DAVID GREGORY:
Was Senator DeMint, what-- what's going on here? I mean so many people I talk to are frankly disgusted with Washington. You know, you have on the one side people saying that-- that Republicans are-- are just crazy. That they won't negotiate. That they're being unreasonable. That they're denying the prospect of a default. Michelle Bachmann saying it's a misnomer when the Fed chief says it would be economic calamity.
And on the other side you-- you know, you've got Republicans saying, "Look, somebody's got to draw a line in the sand here. It's-- it's the Democrats who have run up-- the debt since President Obama got into office." But the reality is nobody is really willing to compromise and to make a deal.
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
Well, David, we certainly are willing to compromise. We're willing to give the president an increase in the debt limit. And you'll see the House pass that bill this-- this week. But Senator Durbin and 20 other-- Democrats in the Senator are on record supporting a balanced budget amendment. And that is a place that we have to get to.
But we need to realize, setting all politics aside, that our country is on course for a financial disaster. We can't take another $10 trillion in debt that the president has proposed. So it is absurd to say that we cannot agree that sometime in the next decade that we have to stop spending more than we're bringing in. You'll see in the next week Republicans are more than willing to work with the president.
DAVID GREGORY:
But--
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
But the only pro-- proposal that the president has sent to Congress, David, is a budget that increases the debt another--
DAVID GREGORY:
All right.
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
--$10--
DAVID GREGORY:
But-- but--
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
--trillion.
DAVID GREGORY:
--Senator DeMint.
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
Not the--
(OVERTALK)
DAVID GREGORY:
Let's be realistic. Bottom line here. If a balanced budget amendment is not passed, which it-- you heard Senator Durbin say it's not going to be passed, will Republicans still vote to raise the debt ceiling? And if not, are you prepared for the consequences on this economy and for the country?
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
Well, I hope the president won't take us through that. And I hope Senator Durbin won't. But we've got to draw a line in the-- in the sand now, because the day of reckoning is going to come. And the longer we put it off, the bigger the problems are going to be for our country.
I mean Moody's, Standard and Poor, these agencies are telling us if we increase this debt limit without credible and long-term deficit reduction, that they're going to lower our ratings. That means it's going to be harder and more expensive to borrow money and we can't borrow another $10 trillion that the president's proposed.
DAVID GREGORY:
Right. But Senator--
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
Again--
(OVERTALK)
DAVID GREGORY:
--I'm sorry. I'm not getting an answer, though. But what-- what's going to happen? How does this end? I know what your position is. How does this end? Are you saying that you would put the country into default by not raising the debt ceiling unless you get this balanced budget amendment?
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
Well, David, we're not going to default. And if you listen to your previous guest, he said we won't meet some obligations, but he didn't say we were going to default. I don't want to put the country through that, but the fact is Republicans and Democrats have been irresponsible. They've brought our debt to the point where we literally can't borrow much more money without bankrupting our country.
So now is the time for the president, Senator Durbin and the Democrats to work with us and at least agree that we can make some cuts now and-- and cap spending over 10 years and let the states decide if sometime over the next decade that we'll balance our budget.
DAVID GREGORY:
You know, Sen--
SENATOR JIM DEMINT:
That's hardly a radical idea.
TEXT IMAGE and VIDEO CREDIT: Meet The Press
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