It isn’t often I extend a congratulatory hand to the likes of Texas Senator John Cornyn. But today is a special day, and everyone — left, right or middle — should be prostrating themselves before Cornyn, thanking their lucky stars for his intestinal fortitude. If it weren’t for him, the United States government would have defaulted for the first time in history.
But it didn’t. The debt limit was raised, we paid the bills, and it is back to business as usual. All because Senator John Cornyn of Texas, his grim face belying the apoplectic rage brewing beneath his brow, changed his vote from “no” to “yes”.
Virtually no one — Democrat or Republican — wants the United States to default, so raising the debt limit is par for the course. It should have been an easy vote. With a slim majority in the Senate, the Democrats could all vote “YES” and pass the bill, even with every Republican voting “NO”, if only to placate their austerity-pushing bases. Everyone could have walked away happy. Continue reading
Act of Reparation 