On Wednesday's The Last Word on MSNBC, host Lawrence O'Donnell opened the show by calling Republicans "frighteningly ignorant" and "childish" because of the battle over the debt ceiling issue.
Taking off on the terms 'Holocaust deniers" and the more recently dubbed "global warming deniers," the words "Default Deniers" appeared on screen behind the MSNBC host as he began the show:
The reckless and irresponsible standoff over the debt ceiling created by frighteningly ignorant and childish Republicans is already harming the country and causing increased government spending. That's right. During the days of the government shutdown, while the buffoons who shut it down think they are saving the government money, they have actually managed to increase government spending already.
After noting that government workers will still end up receiving the back salaries later, O'Donnell complained of an "economically suicidal threat" from Republicans:
But the Republicans' economically suicidal threat to not increase the debt ceiling next week has already increased government spending in a way that those Republicans do not understand. They do not realize that the sixth largest category of federal government spending is interest on the federal debt. Just as interest on a home mortgage can be one of if not the single biggest expense a family faces.
The MSNBC host went on to recall that the Treasury Department must pay a higher interest rate on new Treasury bill sales.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, October 9, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC:
The reckless and irresponsible standoff over the debt ceiling created by frighteningly ignorant and childish Republicans is already harming the country and causing increased government spending. That's right. During the days of the government shutdown, while the buffoons who shut it down think they are saving the government money, they have actually managed to increase government spending already.
All of the money that is temporarily not being spent in the government shutdown, on federal salaries things like that, all of that, the Republicans have already promised they will pay in full when the government shutdown is over. And so the government shutdown itself is saving the government exactly nothing.
But the Republicans' economically suicidal threat to not increase the debt ceiling next week has already increased government spending in a way that those Republicans do not understand. They do not realize that the sixth largest category of federal government spending is interest on the federal debt. Just as interest on a home mortgage can be one of if not the single biggest expense a family faces. Paying interest is real spending, and it sure feels like real spending when you pay that interest on your mortgage. It is also mandatory spending, there is absolutely no way for the government to suddenly decide to cut its interest payments.