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John Nichols, The Nation Magazine joins Thom. In a closed door meeting last week - President Obama set a drop-dead date for a debt limit increase of J (more)

John Nichols, The Nation Magazine joins Thom. In a closed door meeting last week - President Obama set a drop-dead date for a debt limit increase of July 4th. In response - more than 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives wrote a letter to Speaker John Boehner instructing him on what he should be negotiating for. In other words - it's a ransom letter. The demands of this large minority of House Republicans include $700 billion in spending cuts - targeting mostly working class families. These fringe Republicans also want statutory spending caps to hold federal spending at no more than 18% of GDP. Currently - federal spending accounts for about 38% of GDP - so we're talking drastic cuts. And finally - and here's the kicker - Republicans want to pass a balanced budget amendment that handcuffs our government from spending in the future and requires a supermajority for any new tax increases - a move that would effectively enshrine the Bush tax cuts ito American law indefinitely

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