I'll bet Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) won't

voluntarily give up his government

salary if there's a debt crisis



“No one is saying, ‘Raise the debt limit.’ No one. Zero. Unless you pay really close attention to politics, you’re not talking about the debt ceiling,” Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said of his interactions with constituents. Of his colleagues, he said, “Everyone’s getting the TARP feeling again.” ... Nunes says the debt cap must be raised at some point but not necessarily before the point of default. “By defaulting on the debt, in the short and long term, it could benefit us to go through a period of crisis that forces politicians to make decisions” on major policies that affect the budget, he told POLITICO.

Republicans really don't care if the U.S. defaults on its fiscal obligations:

I give up. If this is really what Republicans want—a crisis—then bring it on. Let's get it over with as quickly as possible so we can start repairing the damage.

I'm sick and tired of seing Democrats, most of whom are trying to do the right thing here, try to negotiate with Republicans only to find they are sitting across the table from lunatics. I'm at the point where I think Democrats should just walk away from the table. They've made it clear they are ready to raise the debt limit, but it can't happen without Republicans, and until Republicans are ready to raise it, there's no point pleading with them to get off their ass.

So I say screw it. It's time for Republicans to put up or shut up. If they're ready to raise the debt limit, great. Then let's raise it. But if they aren't, if they are really dead set on blowing up the American economy, then let's let them do it already, because we're going to need all the time we can get to repair the damage that they cause.

Hopefully they'll come to their senses and avert a disaster, but obviously begging them to do the right thing isn't working. This is their problem. It's time for them to deal with it.

h/t: ThinkProgress.