Heath Schuler’s Flip Flop
Good Afternoon –
This week, the self-proclaimed “moderate” Blue Dog Heath Shuler said he wouldn’t vote for a debt ceiling increase that includes permanent and significant reforms to force Washington to live within its means. Ironic, given the fact that Shuler had no problem just last year voting for the largest debt ceiling increase in history that didn’t include any spending reforms. (Roll Call 46 and 48, February 2010).
So last year, he voted to allow Washington to max out its credit card some more with no promise to end his spending spree, but this week he refuses to support a solution that avoids a default crisis, finally forcing Washington to live within its means and gets our country in a trajectory to promote economic growth… Huh?
Heath Shuler knows that he could be in trouble next year, so he’s shifting his positions to try and please his party bosses. Unfortunately for him, his party bosses won’t be voting next November. Instead, the North Carolina families who have suffered under his spending sprees will be holding him accountable for his irresponsible behavior.
Not only is he playing politics with his position on the debt ceiling, but he’s also en route to flip-flop on a Balanced Budget Amendment he once supported.
• THEN: Shuler A Member of the Budget Committee Says We Must Balance Our Budget. "Congress must live within its means today to ensure our children and grandchildren are not paying for our actions tomorrow… Balancing our budget will not be simple or easy, and cannot be done by just one political party. We must work in a bipartisan fashion to craft a balanced budget that invests in our future and keep taxes low. I look forward to getting to work immediately my Budget Committee colleagues on both sides of the aisle to protect America’s fiscal and economic security." (“Congressman Heath Shuler Appointed to House Budget Committee,” Rep. Heath Shuler Press Release, 1/27/2011)
In case you missed it, included below is a press release from the NRCC highlighting Rep. Heath Shuler’s hypocrisy when it comes to fiscal discipline and being a so-called “Blue Dog” Democrat.
For Immediate Release Contact: Press Office
July 29, 2011 (202) 479-7070
Shuler Has Final Chance to Live Up to His Rhetoric on Ending Washington’s Spending & Borrowing Binge
North Carolina Democrat Voted to Raise Clean Debt Ceiling, But Will He Now Take Opportunity to Support Real Fiscal Reform?
Washington — Although Heath Shuler has previously voted to raise the government’s credit card limit without any spending reforms, he has recently opposed similar efforts coupled with the fiscal responsibility he and his fellow Blue Dogs claim to champion. The difference has been clear: Shuler is willing to continue borrowing trillions of dollars, but only with the condition that none of his Democrat spending spree be touched. Shuler needs to get serious about the true fiscal reform families in North Carolina demand by supporting the only real solution to the mounting debt crisis.
“After being a part of the problem for so many years, Heath Shuler has proven that he is more bark than bite on badly needed spending reform,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Shuler has his final opportunity today to prove that his rhetoric on fiscal responsibility is more than just political posturing. With middle-class families and small businesses suffering most in North Carolina as a result of fiscal mismanagement in Washington, will Shuler finally stand up to his party leaders and support real fiscal reform that prevents economic default?”
In 2009, Shuler toed the line and voted to raise his government credit card limit higher without any spending reforms whatsoever. (H.R. 4314, Roll Call #988, Passed 218-214: D 218-39; R 0-175, 12/16/09)
But so far he has refused to support this debt limit plan. Is it because it includes serious and meaningful fiscal reforms that threaten his spending and borrowing spree?
“Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) went a step further, saying Democratic opposition will be unanimous.
“‘There [are] going to be no votes for the Boehner approach,’ Larson said. ‘I just talked to [Rep.] Heath Shuler [(D-N.C).]; he said not a single Blue Dog is voting for it.’” (Mike Lillis, “Dem leaders: House GOP is on its own,” The Hill, 7/28/11)
Heath Shuler makes his intentions clear when he supports a debt ceiling hike without a single cut, and then rejects one with urgently needed reform to avert the debt crisis he helped create. If Shuler rejects this last opportunity to achieve real fiscal reform, it would show he is not committed to changing the failed status quo in Washington and demonstrate why voters have been rejecting the Blue Dog Democrats’ empty promises.
Shuler Has Final Chance to Live Up to His Rhetoric on Ending Washington’s Spending & Borrowing Binge http://ow.ly/5QCH9 #madeinwdc
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