More on "brinksmanship."
This article has been called a must read by some smart folks
Bartlett walks through the consequences of not extending the debt ceiling, then discusses President Obama's options, but argues that if necessary he must continue to borrow money to fund the government even if it means defying Congress over the debt ceiling.
He wouldn't be the first president to do so.
This article has been called a must read by some smart folks
Bartlett walks through the consequences of not extending the debt ceiling, then discusses President Obama's options, but argues that if necessary he must continue to borrow money to fund the government even if it means defying Congress over the debt ceiling.
He wouldn't be the first president to do so.
Previous presidents have also faced the dilemma of being under insurmountable pressure to act in various circumstances with no clear legal authority or conflicting legal demands. Thomas Jefferson concluded that he did not have the authority to buy the Louisiana territory, but did so anyway because it was essential to the national interest.
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often had to take extra-constitutional actions, such as suspending the writ of habeas corpus. In a message to Congress on July 4, 1861, he explained that when forced by grave necessity to break the law, the president must do so, choosing the least unconstitutional option. As Lincoln put it, “To state the question more directly, are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?”
Franklin D. Roosevelt suspended the enforcement of gold clauses in private contracts fully expecting that the Supreme Court would rule against him.
