The GOP is Not Blameless in a Default

I wonder if Republicans understand that voters are not inclined to be forgiving to the party that toys with financial apocalypse. Thursday evening, I spent some time with a friend who doesn't follow politics particularly closely. She is married, has a house and kids, and runs her own business. She reads the news but doesn't particularly care what Politico's latest gossip is.

However, she does know that politicians are arguing over the debt and that a financial disaster is possible. Because she has a family and is very worried about whether or not she can still put food on the table, she asked her financial adviser whether there were any precautionary steps she should take to keep her family safe in a worst case scenario.

I don't know exactly what the adviser recommended, but it was a combination of "the FDIC will insure your money", "the debt ceiling will go up", and "there is not much else you can do."

My friend can't be the only person with a house and kids who is going through this thought process. The economy is weak and Republicans are demanding that the debt ceiling can only be increased with radical policy changes. My friend may not know (or care) about the differences between the Gang of Six's plan or the McConnell-Reid plan, but she probably knows which party to blame if the ceiling doesn't go up and all of a sudden, FDIC insurance becomes incredibly important for her.