G.O.P. Freshmen Say Debt Concerns Them More Than Re-election

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — For years, legislation to raise the federal debt limit offered plenty of political theater on Capitol Hill, with the party out of power using it to rail against the party in power. As a senator, Barack Obama said in 2006 that a bill to raise the debt limit was “a sign of leadership failure.”

This time is different, and not only because the parties have switched roles. Now, conservative House Republicans have a virtual veto over a measure to increase the debt ceiling, and some freshmen in both chambers say they worry more about changing the ways of Washington than about getting re-elected.

“Re-election is the farthest thing from my mind,” said Representative Tom Reed, a freshman Republican from upstate New York. “Like many of my colleagues in the freshman class, I came down here to get our fiscal house in order and take care of the threat to national security that we see in the federal debt. We came here not to have long careers. We came here to do something. We don’t care about re-election.”

It is not clear how genuine or widespread that sentiment is in Congress, but regardless, it has upended what President Obama said on Friday had been a “difficult but routine process” in past years.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/politics/17debt.html?pagewanted=all

[krispos42]

1. And, of course, they're against raising taxes on the wealthy.

Fuck'em all with the high horse they rode in on.

[pnorman]

9. Thanks. I'll save that image.

Can you give me the link to the original source?

[krispos42]

16. It's from Mother Jones a couple of months ago. Should still be on their site n/t

[pnorman]

20. Thanks for the help Here'sanother chart from that same article:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

[krispos42]

21. Yeah, I saved all of them into my Photobucket account.

:evilgrin:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Ah......they don't care about re-election?

Good.

May their terms be short.


Very short.

Inconsequential too.

:evilgrin:

[TomCADem]

8. Amazingly, The Republican Caucus Had To Hold An Econ 101 To Explain...

...to their junior members what the debt limit is, and why defaulting on the debt is a bad thing. The economic illiteracy of the House Republicans is breathtaking.

[CTyankee]

22. I don't think they care. They are either from districts that are full of voters as delusional as

they are or they have figured out secure job as a Washington lobbyist after their butt is vote out of office next election.

Mostly, tho, nobody care what they do any more. Our electorate doesn't give a crap.

they know they can come to D.C. and do whatever they please and it'll be just fine with the sheeple who are not paying attention and don't care...

[aquart]

3. So cute. They're lying.

[David Gill]

4. I don't think so.

I think, for the most part, they're just as misguided and ill-informed as the people that elected them. The lunatics are running the asylum- link:http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/07/14/insiders_differ_on_impact_of_not_raising_debt_limit.html|just look at this poll of "congressional insiders".] They genuinely believe this nonsense.

GOP leadership used to be able to control this faction of the party. Now it IS the party.

[daleo]

5. I guess they just hate old and sick people

And want to make sure they suffer.

[provis99]

6. who knows? That might be true.

Just because people get elected doesn't mean they give a shit for their constituents.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. Yeah? Well, the f*******s were not too upset when their leaders were creating the debt, were they?

Stupid lying sh*theads.

[jmowreader]

10. THEN RAISE FUCKING TAXES YOU STUPID SHITS!!!!!!

There is not one--not ONE!--of your constituents who, if faced with a financial emergency, wouldn't try to find some more income. Why the fuck can't you people do the same?

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Yeah, right.

:rofl:

[rpannier]

12. Good. Don't run again. NT

[quaker bill]

13. One can only hope the sentiment represents them

as the nation would be well served by none of these folks being re-elected.

[liberal N proud]

14. That should read GOP/Teabagger Freshmen ...

And hopefully they will only be one term congress liars.

[buckrogers1965]

15. Don't think a lot of them have to worry about re-election

After this fiasco. In that they are not coming back. The second republican revolution is dying with a whimper.

[Zorro]

17. They should publicly declare their intent to reduce their salaries and staff budgets 25%

To clearly show their commitment to federal debt reduction.

[roody]

18. Are they working to end the occupations and wars?

[reformist2]

19. It's amazing we can't get 26 Republicans to agree to a tax increase.

The House of Representatives is a weird, weird place.

[StarsInHerHair]

23. NOT WHEN W WAS PRES. HYPOCRITES!