Meet The 18 Senate Republicans Voted to Crash The Economy By Causing a Default

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When the given the choice of voting for raising the debt ceiling or a default, 18 Senate Republicans chose to vote in favor of destroying the US economy.

The final vote was 81-18, but it is amazing that 18 Republican senators would vote no.

The 18 Republicans who voted for a default were Coburn, Cornyn, Crapo, Cruz,Enzi, Grassley, Heller, Johnson-WI, Lee, Paul, Risch, Roberts, Rubio, Scott, Sessions, Shelby, Toomey, and Vitter.

Ted Cruz took the Senate floor to repeat his comments from earlier in the day, and urge his colleagues to cause a default by voting against the bipartisan agreement. Cruz criticized the Senate, “I am saddened to say that today, the Senate did nothing to help them. Washington did nothing. This town has created all the problems they are facing and refuses to do a single thing about it.”

On the Senate floor, Mike Lee vowed to keep fighting, “Today, Washington has the upper hand, but the American people will always have the last word. This is not over. We have an obligation to fight for the American people. And I do not intend to let the people down.”

When these senators were given an opportunity to show unity by voting for reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling, they voted no. It didn’t matter to them that a no vote was actually a vote in favor of causing a global economic crisis.

Of course, these senators — especially the ones eying up a 2016 run at the White House — were playing politics. If anyone seriously believes that the Republicans have learned anything from this fiasco, the fact that 18 Republicans still voted in favor of a default after taking a political beating over a government shutdown should shatter the dreams that this short term agreement will bring a time of political stability.

No one should be surprised if sometime in early 2014, the nation is pushed to the brink again. The right wing ideologues haven’t learned anything, because for them threatening to destroying the US economy is considered good politics.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association