Put in those terms, it seems like the game was over before it began. #Biden should just surrender, hand the most extreme wing of the (degraded, corrupt, illegitimate, authoritarian) #RepublicanParty whatever it wants, even if doing so will push Biden's approval rating even lower, dangerously close to the next federal election.

2/

In this telling, the Republicans have already won. The decision to let the #GOP steal three Supreme Court seats, combined with the decision not to end the #DebtCeiling charade when Dems had the majorities to do so, means that from now on, we live in the GOP's #ShitholeCountry.

3/

That's a country where the only "freedoms" that matter are the freedom to control others' bodily autonomy and gender expression; the freedom to exploit labor; the freedom to censor ideas that challenge #WhiteNationalist, imperialist messages; and the freedom to menace with open-carry assault weapons:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/opinion/republican-legislatures-abortion-trangender-education.html

In other words, we're screwed. Might as well dig a hole, climb inside, and pull the dirt in on top of us.

Fuck that.

4/

There are clear majorities in support of the #BuildBackBetter agenda, and even for the watered down Machin Synematic Universe version we got through the #InfrastructureBill. If the Dems could mobilize voters - by convincing them that they were committed to *doing things* rather than capitulating - they could win strong majorities in 2024.

5/

Even in the gerrymandered, antimajoritarian America, electoral wins are possible - they just require overwhelming turnout, rather than the 50.00001% "victories" favored by "data-driven" Democratic consultants (victories that leave the party incapable of governing, and let monsters like #JoeManchin hold the entire nation hostage).

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe doing things won't mobilize voters.

6/

But if we're already going to stipulate that without significant majorities, the real President of the United States is the three-headed monster (#Gorsuch, #Thomas, and #Roberts), and the billionaires who yank their chains, then what do we have to lose?

There are a lot of things that Biden could try to get through the debt ceiling crisis without giving up on the promises he made to the American people and the programs the American Congress passed.

7/

Here's some from #BradDeLong:

* "The #FederalReserve might simply record a negative balance in the #Treasury account," then create an "overdraft" and pay the US's obligations out of it

* The Fed could tell retail banks trying to clear government checks that they didn't clear, and banks could tell their depositors, " your Treasury check bounced, but do not worry, we have credited your account, anyway, and will handle this, and please be grateful to us."

https://braddelong.substack.com/p/debt-ceiling-what-are-e-fallback

8/

Of course, there are lots of other possibilities: Biden could issue an #ExecutiveOrder to the effect that the Debt Ceiling violates the #14thAmendment. Or that it violates the #ContractsClause. Or he could order the Treasury to start issuing #CouponFreeBonds. Or he could just #MintTheCoin:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734654/government-debt-default-trillion-dollar-platinum-coin

Yes, each of these would end up in front of the (degraded, corrupt, illegitimate, partisan) Supreme Court, who would very likely strike them down.

9/

But writing for #TheAmericanProspect, #RyanCooper argues that this could still be sound tactics:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-05-25-democrats-fear-supreme-court/

If Biden does something about the debt default, and the Supremes block it, then the default is *their* fault. What's more, it's a mess they absolutely do *not* want to get into, like deciding which of the US's creditors will and won't get paid when they sue over the default.

10/

And if the court won't do it, will they give the president the power to "just pick and choose what gets paid? That would give him a de facto line-item veto over the entire budget, and the Court has already ruled that a law explicitly giving him that power is unconstitutional":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_v._City_of_New_York

Basically, if the Supreme Court kills Biden's attempt to resolve the budget crisis, then it becomes the Supreme Court's problem.

11/

Everyone owed a federal payment "say, Social Security beneficiaries or military contractors," will bring a case - "There would be tens of millions of such potential litigants."

So what should Biden do?

Call their bluff.

First, mint the coin. If the court strikes that down, issue coupon-free bonds. If the court strikes *that* down, declare debt ceilings to violate the 14th Amendment. If the court strikes *that* down, declare it to violate the Contracts Clause.

12/

Keep doing it. Throw in every solution including the kitchen sink - but *never* give into the GOP's demand for Biden to violate his promise to the American people and unilaterally tear up laws establishing programs that make our lives better.

This is what Lincoln did when the Supreme Court blocked his attempts to end slavery. It's what #FDR did when they blocked the #NewDeal.

13/