Dear Mr.

President By Jack Schimmelman

As we watch clowns blow their bogus horns; as we raise our heads to see the capitol dome elevating into the sky as a result of the hot air that fills its halls, I propose to you this speech. I am hardly as skilled as you or your speechwriters are in conjuring syllables, but nevertheless I need to communicate with you because based on what I see and hear you are our best hope to prevent our country and, indeed, the world from sinking into toilets everywhere Here is that speech. Fellow citizens, I come to you to announce that it is time to drop the faade of cooperation when none exists. We are now at the precipice of our doom and we must acknowledge that. This irrational atmosphere isnt about me no matter what the opposition may yell in the ears of those of us whose pupils remain wide open. We are witnessing the gathering of super storms that threaten our very existence. If we do not raise the debt ceiling the rain that ensues will eclipse Noahs time. Make no mistake. The debt ceiling being raised only enables us to pay off commitments that have already been made. We are the only country in the world that has such a device. By doing so, we guarantee our creditors our faithful repayment of our debt. That is how we maintain our AAA credit rating. It is the lifeblood of our economy. This is not about allowing us to spend more. We cannot declare bankruptcy. There is no one to bail us out. We are the ones who must save ourselves. After tonight I will be villainized even more than in the past. I have been called a Kenyan, socialist, communist, Muslim; fascist, not black enough, not engaged enough, not able to stand and fight. None of that matters. This is not about me. It is about us. As of tonight I am invoking section 4 the 14th amendment and will unilaterally raise the debt ceiling. My own attorneys tell me that this is a losing constitutional argument. That opinion is inconsequential. Our debt is valid. What is also true is that this country, this world,

shall not sink into oblivion on my watch. Never. I stand here without flinching ready to go about the business of state. Thank you for your courtesies and tolerance of watching uninformed children play in their taxpayer supported sandbox. God bless us all. Mr. President, I know you will never make that speech. It is impolitic. Portions are offensive. Since the day you took office you have tried to be inclusive. You have mightily labored to find consensus or at least a bipartisan facsimile thereof. We firmly straddle a great moment of history. Benjamin Wade, a radical Republican (anti-slavery, womens suffrage) the sponsor of section 4 of the 14th amendment wrote: [The proposed amendment] puts the debt incurred in the civil war on our part under the guardianship of the Constitution of the United States, so that a Congress cannot repudiate it. I believe that to do this will give great confidence to capitalists and will be of incalculable pecuniary benefit to the United States, for I have no doubt that every man who has property in the public funds will feel safer when he sees that the national debt is withdrawn from the power of a Congress to repudiate it and placed under the guardianship of the Constitution than he would feel if it were left at loose ends and subject to the varying majorities which may arise in Congress. Section 4 of the 14th amendment was designed to ensure our debt be paid. Mr. President, you explicitly cite Abraham Lincoln as your role model. He, too, began as a man who tried to repair the fabric of this great and fragile union. He could not. He compromised and compromised, but to no avail. Lincoln said in his first inaugural speech, A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible. The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left. Perhaps you did not notice, but as in Lincolns day the mold was cast before you came into office. You were not going to compromise with 2

an adversary whose only focus was to defeat you, no matter the consequences. By now you have noticed. Mr. President, We the People ask that you complete your Lincoln analogy. Sir, stand up and fight. The better angels of our nature must ascend.