Republicans want to ‘negotiate’ over the debt ceiling? Bring it on.

Even as they try to force a debt ceiling crisis, Republicans insist that they’re the reasonable ones. Why won’t the White House negotiate with them?

If you knew nothing about this subject, it might sound like the president is being recalcitrant and Republicans are being sensible. “Let’s sit down together,” says House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). “Nobody should be taking the position that we should not negotiate,” says Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). Even Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) says Democrats “have to negotiate.”

But we’re thinking about “negotiations” all wrong.

Republicans are for pretending to care about debt only when there’s a Democrat in the White House (very). But the administration insists there must be a debt limit increase with no change to current policy.

Republicans, on the other hand, are fantasizing about all the savage cuts they’d like to make to domestic spending, up to and including slashing Social Security and Medicare. So if a negotiation produces a compromise, it would mean more spending cuts than Democrats want but fewer than Republicans seek. Which would still be a victory for the GOP.

Instead, Democrats are perfectly free to say the following: With their demand for across-the-board domestic spending reductions, Republicans are in effect proposing cuts to education, health care, economic development, clean energy, infrastructure, enforcement of environmental laws and a great deal more. So here are some of our demands:

• A significant tax increase on the wealthy
• An increase in the minimum wage, including indexing it to inflation
• A national paid family leave program
• A program to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid to the states that have refused to accept it
• Universal pre-K
• A permanent expansion of the child tax credit

That could be just the start.

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