit payments -- and explained there will be additional furloughs down the road. 

Via: Fox News

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[VIDEO] Dem Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Says “Martial Law” Is Needed To Reopen The Government…

Wait, she wants what?

Via: Weasel Zippers

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Community Organizer Runs Amok

From its earliest days, the Obama Administration has operated from a “community organizer” worldview, characterized by an “us” against “them” perspective. The President has repeatedly and in a variety of circumstances said, “Elections have consequences, and I won” as an excuse for yet another executive order, non-Constitutional decision, or “in-your-face” arrogant action. The President goes through the motions of listening to others: he claims to be bipartisan; he hosts White House confabs and talks about the need for compromise, but he always ends up saying, “I won,” and ends any pretense of discussion or negotiation. He explains that, as President, he shouldn’t have to “bring something to the table” and declares that he will not negotiate, as though that his beneath his dignity as President. He goes to play golf and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s snide remarks become the Democrat voice.

Obviously, the President did win the election; he won the presidency. But, as noted by James Joyner in Outside the Beltway: the President is not a king or a prime minister. Granted, he is the most powerful person in America and, indeed, in the world (though, sadly and increasingly, less so), but he does not control the other two branches of government. They have the responsibility to balance his power for the good of the people. The Legislative and Judicial branches of government are independent entities. And, as clarified brilliantly and effectively by Thomas Sowell, the House of Representatives has the right –– indeed, the authority and responsibility –– to grant or withhold money: they voted “all the money required to keep all government activities going except for Obamacare.” The decision of the House of Representatives determines independently where money is to be spent. It is called “legislation by appropriation.”

Via: American Spectator

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Shutdown Showdown: SF’s Cliff House Defies Obama Admin, Reopens — and Is Forced to Close AGAIN

The saga of San Francisco’s Cliff House took a series of dramatic turns this week as the owners engaged in a political and legal duel with the federal government.

As we reported last Thursday, the historic Cliff House restaurant — a privately owned profitable business which sits on land controlled by the National Park Service — was suddenly ordered to close by the Obama administration on October 3.

Then on Monday, October 7, with little fanfare, Cliff House’s owners Dan and Mary Hountalas decided to defy the government’s closure order and instead re-open for business, to the delight of the hundreds of tourists and locals who dine there every day. When word leaked out that the Cliff House had re-opened, the local National Park Service office consulted with Washington, D.C., and then issued a second (and apparently firmer) order to the owners to re-close the restaurant; the owners were then forced to unwillingly comply for a second time last night at midnight:

The famed Cliff House restaurant has been forced to shut its doors for the remainder of the federal government shutdown, after it defied orders by reopening earlier this week.

Diners who learned of the new closure were none too happy, to say the least:

“That’s outrageous! Are you serious?” Hubbard said as she walked out of the restaurant, the sunset glazing the windows behind her. “It is very stupid! Why are people deprived of a job? Why do the rest of us have to stop enjoying the parks?”

Hubbard wasn’t alone in her outrage at missing out on the $10 endive salad or the $27 mahi mahi.

“You’re kidding me,” said Ken Evans, who was visiting from Visalia and stopped by the Cliff House to take in the view. “You know what, I would stay open if I were them. You can’t close these things down.”

Via: PJ Tatler
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RNC releases terrifc new Ad video exposing hypocrisy of Democrats on the debt ceiling and the debt…

A great video from the RNC that highlights past words from major players in the Democrat party preaching to America about how we cannot continue to raise the debt ceiling.

GOP Senators Shrug Off Debt-Limit Date

Republicans appear to be increasingly dismissive of the October 17 deadline the White House has set for when the federal debt limit must be raised to avoid an economic disaster. Even relative moderates such as Senators Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) and Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) are shrugging it off.

“I do think it is an important date, and I don’t want to minimize that,” Corker told reporters when asked about the October 17 deadline, before adding: “Is that the real date? No.” The government likely has until around November 1 before the situation becomes “problematic,” he said, based on his discussion with financial leaders across the country. 

Corker also shrugged off concerns about the volatility in financial markets due to uncertainty over the debt limit. ”That’s a part of what happens when you get close to a deadline,” he said. ”That’s not my concern. My concern is that we do something constructive that’s good for our nation.”

Hatch, who referred to Jack Lew as “one of the most partisan, political secretaries of the Treasury that I’ve seen,” slammed Democrats for their refusal to take up a House-passed bill to prioritize debt payment to avoid default. “The fact of the matter is, there are going to be some parts of the government that are going to be hurt if we don’t get this resolved,” he said. ”There are some that I think we could live without, too.”

Via: NRO
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[VIDEO] Dem congressman: GOP may be on 'hallucinetic drugs'

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), in fiery remarks on the House floor Tuesday, suggested that Republicans might be under the influence of “hallucinetic drugs.”

“We’re dealing with dangerous people,” Pascrell said. “Either they’re on hallucinetic drugs or they just lost their minds. This is what we’re dealing with.”

(“Hallucinetic” is used by some as an synonym for “hallucinogenic.” The remark occurs around the 9:00 mark of the video below.)

Pascrell added that Republicans are negotiating with a gun to Democrats’ heads — echoing language used by the White House.

“I’m from Paterson, New Jersey,” Pascrell said. “You never put a gun to my head; I got news for ya.”

Via: Washington Post

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