Is this a new way to 218? Most of the Democrats in Congress and a few Republicans voted on a clean debt ceiling bill today. This was two weeks ahead of the “drop dead” date on hitting the debt ceiling. Actually, two weeks before the extraordinary measures taken by Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew ran out.
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Speaker John Boehner didn’t have the support of his conference, or did he? Was this the out that conservatives needed to vote against the debt ceiling and then move on?
Clearly, more questions than answers with this one and only time will tell.
Red States are going to be infuriated, but this may have been the smartest thing to do. Democrats have made major mistakes in attacking work, Obamacare mishaps, retirements showing Democrats don’t have much hope and sitting Democrat senators saying on camera they won’t campaign with the president. There is a big path to victory in 2014, but every step now is important. Republicans must ask themselves, “Have you attacked a Democrat today, or are you just criticizing those on your own side?”
The Washington Post said it this way:
The House passed a yearlong suspension of the Treasury’s debt limit Tuesday in a vote that left Republicans once again ceding control to Democrats, following a collapse in support for an earlier proposal advanced by GOP leaders.
In a narrow vote, 221-201, just enough Republicans joined with nearly all Democrats to approve a “clean” extension of the federal government’s borrowing authority — one without strings attached — sending the legislation to the Senate for a possible final vote later this week.
Before the vote, which was inevitable, Karen Handel was the first of the Georgia GOP senate candidates to issue a statement on her “results matter” theme. Handel is attempting to draw a clear line between her and the three sitting congressmen in the race to replace Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Here’s what she had to say:
Career politicians in Washington continue to ignore the very real spending and debt crises facing this country. In voting to increase the debt ceiling once again — and without offsetting spending cuts — career politicians continue to display a blatant disregard for the future financial health of this country. Any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by corresponding spending reductions. In 2010, Republicans promised that, in a Republican-controlled congress, any increase in the nation’s borrowing authority could only pass the House if it were accompanied by an equal or greater amount in spending cuts and reforms. That promise has been cast aside numerous times over the past three years.
Washington is either incapable or unwilling to address the spending and debt issues. As a result, America is on a fiscal path that is unsustainable. Instead of a legacy of freedom and opportunity, future generations will inherit the massive debt of undisciplined and irresponsible career politicians.
My opponents sure talk tough during campaign season, but a look at the spending and debt increases during their time in congress shows that they’ve been part of the problem — not the solution.
When Jack Kingston was elected to Congress, the debt was $4 trillion. Today, our debt is $17 trillion — and climbing. In fact, in 2003, Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey both voted to raise the debt ceiling by nearly $1 trillion dollars. In 2004, they both voted again to raise the debt ceiling by nearly another trillion dollars. Since 2007, with Jack Kingston, Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun serving together in Congress, the debt has doubled, and it’s now bigger than our entire economy. Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey were for earmarks in a big way before it became political expedient to be against them. They’ve sponsored or voted for billions in earmarks, including projects like the Bridge to Nowhere, the Ted Kennedy Center in Massachusetts and the Charlie Rangel Center for Public Service in New York City.
We need to get serious about cutting spending and reducing our debt. How can we trust the very people who have spent us into this mess to do what needs to be done to lead us forward? I have a proven record of cutting spending and implementing fiscally responsible measures. As your U.S. Senator, I will have the guts and the resolve to cut spending and deal with our debt.