Boehner Debt-Ceiling Bill Barely Passes House 218-210; 22 GOP ‘No’ Votes
Robert Stacy McCain
The Other McCain
7/29/2011
Statement from Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) explaining his “no” vote:
I cannot in good conscience vote for a bill that puts the future of my grandchildren and of generations to come in jeopardy. While I respect my Republican colleagues’ efforts to come up with a compromise, the people in the 10th Congressional District of Georgia did not send me to Washington to follow the herd. They sent me here to protect their liberty and to fundamentally change the way our federal government spends their money. I do support a Balanced Budget Amendment, but I do not support raising the debt ceiling and allowing President Obama to put more debt on the backs of the American people. Congress needs to first acknowledge that we have lost all control of our fiscal house, and then we need to focus on finding a real solution for paying down the national debt.
Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) explains his “yes” vote on the Boehner bill:
The Budget Control Act is far from perfect but the hard reality is that fiscal conservatives control only one-half of one-third of our government. This bill will make sure the President does not receive a blank check to continue his spending binge and the old ways of Washington, DC – blindly increasing the debt limit without spending cuts- are over. This vote is historic- it’s the first time we are raising the debt ceiling with cuts greater than the increase.
I learned when I was a solider at Fort Irwin National Training Center that when Officers waste too much time trying to come up with the perfect plan, they fall short because they are too inflexible or divided to see the path to victory. However, if you can come up with a 70-75 percent plan and execute it well, then you can win- and that’s what we have in the Budget Control Act.
The Budget Control Act is not perfect, but it is the 70 percent plan that my colleagues and I can execute to 100 percent.
It is now time for the focus to be on the United States Senate to produce a plan to take this country forward.
My fellow Americans, I ask you: If I had voted “No” on the Budget Control Act, who would I have been voting for?
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Please read the rest at The Other McCain. Stacy has video of Jay Carney expressing concern that “the economy has suffered,” the list of the 22 Republicans who voted against the bill tonight with statements from some, and much more.
Related: Krauthammer: Dems Are “Clearly Unserious About Debt Reduction”
Obama: “We Do Not Have AAA Political System To Match Our AAA Credit Rating”
Update: Moody’s: US Will Not Default on Aug 2 Even Without a Deal, White House Spin Machine Hardest Hit
You Are Being Lied To: Rep. Connie Mack and Sen. Rand Paul discuss the “Penny Plan” on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Thursday, 7/28/2011
Update 2: Senate Tables Boehner Bill, Reid Refuses To Allow A Vote On His Bill
Without any debate, the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body (heh) tabled the Boehner bill without any debate. The vote was 59-41. Several GOP Senators voted with Reid because they, well, they are PURE or afraid of a tea party primary challenge.
Reid then filed cloture (which requires a 2 day waiting period before the vote can happen) on his bill. Mitch McConnell then offered to waive the waiting period but Reid said…no. You see we are in such an emergency situation, where every minute counts, that Reid doesn’t want to vote tonight. Reid also whined that it wasn’t fair that the House got to have a majority vote while the Senate requires 60 votes. Of course this isn’t news to Harry.
As Guy Benson points out, Harry wasn’t such a fan of majority votes just a few minutes earlier when he refused to allow the Senate to hold up an up or down, majority wins vote on the House’s bill.
Reid and the Democrats then immediately scheduled a press conference to charge the Republicans with filibustering the Reid bill and endanger the economy.
I seem to recall the Twitter Spammer in Chief saying the time for politics was over. I guess that doesn’t apply to everyone…
Read the whole thing.
At Forbes, Bill Flax writes, Cut Spending By Returning To Founding Principles Of Federalism
Five Ordinary Americans Offer Solution to Debt Crisis, at The Blaze
Update 3: Ron Paul & Rand Paul Together React To The Boehner Plan Passage
This picture is worth a thousand words.
Update 4: Dan Riehl writes, “…Obama demands plan by Tuesday…Obama: House Republicans wasted ‘precious days’ with Boehner plan…Unwieldy as it can often be, Barry, the thing that annoyed you is called the legislative process in America. I’m certain every Hill Republican – entitled to have their say in the process – is greatly disturbed for having kept you waiting; though, in fact, Democrat Harry Reid had Cap, Cut and Balance legislation in hand some time ago and tabled it, not to mention his now dragging out the process yet once again by failing to simply move forward on what he has been sent. Our apologies if our democracy kept you from having what you wanted when you wanted it this go round, hopefully we haven’t queered a potential Sunday tee time for you – or something else important like that…”
Update 5: Althouse: Why should Obama think in terms of what the Supreme Court might say about his power to single-handedly raise the debt limit?
