The Republican Ransom Note

The Republican Ransom Note

The Republican Ransom Note

The House GOP is holding America hostage with the same agenda that lost them the election. 

Chris Hayes
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On October 17, the US government will no longer be able to fund itself. In order to meet the spending obligations that Congress has already debated and appropriated, House Republicans will have to agree to raise the debt ceiling. Though every partisan and policy-maker agrees that the failure to meet debt obligations would be catastrophic, Republicans, once again, are holding the economy hostage by tying the vote to a series of conservative legislative principles.

This week, House Republicans leaked their demands—the ransom note includes, among other things, a one year delay to the Affordable Care Act, progress on the Keystone pipeline and tax reform measures based on Paul Ryan budget. As MSNBC’s Chris Hayes notes, “Republicans are blackmailing the American people with the agenda that lost the last presidential election by 3.5 million votes.”

—Jake Scobey-Thal

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With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

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It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Chris Hayes Chris Hayes is the Editor-at-Large of The Nation and host of “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC.


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