The constitutional power of the purse is overrated anyway, right?
Rather than bother to deal with the opposing party, majority Senate Democrats want President Obama to embrace one of two gimmicky solutions to the upcoming battle over the so-called “debt ceiling” — either the “trillion dollar coin” or the “fourteenther” solution, by which the president unilaterally raises the debt ceiling. Obama has wisely resisted the latter course, and his spokesman seemed none too interested when asked about the former yesterday.
In a quest to cede more congressional power to an executive they like, Senate Dems penned a letter to Obama:
It shouldn’t inspire any confidence in Democrats’ complaints about George W. Bush’s executive usurpations.“In the event that Republicans make good on their threat by failing to act, or by moving unilaterally to pass a debt limit extension only as part of an unbalanced or unreasonable legislation, we believe you must be willing to take any lawful steps to ensure that America does not break its promises and trigger a global economic crisis — without congressional approval, if necessary.”
