Where is Pelosi’s “Shared Sacrifice”?

Democrats Move Further Away From Spending Cuts and Toward More Debt With No Strings Attached 

• Just days after Democrat Whip Steny Hoyer announced that nearly all House Democrats would support a debt limit increase with no spending cuts, Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday doubled-down on her party’s opposition to any spending cuts in a deficit reduction package.
• These comments from Pelosi are especially ironic given that she and other Democrats have demanded that Republicans make a “shared sacrifice” by embracing job-destroying tax increases while House Democrats move further and further away from any “sacrifice” of their own and closer and closer toward more debt with no spending cuts.
• Meanwhile, polling shows the American people want a deficit reduction package to focus on the very spending cuts Democrats continue to stubbornly oppose.

BACKGROUND:

Just days after Democrat Whip Steny Hoyer announced that nearly all House Democrats would support a debt limit increase with no spending cuts, Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday doubled-down on her party’s opposition to any spending cuts in a deficit reduction package:

PELOSI: NO SPENDING CUTS IS DEMS’ NEGOTIATION “STARTING POINT”: “Pelosi told her deputies that her ‘starting point’ for any negotiations is a ‘clean’ debt-limit increase, but she also wants to be supportive of Obama, who has been working to strike a bargain with Republican leaders that would cut trillions of dollars spending from favored Democratic programs.” (Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan, “Intrigue, Secret Talks Grip Capitol Hill,” Politico, 7/19/2011)

DEMOCRAT CAUCUS VICE CHAIR XAVIER BECERRA (D-CA): DEMOCRATS “DON’T WANT” SPENDING CUTS. “Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, took exception with Pelosi’s approach, accusing her of ‘regrouping,’ according to Democratic insiders. It is the Republican majority’s responsibility to figure out how to pass a debt-limit increase through the House, he argued, implying that Democrats should not provide votes for spending cuts they don’t want.”

DEMOCRAT WHIP STENY HOYER (D-MD): “I have told Mr. Boehner that our party stands ready to ensure we do not default on our debts. And I believe that almost every member of our party if not every member of our party would vote on a clean extension to make that happen.” (Remarks from Steny Hoyer during Press Conference, MSNBC, 7/15/2011)

REP. PETER WELCH (D-VT) SAYS IT’S A NEW CREDIT CARD WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED OR DEFAULT: “Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a chief deputy whip who’s championed a straight up vote on raising the debt limit, portrayed a clean vote as the only remaining alternative before the government maxes out on its borrowing authority on Aug. 2 – saying it was difficult for him to see a path to an agreement with the GOP.

“‘It’s looking like default or a clean extension,’ Welch said in an interview. He said he was getting support from ‘more and more Democrats, including some members who did not vote for the clean extension on the floor however many weeks ago … we’re absolutely intent that we’re keeping our AAA credit rating.'” (Seung Min Kim, “Hoyer: Dems would support a ‘clean’ debt ceiling vote,” Politico, 7/15/11)

These comments from Pelosi are especially ironic given that she and other Democrats have demanded that Republicans make a “shared sacrifice” by embracing job-destroying tax increases while House Democrats move further and further away from any “sacrifice” of their own and closer and closer toward more debt with no spending cuts:

OBAMA DEMANDS “SHARED SACRIFICE” IN THE FORM OF TAX INCREASES ON SMALL BUSINESSES AND FAMILIES: “Faced with steadfast GOP opposition to tax increases, [Obama] asked Republican leaders directly what ‘shared sacrifice’ they were offering.” (Ben Feller, “Obama’s Hands-On Negotiation A Political Necessity,” Associated Press, 7/15/2011) 

HOYER: “DON’T EXPECT A SINGLE VOTE” WITHOUT TAX HIKES: “The Democratic House leader in charge of counting votes on legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling warned on Monday that he couldn’t guarantee a single vote from his party if revenues weren’t part of the deal. His counterpart on the Republican side echoed that prediction if revenues were part of the deal. …

“A spokesman for Hoyer confirmed that the Maryland Democrat said he could guarantee ‘no Democratic votes on a package without revenues.‘”(Sam Stein, Jennifer Bendery, and Michael McAuliff, “Steny Hoyer on Debt Ceiling: Don’t Expect a Single Vote Without Revenues,” The Huffington Post, 7/11/2011)

PELOSI: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said reductions in ‘tax subsidies’ for companies must be part of any deal to cut the U.S. budget deficit and increase the federal debt ceiling. …

“‘You can’t cut your way out of the deficit,’ California Democrat Pelosi said. ‘You have to have revenue on the table.‘” (Alison Fitzgerald,  “Pelosi Says U.S. Debt-Ceiling Deal Must Reduce Tax Subsidies for Companies,” Bloomberg, 6/27/2011)

ASSISTANT DEMOCRAT WHIP JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): “WE CANNOT GET AN AGREEMENT WITHOUT” TAX HIKES. ” ‘We cannot get an agreement without revenues’ being raised, and absent that ‘I don’t think we can get to what our goals are,’ Clyburn said on Bloomberg Television’s ‘Political Capital with Al Hunt,’ airing this weekend.” (James Rowley, “Clyburn Predicts Last-Minute Debt-Limit Deal to Cut Up to $6 Trillion,” Bloomberg, 5/27/2011)

FLASHBACK: OBAMA IN 2009: “YOU DON’T RAISE TAXES IN A RECESSION.” “Normally, you don’t raise taxes in a recession, which is why we haven’t and why we’ve instead cut taxes. So I guess what I’d say to Scott is – his economics are right. You don’t raise taxes in a recession.”(Stephen Hayes, “Obama vs. Obama,” The Weekly Standard, 7/11/2011)

Meanwhile, polling shows the American people want a deficit reduction package to focus on the very spending cuts Democrats continue to stubbornly oppose:

62% CONCERNED CONGRESS WILL “NOT CUT SPENDING ENOUGH” IN DEBT CEILING DEAL, FEW CONCERNED CONGRESS WILL CUT TOO MUCH:“Only thirty-one percent (31%) indicate that their biggest worry about a political deal on the debt limit is that Congress would cut spending too much. Fully sixty-two percent (62%) indicate that their concern is that Congress will not cut spending enough.” (“Memorandum: National Survey on the Debt Ceiling,” The Tarrance Group, 6/13/2011)

MAJORITIES OF DEMS, INDEPENDENTS, AND GOP SAY THEY WOULD BE “MORE LIKELY” TO SUPPORT A MEMBER OF CONGRESS WHO AGREED TO SIGNIFICANT SPENDING CUTS IN DEBT PACKAGE: “Partisanship does not have much impact on this measure, with 51% of Democrats, 54% of Independents, and 58% of Republicans indicating they would be more likely to vote for a Member of Congress who supported an increase in the debt ceiling with significant spending cuts in place.” (“Memorandum: National Survey on the Debt Ceiling,” The Tarrance Group, 6/13/2011)