Dems Are a “Super-Disappointment”

Democrats So Far Have Refused to Take This “Super-Opportunity” to Make Washington Live Within Its Means 

• Top Democrats have repeatedly claimed they wanted to take advantage of the “super-opportunity” for the debt super committee to make Washington live within its means.
• Yet to date, Democrats have been all talk. Even Democrats admit that they have yet to present meaningful ideas of their own in response to numerous proposals offered by Republicans.
• As the super committee reaches its deadline, it’s worth remembering that the very Democrats who ran up the national credit card in their two years of complete control of Washington and oversaw the most rapid debt increase in history are now the ones standing in the way of making Washington live within its means.

BACKGROUND

Top Democrats have repeatedly claimed they wanted to take advantage of the “super-opportunity” for the debt super committee to make Washington live within its means:

PELOSI: “THE SUPER COMMITTEE… HAS A SUPER-OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR OUR COUNTRY”: (Remarks from Nancy Pelosi, CNBC’s “Closing Bell”, 10/29/2011) 

MORE PELOSI: COMMITTEE “HAS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY” TO “ACHIEVE A ‘GRAND BARGAIN'”: ” ‘The Joint Select Committee has a golden opportunity to take its discussions to the higher ground of America’s greatness and its values,’ Pelosi said in a statement. ‘We must achieve a ‘grand bargain’ that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.'” (Lisa Mascaro, “Pelosi Picks Round Out Deficit Panel,” The Chicago Tribune, 8/12/2011)

SUPERCOMMITTEE MEMBER REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): “THE INGREDIENTS COULD PRODUCE A GOOD OUTCOME”: (Rosalind S. Helderman and Felicia Somnez, “Deficit Panel is Seeking Path to Common Ground,” The Washington Post, 8/14/2011)

MORE VAN HOLLEN: SUPERCOMMITTEE AN “OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO COME UP WITH A PLAN”: “I don’t want to prejudge anything, but so far, I think there’s been bipartisan support for giving this committee a chance and an opportunity for us to come up with a plan. Hopefully, that will remain the case.” (Steven T. Dennis and Jessica Brady, “Leaders Stay Close to Panel,” Roll Call, 9/6/2011)

Yet to date, Democrats have been all talk. Even Democrats admit that they have yet to present meaningful ideas of their own in response to numerous proposals offered by Republicans:

SUPERCOMMITTEE MEMBER REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): “DEMOCRATS HAVE NOT COALESCED AROUND A PLAN”: “But Clyburn also acknowledged that even the six Democrats on the committee aren’t in agreement with each other. ‘The fact of the matter is Democrats have not coalesced around a plan,’ admitted Clyburn.” (Billy House and Michael Catalini, “What if Super Committee Fails? Members Suggest Congress Would Rethink Sequestration,” National Journal, 11/14/2011)

SUPERCOMMITTEE MEMBER XAVIER BECERRA (D-CA) ADMITTED THAT DEMOCRATS HAD NOT OFFERED THEIR OWN PROPOSAL: “Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who sits on the panel, said Sunday that the supercommittee’s six Democrats have not been unified on those ideas. That notion was reinforced Tuesday by Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), another supercommittee member. ‘Is there a plan that has actually been presented to the Republicans as the six members on the Democratic side? There’s still conversations going on. So it would be premature to try to end those conversations — bipartisan conversations — when they may still influence what package the Democrats ultimately believe can get a bipartisan vote,’ Becerra said.” (David Fahrenthold, Felicia Sonmez and Paul Kane, “Supercommittee Members Face Rising Pressure From All Sides,” The Washington Post, 11/15/2011)

DEMS “LESS UNITED AND STRUGGLING TO COME UP WITH A COUNTEROFFER”:  “Republicans in both chambers embraced a plan devised by Senator Patrick J. Toomey, one of their party’s representatives on the panel. Democrats appeared to be less united and struggling to come up with a counteroffer.” (Jennifer Steinhauer and Robert Pear, “G.O.P. is Optimistic but Democrats are Glum on Deficit Panel,” The New York Times, 11/16/2011) 

DEMS “HADN’T MADE A DETAILED RESPONSE” TO REPUBLICAN’S SUPERCOMMITTEE PROPOSAL. “Republicans expressed frustration that Democrats hadn’t made a detailed response to their proposal, which would cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion and include $250 billion in tax increases, a deal they offered as a major retreat from their no-new-taxes pledge.” (Janet Hook, “Gimmicks Could Help Rescue Deficit Talks,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/16/2011)

“UNCLEAR WHETHER A FORMAL PROPOSAL FROM DEMOCRATS WAS IMMINENT”: “When asked about the possibility of a new proposal, Van Hollen said, ‘As you can see, we’re continuing to have discussions.’ However, it was unclear whether a formal proposal from Democrats was imminent.” (John Stanton, “Pelosi: Super Committee’s Real Deadline is Friday,” Roll Call, 11/14/2011)

BOTH SIDES SAY WHITE HOUSE HAS BEEN UNINVOLVED: “The White House has played close to no role behind the scenes of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, according to senior House and Senate aides on both sides of the aisle. And that doesn’t appear likely to change, unless Republicans show they are willing to budge on the president’s $447 billion jobs package or on taxing the rich.” (Steven T. Dennis and Meredith Shiner, “White House Stays Out Of Deficit Panel,” Roll Call, 11/2/2011) 

“PANEL IS AT AN IMPASSE, BUT OBAMA SEES NO REASON TO STEP IN” AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP: (Jackie Calmes, “Panel is at an Impasse, but Obama Sees No Reason to Step In,” The New York Times, 11/9/2011)

As the super committee reaches its deadline, it’s worth remembering that the very Democrats who ran up the national credit card in their two years of complete control of Washington and oversaw the most rapid debt increase in history are now the ones standing in the way of making Washington live within its means:

NATIONAL DEBT HAS NOW INCREASED $4.4 TRILLION UNDER OBAMA’S WATCH.(U.S. Department of the Treasury, TreasuryDirect.gov, Accessed 11/18/2011)

OBAMA DEBT BURDEN “THE MOST RAPID INCREASE IN THE DEBT UNDER ANY U.S. PRESIDENT.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased $4 Trillion Under Obama,” CBS News, 8/22/2011) 

“NATIONAL DEBT CROSSES $15 TRILLION MARK”: “The total public debt outstanding was listed at $15,033,607,255,920.32 on Wednesday afternoon, with two thirds of that debt held by the public and one third made up of intergovernmental holdings.” (Brian Montopoli, “National Debt Crosses $15 Trillion Mark,” CBS News, 11/16/2011) 

“NATIONAL DEBT NEARS SIZE OF U.S. ECONOMY”; TRANSLATION: GOV. ABOUT TO “OWE MORE THAN [WE] PRODUCE IN A YEAR”: “A debt-to-GDP ratio of 98% is bad enough. It puts the U.S. closer to rarified territory — countries that owe more than they produce in a year.” (Richard Wolf, “National Debt Nears Size of U.S. Economy,” USA Today, 10/29/2011)