The Republican Congress has handed the President an unparalleled opportunity. Using the UNLIMITED power provided by the 14th Amendment, President Obama can single-handed set right the myriad social injustices that have been plaguing the working poor and middle class for decades. Reversing 30 years of Republican and Corporate skullduggery. If he has the courage, and if he is actually a Democrat. Here I will layout my case for using this power.
The Fourteenth Amendment provides in no uncertain terms an open ended unlimited power for the President of the United States to assure that the public debt of the United States is not questioned. I say unlimited because, there are no limits stated. No clarifications, no parameters other than... the debt (and therefore full faith and credit) of the United States will fall into question. The Congress has seen to it this trigger condition is met.
The Republican House and Senate leaderships have set the stage such that now only something signed by the President can avoid triggering the 14th Amendment powers. Nothing the House or Senate can do now can save them, they must either do PRECISELY what President Obama requires them to do, to the letter or he simply will refuse to sign the bill. My advice for the "thing" to require is simply a one paragraph raising of the (frankly utterly unconstitutional) debt ceiling to $30 Trillion so we don't have to have this silly nonsense happening again for at least 20 years if ever.
Don't worry about the political ramifications, the Republicans will NOT comply. President Obama won't be painted as the Debt King for raising the ceiling to new heights, for the Republican's just don't understand the pickle they have placed themselves in.
FDR or JFK would know what to do and do it. I don't think President Obama knows nor do any of his advisers have the capacity to actually understand the position he now commands. I'll set aside my own (painfully arrived at) belief that President Obama is actually a moderate Republican and not the visionary leader we had hoped for.
The Congress's refusal to comply would lead to the president making a speech assuring the financial markets and all the creditors and beneficiaries of the US Government that all bills will be paid on schedule and to pay no attention to the Opera going on at the U S Capital building, that this drama will all be over on August 3rd at 12:01 AM. The President would then very publicly call a meeting between the cabinet and the joint chiefs to plan for martial law. The Vice President would be assigned to meet with the heads of the State Police and National Guard commanders of all 50 states, called to Washington DC for an emergency meeting, to again prepare for implementation of martial law... to be implemented only if major unrest breaks out.
Come midnight August 2nd 1,000 US Marines would take control of the US Capital building and eject all members and their staffs... the 112th Congress is hereby dissolved by order of the President of the United States. August 3rd, the President will call for emergency special elections this coming November to replace Congress.
The President will issue an Executive Order raising the debt ceiling to $30 Trillion, as he had requested.
Personally I'd toss the 534 in Guantanamo so none of them will be available for re-election, and leave Bernie in charge of a temporary Legislature of ONE, but that's just me.
The President would pay a personal visit to the US Supreme Court and inform them in no uncertain terms, they will cooperate or the court will be immediately changed to a 13 member court, and 4 hard core progressives will be added to the court.
The President would then instruct the Treasury Secretary to VOID all US Treasury bonds held by US citizens and US Corporations (after all they are peoples too, right?) with more than $5 million in assets. This would flush on the order of $5 TRILLION from the National Debt instantly... the very same $5 Trillion in tax revenues that were not collected under the Bush 2.0 tax cuts, coincidentally from the same tax non-payers.... imagine that.
The President will then nationalize the oil, banking, and insurance industries, issuing vouchers (gee, Republicans love vouchers, right?) for stock to be reclaimed in 10 years time. the vouchers would be trade-able but have no relation to company operations. Now in control, the US Government would not allow $1 to be spent in the next 10 years of election cycles at any level on political contributions or pacts or super pacts. The largest banks and oil companies will be broken up, and the insurance industry will remain silent as the next phase of healthcare reform is put in place... single payer medicare for all.
Next he can use the new found ability to borrow, and the spare change from not paying interest to the Filthy Rich (tm) any longer, to fund a truly progressive $5 Trillion stimulus and public works program to jump start he economy and get us out of this depression.
Next he can separate Social Security and Medicare from the general revenues and make them autonomous, the way social security was until President Johnson and the Democratic Congress chose to hide the real cost of the Vietnam war by rolling the Social Security monies into general revenues.... and allow stealing the core of the fundamental social safety net. Had the Social Security trust fund been just that.... a trust fund... and been invested very conservatively, it would be on the order of $7 TRILLION today. Social Security and Medicare would be in no danger whatsoever of being unable to cover the needs of all retiree's in perpetuity. In fact, benefits and COLA's could be raised not cut. Just as the spirit of the New Deal had envisioned. The President could then place a surtax on the top 2% to immediately repay the $3 Trillion stolen from the trust fund, and begin the investing properly.
..... and they all lived happily ever after, The End.
I felt it important for someone to at least, even if tongue and cheek, layout what IS possible if Obama was of a mind. He isn't, he is too much of a conservative lump to ever have that kind of courage to do what is REALLY in the nations best interest.