Democrats’ Support for Blank Check Builds Steam

Hoyer Demands the Unlimited Spending That He Says His Fellow Democrats Want

Although 114 House Democrats already signed on to Obama’s plan for government to write itself a blank check for more spending, Democrat Whip Steny Hoyer added his name to the list Tuesday, suggesting that backing within his caucus may be even broader. Hoyer’s announcement raises the question of whether yet more Democrats will announce they support their parties’ plan to continue spending money we don’t have:

114 HOUSE DEMOCRATS ALREADY SIGNED ONTO BLANK CHECK FOR FUTURE SPENDING. “As the New York Stock Exchange dropped sharply this morning in reaction to a report that Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term credit outlook to negative, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the names of 114 House Democrats in support of raising the debt ceiling without conditions.” (“As Stock Market Drops Over Worries About US Debt, Welch Leads 114 Democrats in Demanding A Clean Extension of Debt Ceiling,” Office of Rep. Peter Welch, 4/18/2011)

HOYER SUGGESTS WELCH LETTER NOT COMPLETE: “House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said voting against a clean measure would be ‘holding hostage the credit of the United States.’

“‘Well, when Mr. Cantor says it doesn’t have enough support, Mr. Welch has 114, of which I’m not one – I would vote for that,’ Hoyer said, referring to Rep. Peter Welch’s (D-Vt.) coalition of Democrats who are calling for a clean vote.” (Jake Sherman, “GOP Floats Test Vote on Debt Ceiling,” Politico, 5/03/2011)

OBAMA, TREASURY SECRETARY TIM GEITHNER “DISMISSED” LINKING DEBT INCREASE TO SPENDING CUTS: “President Obama and Geithner have called for a vote on the debt limit that is not linked to any actions. Some congressional Democrats favor a trigger that would cut spending and raise taxes if budget goals are not met within a few years. Many Republicans favor hard caps on spending and don’t want to raise taxes at all. But Geithner dismissed the idea of linking the debate over the nation’s long-term fiscal picture to the debt limit.” (Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Deadline To Raise U.S. Debt Ceiling Pushed To Aug. 2, Geithner Says,” The Washington Post, 5/2/11)

But the American people, including overwhelming majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans, oppose the Democrats’ plan to write themselves yet another a blank check for more unlimited spending and borrowing. The poll numbers are not even close:

82 PERCENT OF AMERICANS OPPOSE UNCONDITIONAL INCREASE IN DEBT LIMIT: 47 percent support raising debt limit “in exchange for cuts” while 35 percent oppose any debt limit increase. (“National Survey of Registered Voters,”Resurgent Republic/American Action Forum, 4/17-20/2011)

72 PERCENT OF DEMOCRATS, 82 PERCENT OF INDIES, 93 PERCENT OF GOP OPPOSE HOUSE DEM PLAN. (“National Survey of Registered Voters,” Resurgent Republic/American Action Forum, 4/17-20/2011)

ONLY 11 PERCENT AGREE WITH DEM PLAN TO KEEP SPENDING MONEY WE DON’T HAVE: (“National Survey of Registered Voters,” Resurgent Republic/American Action Forum, 4/17-20/2011)

49 PERCENT SAY SUBSTANTIAL SPENDING CUTS WOULD MAKE THEM “MORE LIKELY” TO SUPPORT DEBT LIMIT INCREASE. (“National Survey of Registered Voters,” Resurgent Republic/American Action Forum, 4/17-20/2011)

WSJ/NBC POLL: JUST 16 PERCENT AGREE WITH DEM PLAN TO LIFT DEBT LIMIT: (Peter Wallsten, “Debt Ceiling: More Democrats Threaten To Vote Against Raising Borrowing Limit,” The Washington Post, 4/28/2011)

Several top Democrats in the Senate have also gone on the record criticizing House Dems’ proposed increase in the debt ceiling or indicating an openness to compromise. Will House Democrats oppose their party’s plan to write itself a blank check or will they continue voting with Nancy Pelosi to spend money we don’t have?:

SEN. MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID: “Reid, speaking to reporters on a Wednesday conference call, hinted that a deficit cap could be part of a broad debt deal. … ‘The White House can speak for themselves, but we’re not going to be drawing any lines in the sand,’ Reid said, according to a transcript of the call.” (Peter Wallsten, “Debt Ceiling: More Democrats Threaten To Vote Against Raising Borrowing Limit,” The Washington Post, 4/28/2011)

SEN. BUDGET CHAIRMAN KENT CONRAD (D-ND): “What I’ve said and said repeatedly is I’m not going to vote for any long-term extension of the debt unless there is a credible and serious plan to deal with the debt.” (Fox’s “Fox News Sunday,” 5/1/2011)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): PELOSI-OBAMA DEBT LIMIT PLAN TAKEN SERIOUSLY “ONLY IN WASHINGTON”: “Only in Washington would people argue that the responsible thing to do is raise the debt ceiling and add trillions of dollars in more debt, without a real and responsible debt fix.”(Peter Wallsten, “Debt Ceiling: More Democrats Threaten To Vote Against Raising Borrowing Limit,” The Washington Post, 4/28/2011)

MORE MANCHIN: “We must get our fiscal house in order. We must be honest about what we value and what we need to spend your taxpayer dollars on — not what just sounds good … That is why I will vote against raising the debt ceiling unless the vote is linked to a real budget plan that begins to fix our fiscal mess … We cannot make budgets based on the next election; they must be based on the next generation.” (Michael O’Brien, “Manchin: No To Upping Debt Limit Without A Fix For ‘Fiscal Mess’,” The Hill’s “Blog Briefing Room” Blog, 3/21/2011)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “Even Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), generally a stalwart White House ally, is undecided on the issue and is ‘hopeful’ that a debt-ceiling bill can be attached to a measure to cut the federal deficit, said her spokesman, Linden Zakula.” (Peter Wallsten, “Debt Ceiling: More Democrats Threaten To Vote Against Raising Borrowing Limit,” The Washington Post, 4/28/2011)

SEN. MARK UDALL (D-CO): “As catastrophic as it would be to fail to raise our debt ceiling, it’s even more irresponsible to not take this opportunity to own up to our unsustainable spending path. … If we don’t take action to reduce our deficit spending, Congress will be facing this same debt ceiling vote in the near term – still with no end to our deficits in sight.” (Peter Wallsten, “Debt Ceiling: More Democrats Threaten To Vote Against Raising Borrowing Limit,” The Washington Post, 4/28/2011)

SEN MARK PRYOR (D-AR): “What I’ve told anyone who will listen to me in Washington, including my leadership, is that I’m not going to vote for that unless there is a real and meaningful commitment to debt reduction.”(“Democrats Join Threat To Hold Up Debt Ceiling Vote Without Spending Cuts,”FoxNews.com, 4/21/2011)