Some observers believe the GOP understands the potential catastrophic consequences of failing to raise debt ceiling, but simply does not care. Republicans, the thinking goes, are willing to “bet the company” on their wager that the promise of low taxes and severe cut-backs in public services will improve the economy or simply drive Barack Obama and more Democrats out of office, insuring a longer term victory for their party.

(for a different view, see The Method to Their Madness at the New York Times)

To assess the wisdom of a strategy to fail, I asked arbitrator and mediator Joshua Javits to weigh in on our series concerning the negotiated resolution of the current federal budget crisis.

In June, I appeared on Minnesota Public Radio with Javits to discuss options for breaking impasse in the Minnesota state legislature over similar budget issues. Javits, the former chairman of the National Mediation Board and current chair of the Grievance Committee of the International Monetary Fund agreed to share his experience and wisdom on the national budget crisis negotiations here with our readers today.

I asked Javits to first suggest an optimal negotiation strategy where one party – here, the GOP – is willing to risk catastrophe in the hope (or fervent belief) that the small government revolution they seek will be worth the short term damage to the economy if the debt ceiling is not raised.  Javits surprised me by mentioning the history of the rise of communism in Russia.

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