Americans Deserve Better

President Obama, in 2006 you and 43 other Senate Democrats voted against raising the debt ceiling. At the time you said: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

What has changed since 2006 that caused you to change your mind, President Obama?

In 2007 and 2008 you didn’t seem to think the debt ceiling vote was important, so you skipped the vote. The buck didn’t stop long with you then, and it doesn’t now.

Americans deserve better.

IRRESPONSIBLE (Letter to Independent Coast Observer)

Are the Democrats serious about fixing the nation’s long-term financial problems? It appears not. Their overarching strategy for winning in 2012 is to redirect voters away from the administration’s dismal economic record by directing a hail storm of criticism toward Republicans. A recent example is the scorn heaped on Congressman Paul Ryan, a talented, serious man who has developed a workable long-term plan to save Medicare. Ryan’s plan would not kick in until 2022; Medicare would remain the same for persons now over 55, and guarantee those under 55 with health care plans similar to ones that Congress receives.

Faced with a workable Republican initiative, the Democrats had two choices: (1) develop a better plan for the American electorate to consider prior to the 2012 elections, or (2) take the low road and use the next 18 months to demagogue the Republican plan through attack ads designed solely to scare the heck out of many seniors. They opted for the low road. In a recent ad, a Ryan “look alike” pushes Grandma over the cliff in her wheel chair. Democrats claim seniors will “die sooner” under the Republican plan and compared Paul Ryan to Hurricane Katrina. Even the President stooped to attack the erudite Congressman.

What is the Democrat plan to save Medicare? The answer is:  they don’t have one. Furthermore, the Democrat-controlled Senate has not passed a budget in more than 750 days! Clearly, the conservative victory in the November 2010 elections has shaken the Democrats confidence. They’re now uncertain whether their ingrained practice of securing votes through promises of “federal largesse forever” will resonate with an attentive electorate. Thus, they’ve fallen back on the politics of personal destruction and demonization. Democrats see themselves as the responsible party; in reality they’ve become the “Party of Irresponsibility.”

Jim Littlejohn