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One of the nation’s elders speaks

On May 20, 2023

At 9:05 pm

In General

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Richard Haas is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a Republican. Supposedly the position is nonpartisan, but it tends to be filled by centrist types.

Invoking the 14th Amendment to avoid default on the debt is a terrible idea, not for legal reasons, but political. It would be an end-run around the political process, and set a terrible precedent for future end-runs by Republicans when they are in a position to do it.— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) May 20, 2023

How many ways can someone get something wrong?

Invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States would be “an end-run around the political process”? Unlike, I guess, holding the good faith and credit of the United States hostage.

And horrors of horrors, a precedent for Republican end-runs! We’ve never seen such a thing!

But actually it wouldn’t be, because the Democrats don’t hold the country hostage to impose a set of unpopular policies on it. So the Republicans will never have the chance to use the 14th Amendment to protect the good faith and credit of the United States of America.