Which is a surprise, given that I didn’t think that there were 318 Republicans in the House… no, wait, there aren’t. 82 Democrats voted against raising the debt limit without accompanying spending cuts; which is highly entertaining, given that 114 House Democrats signed Rep. Peter Welch’s letter requesting… precisely this vote. Do compare the signatories to said letter with the no votes on HR 1954: you will notice an entertaining amount of overlap, there.
The hysterical bit? The Democrats are complaining that they didn’t get to add amendments to the bill, which is fairly straightforward:
SECTION 1. FINDING.
The Congress finds that the President’s budget proposal, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012, necessitates an increase in the statutory debt limit of $2,406,000,000,000.SEC. 2. INCREASE IN STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof `$16,700,000,000,000′.
…which sounds exactly like the quote-unquote ‘clean extension’ that Welch and his colleagues called for, but did not reliably[*] vote for. Which tells you everything that you need to know about Democratic legislative courage… or, more accurately, the utter lack of same. That’s the moral of the story: when when it comes to screwing one’s courage to the sticking point on fiscal discipline, the Democrats in Congress will cave*. Good to know, yes?
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: Someone has told the Democratic members of Congress that they’re expected to work on creating a budget every year, yes? I ask merely because a dispassionate reading of recent legislative history does not support the assumption that anyone has told them.
[*75 of 114 is not in fact reliable. It is in fact a very poor showing.]
Moe Lane
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Jeff Emanuel
One step closer to shutting it down.
acat (Diary) Tuesday, May 31st at 8:33PM EDT (link)Pleasant surprise.
Mew
——
Caveat Suffragator
I am not holding my breath just yet on "pleasant"
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:14AM EDT (link)As this was an easy, pain-free win. And therefore does not give a good predictor for the harder fights yet to come. My fear continues to be that we end up with a “symbolic” “show-vote” sham of minor spending cuts attached to the debt limit increase, and then “promises” of future cuts and caps to come.
Spending cuts must be difficult, immediate, and substantial, in order to make it worth increasing the debt limit. Like full repeal of Obamacare and spending cuts outlined by the RSC.
Still not holding my breath…
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
I am not holding my breath just yet on "pleasant"
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:14AM EDT (link)As this was an easy, pain-free win. And therefore does not give a good predictor for the harder fights yet to come. My fear continues to be that we end up with a “symbolic” “show-vote” sham of minor spending cuts attached to the debt limit increase, and then “promises” of future cuts and caps to come.
Spending cuts must be difficult, immediate, and substantial, in order to make it worth increasing the debt limit. Like full repeal of Obamacare and spending cuts outlined by the RSC.
Still not holding my breath…
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
No surprise...
neoavatara (Diary) Tuesday, May 31st at 8:41PM EDT (link)Democrats are covering their you-know-what.
www.neoavatara.com/blog
Dems are downplaying the vote as empty symbolism
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:11AM EDT (link)When the entire reason for a “symbolic” vote is to send a message. In this case, the message that any increase in the debt limit MUST be accompanied by substantial spending cuts, was sent loud and clear.
Even the MSM should get the message on this one.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
One thing I don't get.
gekster (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:23AM EDT (link)Saying we won’t raise the debt ceiling unless we have the spending cuts.
If we get the spending cuts, why do we have to raise the debt ceiling.
Wouldn’r cuting the spending negate the need for the raise.
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
I’ve gone from
“Hope and Change” to
“Hopeless and Changeless”
Not enough
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:34AM EDT (link)Even “drastic” cuts in spending will still run a deficit of some size for 2012. Not to mention the spending over the debt limit already done over the past two weeks and for the rest of 2011 (which is being covered up by smoke-and-mirrors accounting).
If we manage to cut $700 Billion from CURRENT spending levels (which is $750B from projected spending levels), we will still need to borrow an additional $1 Trillion just to cover our oblications through the end of FY 2012.
That is the size of the hole we are in. It will take some time to dig ourselves out. Which is all the more reason to take steps now. Big and Quick.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
I am not agreeing, Ynot.
momofthecastle (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 2:19PM EDT (link)I read Sen. Johnson’s post yesterday, and it makes sense to me.
Not a question of agreement - just facing reality
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 5:38PM EDT (link)Even the budget plan put out by the Republican Study Committee, which is the most conservative plan out there right now, requires increasing the debt limit. They crow that their plan is the only one that cuts the 2012 budget deficit in half (meaning $650 Billion deficit).
The Ryan plan is more timid. The Heritage Foundation plan actually increases the 2012 deficit in order to start structural reforms that reduce the deficit in the longer range.
There is no realistic plan to balance the budget in 2012. Plus, we still have to pay for the deficit caused by the rest of FY 2011. That is just reality.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
And I double-checked Sen Johnson's post
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 5:49PM EDT (link)http://www.redstate.com/senatorronjohnson/2011/05/30/washington-is-broken-and-needs-leadership-where-is-president-obama/
He is not calling to NOT raise the debt limit, just calling the administration’s bluff on the urgency – so that we can leverage the vote for better spending reductions in return for the vote to raise the debt ceiling.
That is an entirely realistic (as well as principled) position.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Not a question of agreement - just facing reality
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 5:38PM EDT (link)Even the budget plan put out by the Republican Study Committee, which is the most conservative plan out there right now, requires increasing the debt limit. They crow that their plan is the only one that cuts the 2012 budget deficit in half (meaning $650 Billion deficit).
The Ryan plan is more timid. The Heritage Foundation plan actually increases the 2012 deficit in order to start structural reforms that reduce the deficit in the longer range.
There is no realistic plan to balance the budget in 2012. Plus, we still have to pay for the deficit caused by the rest of FY 2011. That is just reality.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Dems are downplaying the vote as empty symbolism
YnotNOW (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 10:11AM EDT (link)When the entire reason for a “symbolic” vote is to send a message. In this case, the message that any increase in the debt limit MUST be accompanied by substantial spending cuts, was sent loud and clear.
Even the MSM should get the message on this one.
YnotNOW
If not me, who? If not now, when?
And their rears are still half exposed
dajeeps (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 11:14AM EDT (link)I found their argument that “If we don’t raise the debt ceiling, we can’t pay our bills” very insulting. Just how stupid do they really think we are?
Nearly everyone knows that once one has a situation where one has to make the payments on one credit account with another it’s a personal debt spiral that generally ends with bankruptcy unless a winfall materializes at just the right moment. And really, I have sincere doubts that $14T might just appear out of nowehere, unless they plan on trying to hit up Ben Bernanke for it which, of course carries its own set of consequences.
…”I would quarrel with both parties and with every individual of each, before I would subjugate my understanding, or prostitute my tongue or pen to either.”
–John Adams
Pray God
swvapatriot (Diary) Tuesday, May 31st at 9:31PM EDT (link)this is the first skirmish that is won in the long battle to return us to Constitutional government.
I love to see votes where our side is united and the enemy is divided. nt
Locke (Diary) Tuesday, May 31st at 9:39PM EDT (link)I hope this lasts
lakesuperiorguy Tuesday, May 31st at 10:18PM EDT (link)The pessimist in me thinks that after Geithner says that the country will implode if the debt limit isn’t raised and gets a bunch of country club and Wall Street “Republicans” to say the same thing, enough on our side will cave and just give Geithner what he wants just like our side gave Paulson last time. Hopefully this time it’ll be different.
It's not as though Geithner has ever been right about anything.
msctex (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 12:08AM EDT (link)Oddly, I don’t see him as one of the Evil ones. He seems one of the ones irreparably damaged by what he thought was an education.
Just an impression: that he is a potentially decent human being, horribly wrong and surrounded by genuine malevolence.
And I know: at this point, it really doesn’t matter.
not sure if I would give him that benefit of the doubt
kyle8 (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 5:07AM EDT (link)since we know for certain he is a tax cheat and a liar.
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
Just my impression.
msctex (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 1:07PM EDT (link)And one I admit could well be wrong. But what we are talking about transcends even being a tax cheat and a liar. We have reached the point where the central question of our existence as a nation is whether or not our “leaders” are consciously making an effort to destroy this country, or whether their actions are the inadvertent malevolence of a fundamentally flawed philosophy. If I had to guess, I’d say Geithner falls into the latter group, while Obama, Pelosi, Reid and Frank all fit squarely among the former.
One thing I will never get tired of...
toothpick (Diary) Tuesday, May 31st at 11:47PM EDT (link)…is seeing the phrase “House Minority Leader” in front of Nancy Pelosi’s name. That alone made it worth my while to read the article on the Hill.
Agree Totally
sowa1 Wednesday, June 1st at 6:01AM EDT (link)As long as the American people don’t lose their minds and vote Dems back into the House, otherwise she will be back. Need to keep her out and vote Obama out. He would have a chance to put a couple more Supreme Court Justices in. Then we would have Obamacare for sure.
correct me if I am wrong
pilgrim (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 12:57AM EDT (link)I believe that the only states where the entire congressional delegation voted yes are Vermont and Hawaii. This is not quite the clean sweep like we have with the 0-97 vote against the Obama 2012 budget in the Senate, but it is very close to that.
Ahh, sweet sweet victory.
phenry Wednesday, June 1st at 1:35AM EDT (link)The triumph of the Tea Party.
Praise the Lord
popster Wednesday, June 1st at 6:15AM EDT (link)and pass the ammunition. They finally got the news flash, you can’t spend what you don’t have.
Well we have to wait
heroone1 Wednesday, June 1st at 7:23AM EDT (link)Well we have to wait again, this is no victroy, just a start. So many of us think every thing is a victroy, every time some thing little like this happens. Remember health care, we thought many a time we had it stroped, an we called those victroys. This is the first shot at killing this thought of spending to much. This beast will take a lot of shots to kill remember it has more than 70 years of growing to become the beast it is.
Kyle
djvu (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 8:07AM EDT (link)Agree 100%
Robert Palmer Smith
If this continues I will have to eat Crow about
ihateliberals Wednesday, June 1st at 9:24AM EDT (link)my dislike of John Boehner. Calling this Vote as the Democrats requested and then having 82 of them for against it was a brilliant move. I hope an pray that I have been wrong about Boehner. These 82 Democrats must be seen as a signal to the American people that the Debt Ceiling can not be raised as long as the spending is not under control. John, make me eat crow, please. I don’ t always have to be right. Being proven wrong about the Speaker of the House makes me feel just as good as winning.
Smoke and Mirrors
melbedewy (Diary) Wednesday, June 1st at 9:49AM EDT (link)Wait till the Massive Cave on the debt limit before you pat Boehner on the back.