When I found out that the President of the United States has the right to raise the debt ceiling without Congressional approval, I breathed a little bit easier. Slate explains,

Legal scholars and historians (including one of us) have been making the argument that Obama does indeed have the power to declare, without Congress, that he’ll pay off the nation’s debt. Our view is that he can cite his inherent emergency powers under the Constitution once financial markets begin to freeze up. Others have noted that the 14th Amendment provides that the “the validity of the public debt … shall not be questioned,” and have argued that while it instructs Congress, not the president, to protect the debt, the president can act if Congress violates its duty.

My relief was short-lived as, soon after, I found out that President Obama is rejecting this option. What!? Why? I didn’t understand it and found myself agreeing with Nancy Pelosi, who said, “I think the 14th Amendment covers it. The president and I have a disagreement in that regard, I guess. I guess!” But, I agreed even more when she added, “I would never have taken that off the table.”

But, now I think I know what he’s doing. He realizes that if he raises the debt ceiling unilaterally, the House will start the impeachment process. In his own words,

“If you start having a situation in which there’s legal controversy about the U.S. Treasury’s authority to issue debt, the damage will have been done even if that were constitutional, because people wouldn’t be sure. It’d be tied up in litigation for a long time. That’s going to make people nervous.”

President Obama knows that Republicans would not succeed in impeaching him, but they would succeed in hijacking the three years left in his presidency.

What he may not yet realize, although considering how intelligent he is I doubt it, is that if we default, Republicans will try to impeach him anyway. This GOP strategy has become crystal clear to me after reading that, both, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Sarah Palin said that defaulting on our national debt is an impeachable offense. By the way, Sarah Palin also said, in the same breath, that “any attempt by President Obama to unilaterally raise the debt limit without Congress is also an impeachable offense.” I’m surprised that she didn’t say that President Obama breathing is impeachable, as well.

So, this is it. This is the GOP’s endgame: the impeachment of President Obama. Whatever course of action he takes, they will turn blue—I mean stay red—claiming that he is purposefully destroying America. They will wrap themselves with the flag and claim that impeachment is the patriotic thing to do.

Therefore, I’d like to send a message to the Democratic leadership: STOP the negotiations. The GOP wants the country to default. They are convinced that they can spin public opinion against President Obama. They are wrong. The country already knows that they are responsible for starting the shutdown, that they wanted it, and planned it. The country already knows that they changed the House rules to deny a vote if it meant that a majority would vote to end the shutdown. Two days ago I wrote a post entitled Maybe We Should Default After All. Today, I’m not saying “maybe.” I’m agreeing with the nutjobs. Let’s default. This way the wrath of the American voters can be unleashed unto the GOP for eternity (or at least for the next 20 years).

You think I’m being extreme? Of course, I am! I’m furious. My country is being torn apart and all I can do is write this post. Maybe I’m even being paranoid about the GOP’s impeachment intentions. After all, I’m basing my conclusions on the comments of two of the dumbest tea-drunk GOP’ers ever to disgrace our country.

But who can blame me? No one with an informed brain. We are the ones who can blame the GOP for destabilizing our economy, for jeopardizing our democracy, and for making the #1 nation in the world the object of ridicule and disapproval. Under these circumstances, it’s not hard to understand why even those of us with the coolest heads can have our moments of paranoia and extremism. Although, when it comes to the GOP, I prefer to call my paranoia “clarity of vision.”

My Twitter profile reads, “Laughing at the GOP so that I don’t cry.” I’m no longer laughing.