MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Thursday took issue with Republicans for refusing to vote to raise the debt ceiling.
Scarborough accused GOP leadership of being “reckless” in its opposition to Democrats. He questioned if the likes of Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) would allow the economy to crash as a result of the debt brought on by the GOP and former President Donald Trump.
Partial transcript as follows:
We have already seen, on this issue at least, Republicans what they are made of. They are going to be reckless. Their leader has said we know it has to be passed, we know it will wreck the markets, we know it will wreck the economy if it does not pass, but we’re not going to help you pass it. Every day. Democrats need to have a vote on this every day between now and the date of the default. And they need to post the 50 Democrats who voted for it, and on the other side, they need to put the Republicans who voted for it and have a big zero.
I wonder if Mitt Romney really wants the economy to crash. I wonder if Ben Sasse wants the economy to crash. I wonder if responsible Republicans want the economy to crash. … Will Lisa Murkowski really blindly follow leadership over the cliff as markets buckle and the economy crashes? Are they really that loyal to a party that they see all 50 Democrats voting to increase the debt limit to save our economy, to save the markets, but they’re not going to vote for them because they are told not to vote. Who are these people? They won’t vote for it to save the economy because they are being told by leadership not to save the economy? Come on! Democrats, listen to me! Listen to me!
You are giving them the 50 votes. Give them nothing else, and start telling them today. Look Mitch, or whoever you want to look, Chuck, in the eyes — look at them in the eyes — and say you are going to get our 50 votes. That’s all you are going to get. If the economy crashes, you are going to get our 50 votes. That’s all you’re going to get. Hey Mitch, look at me in the eyes, what do you see in here that suggests I am going to change? Fifty votes. That’s all you are going to get from us.
If you can’t get 10, then the markets crashing, the economy buckling, the recovery dying, it’s going to be on all 50 Republicans that would not do the responsible thing for this country, would not vote to raise the debt ceiling to pay for debt that you and Donald Trump piled up on us — record deficits, record debt. This does not seem hard. I got to say — this does not seem hard to me. I know it’s hard to Democrats because they don’t think that way. They need to start thinking that way.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent