John Nichols: Republicans Are Playing With Fire in the Debt Ceiling Standoff

John Nichols: Republicans Are Playing With Fire in the Debt Ceiling Standoff

John Nichols: Republicans Are Playing With Fire in the Debt Ceiling Standoff

Refusing to raise the debt ceiling will lead to an economic meltdown—and put Americans out of work.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

As the United States faces down potential economic disaster, Republicans are demanding entitlement cuts before they'll vote to raise the debt ceiling. This time, however, the stakes are even higher than in the fiscal cliff standoff, and refusal to raise the ceiling could lead to significant job loss. On MSNBC's The Ed Show, Nation columnist John Nichols explained who will be hurt the most and what he sees as Barack Obama's leverage in the situation.

—Alec Luhn

In his latest blog post on TheNation.com, John Nichols remembers a late professor from Austria whose struggle against the Nazis and later against gender discrimination still resonates.

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x