Could/would Rand Paul really singlehandedly bring on a depression?

Great Debates
1

Lawrence O’Donnell on CNN claimed that Rand Paul could singlehandedly drive the US into a depression by filibustering an increase in the debt ceiling. This, he claims, would destroy the nation’s credit rating and lead to anarchy and depression.

I’ve failed to come up with exact quotes in Google, but is this really possible? Paul supporters claim not, “as the Federal Reserve has the power to monetize outstanding government debt to prevent the the government from defaulting on its treasury debt obligations.” They also claim that he WOULDN’T do such a thing anyway. Would he really?

2

You an old fashioned read-the-phonebook filibuster?

3

I’m not entirely convinced that a teabagger senator wouldn’t try to start a depression if he thought he could blame it on Obongo.

4

nm

5

heh

6

No he can’t singlehandedly do anything. He still needs the support of the Republican party to keep himself at the podium. 40 of them plus him, sure he could do some damage.

7

No, he can’t.

I’m entirely convinced that’s an unprovable assertion, and is simply a gratuitous swipe at your political opposition.

8

Ahh let him be, his party just got obliterated and even the great one couldn’t do anything about it.

Change is indeed good. Nice to have a little balance back.

9

Remember Network? When Howard Beale has his meeting with Moloch, played by Ned Beatty? And he’s given a vision of the extent of the power that he, in his puny and ignorant fashion, is toying with.

10

How is balance achieved by adding unbalanced people into an unbalanced situation?

11

It might also be that you could avoid anarchy and depression by living within your means and not spend your children’s inheritance and settling them with a mountain of debt.

12

Thanks to the Republicans that’s not an option. Our children ARE going to be saddled with massive debt and have to make do with less. And the Republicans will do everything in their power to dig the hole deeper.

13

Fixed.

14

Not fixed. The SDMB does not permit deliberately changing other posters’ quotes inside the quote tags.

Do not do this again.

[ /Moderating ]

15

If Paul’s predecessor Jim Bunning could paralyze the Senate with his refusal to extend unemployment benefits, I don’t see why Paul couldn’t do the same by refusing to budge on extending the debt ceiling. From what I know of Rand Paul, the potential consequences of this would be completely unimportant to him.

16

I don’t think the GOP is crazy enough to support him.

I sure hope he tries, though.

17

Meh. I think he’ll threaten to do it as a tactic to get people to play ball on other budget issues. I don’t think he’ll actually do it.

18

The GOP would kiss the ass of Satan himself to gain power. As long as they think that Ron Paul will bring money their way there is almost nothing he can do and/or say that will cause them to drop him.

19

I’ve heard rumors of the new Senate modifying the filibuster rules. If there’s anything to the rumors, would they be modifying them in a way that would prevent just this sort of thing?

20

It takes a two thirds majority to break a filibuster on amendments to the Senate rules. So in order to amend the Senate rules on filibusters, the Democrats would have to… amend the Senate rules.