Dems Support Smoke & Mirrors Political Ploy to Protect Their Job-Destroying Spending & Borrowing Addiction

July 30, 2011

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Jason Altmire (PA-04), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Tim Bishop (NY-01), Leonard Boswell (IA-03), Lois Capps (CA-23), Dennis Cardoza (CA-18), Russ Carnahan (MO-03), Kathy Castor (FL-11), Ben Chandler (KY-06), David Cicilline (RI-01), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Jim Cooper (TN-05), Jim Costa (CA-20), Jerry Costello (IL-12), Mark Critz (PA-12), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), Brian Higgins (NY-27), Jim Himes (CT-04), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Kathy Hochul (NY-26), Tim Holden (PA-17), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Steve Israel (NY-02), Bill Keating (MA-10), Ron Kind (WI-03), Larry Kissell (NC-08), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04), Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Michael Michaud (ME-02), Brad Miller (NC-13), Bill Owens (NY-23), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Gary Peters (MI-09), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), David Price (NC-04), Nick Rahall (WV-03), Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), Heath Shuler (NC-11), Adam Smith (WA-09), Betty Sutton (OH-13), John Tierney (MA-06), Niki Tsongas (MA-05), Tim Walz (MN-01), John Yarmuth (KY-03)

Shuler Supports Smoke & Mirrors Political Ploy to Protect His Job-Destroying Spending & Borrowing Addiction
North Carolina Democrat Votes for Reid Plan to Allow More Borrowing, Risking a Job-Destroying Debt Crisis

Washington — Heath Shuler today voted for an elaborate series of Washington accounting gimmicks that would ultimately allow him to continue spending and borrowing from foreign countries like China uninterrupted (Roll Call Vote #682, 7/30/11). Shuler is becoming increasingly desperate to protect his Democrat spending binge, since he is now throwing his weight behind a proposal that has little chance of passing either chamber of Congress and has absolutely no plan to get our economy back on track. As the nation’s debt levels continue to skyrocket above 14 trillion dollars, Shuler is merely wasting time with another political ploy instead of solving the imminent debt crisis, regardless of the consequences facing North Carolina families.

“Heath Shuler has again demonstrated his unwillingness to end the spending and borrowing that have created this debt crisis by supporting the largest proposed debt ceiling hike in history disguised behind deceitful Washington accounting tricks,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “By giving his fellow Washington spendthrifts another blank check, Shuler is proving to be oblivious to his North Carolina constituents who want real deficit reduction to avoid a job-destroying debt crisis. With the default clock ticking, Shuler owes North Carolina families an explanation for how he intends to prevent the higher interest rates and increased costs that will hit consumers who are already struggling in this tough economy.”

The Democrats’ plan contains over a trillion dollars in typical Washington accounting gimmicks, making the result little more than an elaborate blank check to cover them through their reelection campaigns:

“But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is devising a sham that will never pass muster in the House. A Capitol Hill source with knowledge of the plan tells me: ‘It includes $1.2 trillion in OCO [Overseas Contingency Operations] savings . . . which was assumed anyway, $1.2 trillion (over $1.1 trillion less than [Majority Leader Eric] Cantor identified in the Biden talks) and $300 billion in interest savings.’ A Senate aide says dryly that Reid ‘has about a trillion in ‘savings’ from ending the war in Iraq that’s already going to end.’ And a disgusted House adviser bluntly tells me that Reid’s plan ‘isn’t real.'” (Jennifer Rubin, “Obama kills bipartisan deal, then Reid resorts to smoke and mirrors,” The Washington Post‘s Right Turn Blog, 7/25/11)

The Democrats political ruse is so much smoke and mirrors that even Democrats themselves don’t like it. Chances that the gimmick-filled bill passes the Democrat-controlled Senate are still slim:

“Yet Reid’s chances of getting to 60 votes Saturday night appear slim, and the whole scenario may be a device to put pressure on Republicans by making them appear obstructive and filibustering.” (David Rogers, “Washington’s warring weekend: Dueling votes, parties and loyalties,” Politico, 7/30/11)

Heath Shuler ultimately demonstrated today that he is getting increasingly desperate to protect his Democrat spending and borrowing spree. Shuler’s plan is dependent on the typical Washington accounting tricks, meaning the real reform needed to avert the impending debt disaster is clearly not among his priorities.

Dems Support Smoke & Mirrors Political Ploy to Protect Their Job-Destroying Spending & Borrowing Addiction http://ow.ly/5Rd42 #madeinwdc

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