Hillary Clinton: Republicans Are Playing Into the Hands of Putin and Xi - NYT Op-Ed

[BootinUp]

Hillary Clinton: Republicans Are Playing Into the Hands of Putin and Xi
April 24, 2023

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is making a ransom demand. His hostages are the economy and America’s credibility. Mr. McCarthy has threatened that House Republicans will refuse to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling, potentially triggering a global financial crisis, unless President Biden agrees to deep cuts to education, health care, food assistance for poor children and other services.

Mr. McCarthy repeatedly invoked the threat of Chinese competition as justification. The speaker is right that this debate has significant national security implications — just not the way he says.

With Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in its second year, tensions with China continuing to rise and global threats looming, from future pandemics to climate change, the world is looking to the United States for strong, steady leadership. Congressional brinkmanship on the debt ceiling sends the opposite message to our allies and our adversaries: that America is divided, distracted and can’t be counted on.

Let’s start by dispelling a myth. The debt ceiling debate is not about authorizing new spending. It’s about Congress paying debts it has already incurred. Refusing to pay would be like skipping out on your mortgage, except with global consequences. Because of the central role of the United States — and the dollar — in the international economy, defaulting on our debts could spark a worldwide financial meltdown.

Continued

[Irish_Dem]

1. GOP/China/Russia are weakening the US every day.

It is their goal to bring down America for power and wealth.

They want to show that democracy is a worthless form of government.
That autocracies are more effective and efficient.

They want to show democracies as weak, foolish, dangerous, chaotic.

[2naSalit]

2. I would say...

Not so much playing into their hands as purposely delivering us into their control.

[BootinUp]

3. They are attacking democracy.

[NullTuples]

4. Playing into their hands? They've been willing partners for years! It's transactional for them.

[Hekate]

5. KnR

[DonCoquixote]

6. translated

"
Mr. McCarthy repeatedly invoked the threat of Chinese competition as justification. The speaker is right that this debate has significant national security implications"

translated "we GOP are really jealous of the way they treat chinses workers like shit, so we should be able to treat you worse.