Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, seemed almost relieved that Mr. McConnell had not put Democrats in the position to give in to conservative policy demands to stave off a Congress-imposed economic catastrophe.
“I have learned over many years that we cannot negotiate over things like whether or not to destroy the economy,” Mr. Schatz said, adding, “American politics has gone crazy because one party has gone crazy.”
With every passing day, the crisis becomes more unavoidable. Each day Democrats decline to give in to Mr. McConnell’s demands to use the reconciliation process makes it that much more difficult for the maneuver to be completed in time to avoid a default. And each day the Democrats demand that Republicans blink, they reply that Democrats are to blame for not using the process when they had time.
“You still have time before you get to the edge of the cliff,” Mr. Card said of the current debt-ceiling showdown. “And that time should be used for dialogue.”
How will it end? One option that Mr. Van Hollen said Democrats might have no choice but to pursue is changing the filibuster rules so the borrowing limit increase, and any in the future, can pass with 50 votes.
Mr. King, who has been unenthusiastic about changing the rules, said he had to agree.
“I have been very reluctant for nine years about modifying the filibuster rule, especially when it comes to policy, but this has nothing to do with policy,” he said. “This is about keeping the United States and world out of what could be a severe recession.”
Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.