Several readers & subscribers have taken heart in the passing of the debt ceiling bill earlier today choosing to believe the Republicans have turned the conversation toward fiscal responsibility & away from congresses' spending irresponsibility. Conversations can be turned on a dime which is about the amount of fiscal responsibility in the bill which cuts less federal spending the first year than the Post Office lost last year to put it in perspective. The real cuts will be left up to a committee & automatic spending cuts like the old Gramm-Rudman bill of 20 years ago that was shelved by Congress when the heat got a little too high.
Republicans are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back because there are no tax increases in the bill in their opinion. Yet, Senator Kent Conrad (D., ND) said "We had our lawyers go over this very carefully. It is really clear that new revenue can be part of any solution that the special committee develops."
Being able to compromise is another good trait that supporters of the bill cite. In voting against the debt ceiling bill Georgia Congressman Tom Graves said "compromise is the reason for the problems we have." Oh how true.
Notable Congressmen who joined Freshman Graves in voting against the bill are Michele Bachmann (MN), Jeff Flake (AZ), Steve King (IA), Tim Scott (SC), Scott Garrett (NJ), Chip Cravaack (MN), Trent Franks (AZ), Louie Gohmert (TX), Tim Huelskamp (KS), Jim Jordan (OH), Tom McClintock (CA), Ron Paul (TX), & Ben Quayle (AZ).
Freshmen Congressmen who appear lost to the Republican establishment sadly include Rob Woodall (GA), James Lankford (OK), Kristi Noem (SD), & Jon Runyan (NJ) in that they have consistently voted with the old guard since joining Congress despite their campaign promises last fall. Extremely disappointing is the yes vote on this bill of Freshman Allen West (FL). Mike Pence who is running for higher office appears to have thrown in the towel also choosing political friends he perceives can do more for him than the American people. Do they all reach this point?
Senators voting against the bill include Jim DeMint (SC), Tom Coburn (OK), Lindsey Graham (SC), Rand Paul (KY), Mike Lee (UT), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Jim Inhofe (OK), Ron Johnson (WI), Gerry Moran (KS), Marco Rubio (FL), Pat Toomey (PA), Jeff Sessions (AL), & Kelly Ayotte (NH). This is the type of Senate caucus I was hoping would form – one that would join Jim DeMint & Tom Coburn. I hope they stick together.
Jim DeMint said a few years ago that he would rather have 30 Senators like himself than 70 like Arlen Specter. Now if you only have 30 members in your caucus you will lose every vote until things get bad enough & you pick up the total to 31, & then 32 & so on until you reach a majority. When you reach a majority with these type of people you have something – right now we don't have anything except just another compromise.
Doug: I really enjoyed reading you overview of the recent ceiling vote along with the associated rhetoric designed to twist our arms till we cried uncle.
ReplyDeleteI commend those leaders who hung tough it takes courage to be true to your convictions. I can only imagine the pressure our new congressmen were under to “go along”. Many Americans, like myself, worked hard and risked everything they had to start their business including working around the clock. We sacrificed our families for success. Now, we are the greedy, the selfish, America’s bad people who can afford to pay more taxes and resist. I am only trying to keep what I have earned is that a sin? When I vote for leaders I do not concern myself with the college they went to, the fraternity they belonged to or the significance of their last name. I want to know if they were educated at the University of Self-employment that’s the fraternity I belong to.
One commentary note: The people of Arizona should be ashamed of themselves for electing John McCain. He has done more damage to the Republican Party than any Senator in recent memory.
It is discouraging. The bright light in your message is the Senate caucus that is forming! There is some hope!
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans wimped out again. Particularly disappointing was Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor's affirmative vote on increasing the debt ceiling. I called Rep Ryan's office to clarify the Congressman's position.
ReplyDeleteA few months back Rep Ryan to great fanfare introduced his plan to reduce spending. His plan would have prioritized how and what the federal government does with the revenues they receive. Voting down the increase of the debt ceiling would have made the federal government prioritize how the revenue is disbursed, precisely what the Congressman's plan called for.
And yet he voted to raise the debt and kick the problem down the road, in short selling the people of America into financial slavery to those who buy our debt. His aide said she didn't know how to respond. I told her not to worry, our objective will now be to make sure Mr. Ryan, and the Boehner's and McConnell's lose in the next election.
I called Mr. Cantor's office with similar results.
Keep in mind that last fall the Republicans stated they were going to draw a line in the sand and hold firm on government spending and on the debt ( along with de-funding ObamaCare). And true to form, they collapsed like the whimpering cowards they are.
Also say goodbye to dreams of de-funding ObamaCare, these cowards have made clear that they have no such intention. They will be good little obedient boys at the mercy of Obama and the Democrats. The only question we should have for them is what dress size do they wear?
Their claim that they needed to soothe the financial markets is total nonsense. The "markets" knew they would cave and vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling, instead of having to reduce spending to either the seniors, welfare programs or corporate welfare. Simply put, they won't do this as it may jeopardize their re-election. After all, their only real concern is to get themselves re-elected and hope and pray (the only time prayer is acceptable) that they and their pensions get out before "D" day hits.
And the market promptly dropped 265 points. The reason? Simply, the "markets" know the United States has no way to pay back all this debt without printing more fiat money, also known as counterfeiting. But never fear, in a couple of days the market will begin to rationalize why it was a good move to increase the debt ceiling. After all, Wall Street's Christmas bonuses are just around the corner.
Bottom line. Anyone who voted for this bill should be voted out of office.