(Click for video linked to a searchable transcript of this Mad Money segment)
The market is getting used to Washington partisanship. Cramer thinks that's a mistake.
On Wednesday, Mad Money was honored with the privilege of ringing the NYSE closing bell in celebration of the show's 2000th episode.
However, looking at the price action at the time, Cramer couldn't help but notice the bid underlying the market. The S&P 500 closed a little more than 1 point lower while the Dow Jones dropped about 58, a fraction of a percent.
"It seems there are buyers in the market who no longer fear Washington because, in the end, every time they walked away from stocks because of Beltway bickering they missed a rally," Cramer said.
"There are also buyers who think stocks are too cheap based on fundamentals," Cramer added. They think the fear's baked in."
Cramer fears those buyers are misguided.
That is, the current conversations in Washington involve more than just the typical political posturing about budgets. "There may be people in Congress who are trying to foment a revolution against big government," Cramer said. And if that's the case, then those lawmakers may be willing to allow the US to default on its debt.
That's huge.
"The Full Faith and Credit of the United States could be in jeopardy," Cramer explained.
That's scary.
"In the event of a default, the government would never be able to get funding anywhere near these levels again," Cramer said.
Bankers who met with lawmakers in DC on Wednesday said much the same.
Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said "There's no debate that the seriousness of the U.S. not paying its debts, whether it's Social Security checks, small business loans … all the way up to the Treasury notes and bills, is most serious."
"We're the most important economy in the world. We're the reserve currency of the world. Payments have to go out to people. If money doesn't flow in, money doesn't flow out," added Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein as reported by the LA Times. "So we really haven't seen this before, and I'm not anxious to be part of the process that witnesses it."
Cramer says that's not priced into markets.
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"Therefore, if Republicans and Democrats can't find common ground before we default, I believe this market will go down and go down hard," Cramer predicted.
"Buyers right now simply aren't taking counsel of anyone's fears. Trouble is, fearlessness may come with a financially deadly punchline."
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