Voices
JASON
LINKINS
HUFFINGTON
01.13.13
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
‘Dangerous
Psychopaths’
Hijack Debt
Ceiling Ritual
O
ne of the things that I hope to successfully convey as
Congress proceeds from the pooch punt that averted
that “fiscal cliff” (that Congress created so that they
could heroically avert it) to the fiscal crisis moment
slated for March of this year, it’s that debt ceiling
hostage takers are dangerous psychopaths. Yes, we
can trace instances of Congresscritters shaking the
chandeliers on the debt ceiling going back many presidential terms — heck, there was once a senator from
Illinois named Barack Obama who troubled the Bush
administration over it. It was a dumb idea then, as it
is now. ¶ But what’s changed to make things worse
is that this is no longer mere idle talk and procedural
bravado — there are people in Congress who truly
Jason Linkins
is a reporter
at The
Huffington
Post,
covering
media and
politics