A senior S&P executive said today that the cavalier attitude of some members of the Republican party towards national default contributed to the downgrade of the US credit rating:

S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that “people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default,” Mukherji said.

“That a country even has such voices, albeit a minority, is something notable,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns.”

So just who said that kind of thing? Talking Points Memo has made a list. It’s instructive; many of these people are leaders in the party, not backbenchers.

• Paul Ryan, R-WI
• Eric Cantor, R-VA
• Rand Paul, R-KY
• Jim DeMint, R-SC
• Pat Toomey, R-PA
• Mike Lee, R-UT
• Michele Bachmann, R-MN
• Ron Paul, R-TX
• Louie Gohmert, R-TX
• Jim Jordan, R-OH
• Tim Pawlenty, Republican ex-Gov-MN
• Ron Johnson, R-WI
• Jon Bruning, R-NE Senate candidate

Details at the TPM link.