Jake Tapper: Is Aug 2 Still the 'Drop Dead' Deadline?

The rumblings about August 2nd not being the 'Drop Dead' started last week and now have gotten so strong it is out in the open.   Why did Geithner pick August 2nd -- was it just out of thin air?  Do we know anything to be the truth from the Obama Administration?

The biggest question of the day is whether August 2nd was chosen because of Obama's birthday extravaganza/fundraiser in Chicago for his birthday on August 3rd.  Sources are reporting he will skip the event so there is definitely one good upside to missing August 2nd especially when you discover that it is not the 'Drop Dead' date after all.

There is no vote in the House today on the debt ceiling bill as Boehner and House members are rewriting the debt ceiling bill since the scoring on savings came back so low.  Cannot wait to see the new bill.  The House was smart to send the bill to the CBO for scoring instead of trusting the Democrats.  Turns out there were very few actual big savings so they went back to the drawing board for a new bill.  The media calls this the Boehner bill but when this bill that comes out will be the works of more than John Boehner who just happens to be the negotiator.  Unlike the Democrats all bills from the Republicans actually go through Committees before reaching the floor.

Is Aug. 2 Still the 'Drop Dead' Deadline?July 26, 2011 7:43 AM 

Is Aug. 2nd still the "drop dead" deadline for the debt debate? 

It depends what you mean by "drop dead" deadline. 

It does not appear that date any longer will be the day will be the one when the U.S. officially no longer has the ability to pay its bills. 

On Aug. 3, the federal government will have $32 billion in payments to make. Will the U.S. government have the money to make those payments? Previously analyses said no. 

Now, however, analysts at Barclays Capital Research say incoming revenues to the U.S. Treasury have been a little stronger than projections -- on the order of $14 billion.
So Barclays now says the government will have enough funds to pay its bills until Aug. 10.
But August 2 is the last day that the government will be able to borrow money. Treasury says the government will still hit the debt limit on Aug. 2, meaning it will have reached its capacity to borrow any new money. As of Aug. 3, the U.S. government will only be able to pay bills based on cash on hand. 

Even if Barclays is right, the Aug. 2 deadline could remain for ratings agency S&P, which has warned of a downgrade. The markets could react at any time. And on Aug. 4, Treasury will need to roll over roughly $90 billion in old debt. 

So Aug. 2 remains a deadline for when a lot of things the government doesn't want to happen -- things that could hurt the U.S. economy -- could happen. 

-Jake Tapper 

Source:  ABC Political Punch

Some members of the Media tabbed this the Boehner bill because it places all the blame it on one person especially a Republican Speaker even when others have a hand in writing the bill.  They knew it would inflame some of the National Tea Party people who would then attack Boehner threatening to primary him in his Ohio election.  Didn't bother to read my email from the Tea Party group attacking Boehner as that has become their mantra.  

It is one thing for the American public to call Congress but for someone who has little knowledge of how Government works to grandstand, is ridiculous and shows why the Tea Party should remain local and do away with national leadership who would rather take on Republicans than Democrats.  Where was the outrage from the national tea party people when the Democrats refused to vote on the actual Cut, Cap, and Balance bill?  Crickets chirping in my email from their groups.  Now they don't like the House bill which is being rewritten as I type after the scoring came back but it is everyone call, call, call and my inbox is filled with rhetoric against Speaker Boehner.  

Tea Party national leaders are not doing the American people any favors with their continual attacks on Republicans and totally ignoring the Senate Democrats and their obstructionists tactics on everything from the House budget to now the debt ceiling bill.  What is their agenda?  Senate conservative Republicans have told some of the National Tea Party people to quit going after Republican incumbents and concentrate on Democrats being defeated.  That should not even be a question.

When you pull back the curtain on the National Tea Party groups, you find Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers financing -- not a bunch of grassroots people.  These billionaires are trying to fundamentally change the way Government has worked for years but the WHY? is left unanswered.