How Democratic Candidates Should Respond To Irresponsible GOP Threats To Throw The U.S. Into Default

You've probably seen a parade of Republican clowns wooing teabaggers by insisting that the government be sent into bankruptcy unless Obama agrees to defund the Affordable Care Act. That's all their irresponsible-- and/or delusional playing for the cameras. Most of the noise has been coming from far right Confederates in all white gerrymandered districts. But Wednesday Tom McClintock was up to the same trick in California. Watch him up top. His district is very safe-- with a PVI of R+10. Romney beat Obama there 58-40% and McClintock won reelection last year with 61% and taking 8 of the 10 counties, including the 2 big ones, Placer and El Dorado. So far, he has no Democrat running against him in 2014.

A bit further south, one of his compadres, Buck McKeon, has a much shakier district and a strong opponent, Lee Rogers. Rogers has a very different perspective on fiscal responsibility that either McClintock or McKeon. This week he warned supporters that Republican brinksmanship could force the U.S. into a default on its debt right around Labor Day.

Congress is getting ready to have another political battle over the debt ceiling again. Once again this will create market uncertainty and instill doubts about U.S. credit because of a lack of political leadership.

You'd think Congress would have learned in 2011 that brinksmanship and threats of default hurt America, but it seems that the fiasco is doomed to repeat itself.

We cannot extend our debt ceiling indefinitely, nor can we run a functioning economy without paying the bills we’ve already accrued. Our country is in dire need of leaders offering real solutions instead of political games.

The solution last time around was the Budget Control Act of 2011, which set up the policy known as “sequestration”-- it was not a viable solution. Eliminating wasteful government spending requires deft maneuvering and precision, not a meat cleaver.

There are many real solutions we can initiate today to reduce our deficit, such as ending Cold War era defense programs the Pentagon doesn't want, eliminating subsidies to oil companies, reducing health care costs, and closing loopholes that allow the wealthiest Americans and corporations to pay less than their fair share in taxes. 

 

Partisan bickering and childish battles in the 2011 debt ceiling battle resulted in a downgrade of U.S. debt to the detriment of millions of middle class Americans. Sequestration is currently threatening half a million jobs in California alone. We cannot allow a do-nothing Congress to posture for personal political gain at the expense of the economy again in 2013.

Average citizens are not responsible for the current level of debt, and we cannot balance the budget on the backs of working Americans. I want to be your next Representative for California’s 25th Congressional District and I will use common sense to make reforms that will actually reduce our deficit.

Blue America has endorsed Rogers. If you'd like to see a sensible and committed progressive in Congress instead of a Beltway hack like McKeon, please consider contributing what you feel comfortable with here through ActBlue.