Advice to Dems: When You’re In A Debt Hole, Stop Digging

May 11, 2011

Democrats Demand A New Credit Card Instead of Cutting Spending to Undo the Damage They’ve Done to the National Debt

While House Speaker John Boehner announced Monday that House Republicans would seek responsible spending cuts to accompany any increase in the nation’s debt limit, Democrats continued to press for a new credit card to continue spending and borrowing from countries like China:

DEMOCRAT LEADER NANCY PELOSI’S SPOKESMAN: DEMS HAVE A “PROVEN RECORD” OF DEFICIT REDUCTION—BUT IN WHICH UNIVERSE? “ ‘Democrats have a proven record of reducing the deficit and balancing budgets after disastrous economic policies of Republican Presidents,’ said Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was leading a congressional delegation overseas.” (Felicia Sonmez, “Boehner’s Debt-Limit Speech: Reactions from the Hill,” The Washington Post, 5/10/2011)

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 SAID WELCH LETTER NOT COMPLETE: “‘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)

After engaging in a multi-trillion dollar spending spree over the last two years, Democrats aren’t done yet. And they seem to think American taxpayers should bail them out of the mess they created without any guarantee of future fiscal responsibility. The fact is Democrats exploded government spending in just two years of one-party control:

DEMOCRATS INCREASED SPENDING BY $3.6 TRILLION IN TWO YEARS: “In January 2009, the national debt stood at $10.6 trillion. Fueled by the so-called stimulus, this debt grew by $3.6 trillion in just two years. The magnitude of this amount is difficult to grasp without a comparison. Under Mr. Obama, government has been borrowing $4.6 billion each and every day. That’s more than it cost to construct the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. In other words, the amount of future productivity being sapped from the American economy would be sufficient to construct a new 160-story skyscraper every day of the year.” (Editorial, “Obama Spending Hits New Records,” The Washington Times, 3/8/2011)

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: OBAMA’S 2012 BUDGET “FALLS SHORT” OF “ACHIEVING ‘PRIMARY BALANCE’”: “President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget would produce $2.3 trillion more in deficits over the next decade than the administration projects, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“The nonpartisan agency said today the administration’s plan would generate $9.5 trillion in deficits between 2012 and 2021, compared with the $7.2 trillion forecast last month by the White House budget office…

“The report also said the administration’s budget falls short of its goal of achieving ‘primary balance,’ which refers to the government balancing its books except for interest payments on the debt. White House Budget Director Jacob Lew had called that a ‘key accomplishment’ of its plan.” (Brian Faler, “Obama’s Budget Underestimates Federal Deficits, CBO Says,” Business Week, 3/18/2011)

Polls show the American people oppose the Obama-Pelosi deficit demands for a new credit card to continue their spending and borrowing spree. Majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans all side with the GOP call for responsible spending cuts:

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)

CNN POLL: 60 PERCENT OPPOSE RAISING DEBT CEILING. (“CNN Opinion Research,” CNN, 5/5/2011)

PLURALITY TRUSTS GOP OVER OBAMA “TO HANDLE THE NATIONAL DEBT,” 46 PERCENT TO 42 PERCENT. (“Washington Post-ABC News Poll,” The Washington Post, 4/17/2011)