Top Republican presidential contenders are lining up with the party’s conservative wing on the debt ceiling struggle, dismissing it as a phony crisis created by Washington politicians.
That strategy was on display Thursday, when Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., accused President Obama of using “scare tactics” to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Treasury’s Aug 2. deadline, arguing that failure to do so would have little effect on the nation’s fiscal standing.
Bachmann’s remarks mirror those made by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said Obama offered a “false choice between more debt and default.” And Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose candidacy appears increasingly likely, called the debt ceiling drama nothing more than “political theater.”
When pressured to take a position on the default debate, Republican contenders have opted to embrace Tea Party views or remain quiet on the issue altogether.
Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa, said disparaging the debt ceiling wrangling works well for those courting Tea Party support in the Hawkeye State and other early-primary contests where that movement carries considerable sway in crowning a winner.
“It allows the candidates to have their cake and eat it too,” he said. “If things don’t turn out as terrible as the White House says, it makes these folks look a little more credible.”
Other than Bachmann and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the Republican candidates won’t vote on the debt ceiling, insulating themselves from any dire consequences that unfold.
Such distance has allowed presumed front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, to remain quiet on the debt ceiling issue and potential default.
Though Republican and Democratic lawmakers disagree on the method for raising the debt ceiling, both sides generally accept that raising the limit is necessary to avoid dramatic economic repercussions.
However, GOP candidates on the campaign trail have no such apprehension.
“I do not believe for one moment that we will lose the full faith and credit of the United States,” Bachmann said Thursday during a question-and-answer session at the National Press Club in Washington.
Perry, who has yet to enter the race, but would enjoy both Tea Party and establishment-Republican appeal, offered a similar assessment.
“There’s still gonna be revenues flowing in, so I think this threat that somehow or another the world is going to come to an end and the threat of ‘We’re not going to be able to pay our bills’ is a bit of a stretch,” he told reporters in Houston this week.
Obama has painted a more dismal picture, suggesting, among other consequences, that Social Security checks might not be mailed next week without a compromise on the debt ceiling.
And some analysts say that Republicans are ignoring an undeniable shortage of money to pay off U.S. commitments so they can accrue political points.
“It’s hard to see what they could be thinking,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, of the default-denying talk.
Aside from the government being unable to pay its fiscal obligations, the financial markets “would almost certainly panic,” he added.
