While President Obama’s economic advisor Austin Goolsbee argued Sunday that a refusal by the Senate to increase the government’s debt ceiling (currently $14.3 trillion) would be “catastrophic” and a sign of “insanity,” that’s not the position the president has held in the past.
Here are Obama’s thoughts on the debt limit in 2006, when he voted against increasing the ceiling:
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.
In 2007 and in 2008, when the Senate voted to increase the limit by $850 billion and $800 billion respectively, Obama did not bother to vote. (He did vote for TARP, which increased the debt limit by $700 billion.)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) told Human Events in an interview released today that the decision about the debt ceiling “needs to be a big showdown” in the Senate.
“We are going to cut [spending] necessary to stay within the current levels, which is over $14 trillion,” said DeMint.
I'm confused as to why it's news that President Obama believes debt is a major concern? He was saying that from the very beginning of his campaign.
Obama has never been a tax & spend liberal, despite conservative talking points. It was very simple, austerity measures in the midst of the inherited economic crisis would have spelled disaster for the U.S. economy.
His state of the union will probably have 2 threads : debt reduction & tax code simplification.
-Ryan Colpaart
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat would make him a conservative! President Obama doesn't believe "debt is a major concern" as you espouse. That's only his rhetoric. He believes in big government with lots of programs for hand-outs and regulations to stifle economic development and prosperity. Compare his words to his actions and you'll get an education.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt is not that he is against debt, it is that he is a screaming hypocrite for standing against raising the debt ceiling and now wanting it raised yet again.
He has shown himself to be a massive spender, giving away our money like we are all made of it. Like Maggie Thatcher once said, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later, you run out of other peoples money." But sadly, Obama has not only run out of our money, but now he wants to borrow more against our children's and grandchildren's taxes.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat flies in the face of the reality of the last two years Ryan. I'm confused at how some...still...can't see the very stark difference between what Obama says and what Obama does. Unless one sees daily life through the prism of politics one cannot escape the conclusion that Obama is a man of incredible deceit and devoid of integrity. Only the political class accepts being lied to regularly and blatantly as acceptable. It doesn't work in real life.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Obama has never been a tax & spend liberal"
WHAT?!?
try again, nobody is going to buy that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRyan, what are you talking about?
Not a tax and spend liberal? The National Debt has gone up $4 Trillion dollars since he took office- he's the epitome of a tax and spend liberal.
His state of the union will be a desperate efforts to get ahead of the GOP on those issues because the GOP has already said that is what they will focus on. He's hoping to claim credit for what they do, except he's not very good at it...
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRyan,
Two stimulus acts, an extension of unemployment to over two years, and "Obamacare." Where do you think the money does/will come from to pay for these things, and others? How can you say, with a straight face, that President Obama is not a tax and spend liberal? He is certainly spending like a mad man. The tax will come later, it has to.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLMAO you are confused. Wonder why? You listen to the babling liar and you believe his words but do not see his actions. No vote in 2007 + 08 and then votes for TARP. This confuses only the people with liberal + progressive ideas. Oh yea, the constitution must confuse you as well. Let me guess, you LOVE MSNBC and OBERMAN and MADDOW and MATHEWS.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePut your head back into the sand!!!
The Debt Ceiling Authorization bill should have two riders attached - one to forbid state or local bailouts, the other to prohibit the Fed from doing the same.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRyan Colpaart writes: "Obama has never been a tax & spend liberal, despite conservative talking points."
This is a sick joke, right?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn 2006, obama spoke out and voted against raising the debt ceiling, something that dems now claim must happen or the heavens will fall (surprising, since libs love spending other people's money).......in 2007 and 2008 (not surprising) he didn't even vote on the debt ceiling issue..
how can a man who wanted to be a leader, abstain from voting on issues? take a stance....you know now why it took him so many months to decide on what he wanted to do in Afghanistan! guess what.....when you're president, abstaining from voting on an issue isn't an option.
further proof that obama just wasn't and still isn't ready to be president.
KeithPriceIsRight.blogspot.com
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat creative fantasy world are you from?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI can be argued that Obama is not a "Tax & Spend" Liberal ... at least not yet. What there is little doubt about is he shows little leadership ability. That should be no surprise, however, as before becoming President, he ducked out on most votes that needed a spine.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRyan, Your first few words sums up your understanding of Obama...you are confused if you think Obama is not a tax and spend liberal. You are very confused!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes, Ryan Colpaart, you are confused. Obama has been saying that debt is a major concern, but then he signed a "stimulus" package of almost $1 trillion that mostly went to subsidize AFSCME payrolls. If he had his druthers, he would raise taxes and spending, er, "investment". Honest liberals, er, progressives would freely admit as much. Any comments he makes to the contrary - including in his SOTU speech are mere bogus posturing, akin to his finally starting to go to church.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes Ryan, you are confused most likely by emotion. The facts can be real confusing to people who make decisions based on emotion. Obama is for whatever he wants at the time and against what the other party wants at the time. He had the most liberal voting record of any senator when he entered the presidential race. Like his former spiritual leader said to the national press club, Barak is a politician. He will say whatever he needs to to get elected. Now if the press will hold him accountable to his previous remarks you might not be confused any longer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRyan:
The news is that, as a Senator, President Obama believed that "raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure". Now, as President, he believes that NOT raising the debt limit is a sign of insanity.
People will always argue that this case or that case is different. The fact of the matter is that now he's the leadership so having to the raise the debt limit can't be due to leadership failure this time, right?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis quote is further evidence of the current dysfunction of the two-party system in America. Ryan OUGHT to be confused - when Dems are in power they tax and spend like there's no end to the money; when they're out, they oppose increasing the debt ceiling to limit Repubs spending. Same from the other perspective...although Dems obviously spend more, it's all a game they both play with OUR money. That's why I identify as a conservative before I identify with a political party - among other things, conservatives operate according to values established before they take polls or get elected. Less spending, smaller government, doesn't matter who's in power.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseObama, the Flip-Flop "Poster-Boy"...
BTW, while Obama has banned offshore drilling in America, it seems that he has no problem loaning Brazil's Petrobras TWO BILLION DOLLARS of OUR MONEY so that they can do the exact same thing off their coast.
George Soros has not only been a contributor to Obama's campaigns over the years, Soros also has an investment in Petrobras...now isn't that special.
You see Obama objects to Americans working & drilling for our oil in America but has no problem loaning OUR MONEY to Brazil to do the exact same thing off their coast.
Obama's hypocrisy is limitless...for a price...
NOBAMA 2012
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006 for political reasons. It wasn't an aversion to spending or increasing the overall debt. He is now asking the Congress, through his administration officials, to not do as he did.
Not raising the debt ceiling would be catastrophic to the economy. It would have been the same in 2006. He cares less about the overall state of America than he does his own position in the machine that is the federal government.
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