October 16, 2013

Rep. Steve King: “I’m Not Worried About This Thing They Term Default”

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/6050882579/sizes/m/in/photolist-adGmzH-adKbgd-adGkGe-adKaQh-adGmN2-adKahJ-e4jZZC-e4epfF-e4k1mu-e3ZXxA-e4k3cE-e4enRc-e3UkT4-e3Ukhe-e4jZTG-e4epsD-e4eqaR-e4eopZ-e4k263-e4ennr-e3T61B-e4eozV-e4epFV-e4k3yA-dodNQS-dodExF-9uMJ3w-aeXy1h-9uMGWb-9uJHxD-9uMKfm-9uJGpx-9uMJFf-av5R4g-av8wXN-btce1e-av5Rme-av8wGS-av5Rig-av5R7t-btceY2-btceFn-btcdHM-9sUTsY-9sRRu2-9sRSh2-9sUQ1W-9sUQSY-6BGwzA-9uJCoK-9uMQtG/">Gage Skidmore</a>/Flickr

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As Congress gets perilously close to its October 17 deadline to lift the nation’s debt ceiling, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) isn’t worried. Default? King shrugs. If anything, he says, the real risk is President Obama’s scaremongering about a partial default by the United States on its obligations.

That was King’s message Wednesday morning during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.” “I’m not worried about this thing they term default because we are going to service our debt,” he said. “But I am concerned about all the rhetoric around this, about the weeks and months building up to this point and the utilization of that term default.”

The real risk, he went on, is blowback from Obama’s dire rhetoric about the debt ceiling. “I’m concerned that it will scare the markets; I’m concerned that the president’s remarks will scare the markets.”

King is hardly the only the debt ceiling “denier” in Congress. In fact, there’s so many of them that my colleague Tim Murphy divided them up into seven different caucus; they include the Debt-Limit-Is-Too-Damn-High Caucus (those who want to lower, not raise, the debt ceiling), the #YOHO Caucus (comprised solely of Florida’s Rep. Ted Yoho, who believes default would be a good thing), the straight-up Default-Deniers (who believe the government cannot default on its debts), and the It’s-Just-a-Flesh-Wound Caucus (you get the point).

Not a member of any of these caucuses: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio). He’s tried for weeks to convince and cajole his more conservative Republican colleagues into a deal, with no luck. As ofWednesday morning, media reports suggest that Boehner will bring a Senate-passed bill to the House floor, attempting to pass it with Democratic votes.

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