Examiner Editorial: Using the debt ceiling for a powerful message

White House Defends Obamas Senate Vote against Raising Debt Ceiling But Warns of Catastrophe If GOP Doesnt Raise Debt Ceiling
Wednesday, January 05, 2011 By Fred Lucas President Barack Obama is saluted as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, from Vacation in Hawaii. Col. Lee DePalo, commander of the 11th Wing, is at left. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Obama Administration is warning of catastrophic consequences if Congress does not increase the Debt ceiling, the legal limit on how much the Federal Government can borrow, but Obama held a different view on th...

New GOP member doesn't "know" what will happen if debt ceiling isn't raised
Speaking of clueless Republicans in the House that Teabaggers built, here's part of the new brain trust entering office today: Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC). Yesterday, newly-elected Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) appeared on Fox Business to talk about his own intention to vote against raising the Debt ceiling. The host asked Muvlaney if he was willing to “risk the possibility of a default on our debt.” Mulvaney responded that he has “no difficulty in” voting against raising the ...

WaPo temporarily upset at GOP deficit chicken-hawks
On Sunday, the WaPo editorial pages finally woke up and realized that the GOP isn't serious about cutting the Deficit.. On Monday, Jason Linkins at HuffPo took notice of the belated realization: WaPo Editors Finally Realize The GOP Isn't Serious About The Debt First Posted: 01- 3-11 12:37 PM | Updated: 01- 3-11 08:45 PM For the better part of the past year, the editors of the Washington Post have been generically a-screech with worry over the deficits, and their insistence that the Obama ad...

Send in Your Transpo Questions for the 112th Congress
The new Congress has been sworn in and John Boehner has been elected Speaker of the House, 241-173. Nancy Pelosi has handed him the (strangely over-sized) gavel and he just took the oath of office. In his Acceptance Speech, he stressed fiscal discipline and Spending Cuts. The first vote the new Congress will take will be on new rules governing the Congress, including the one we told you about Monday that would allow Congress to withhold transportation funds. By holding the money in the bank, law...

Gibbs defends Obama 2006 vote against raising debt ceiling
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today defended a 2006 vote by then-senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) against raising the nation’s Debt ceiling. The vote to raise the Debt ceiling will be a major battle next year because Tea Party-backed Conservatives have vowed to let the government default on its debts rather than authorize a raising of the $14.3 Trillion limit. Republican leadership is expected to use the situation to force deep Spending Cuts to the 2012 Budget. White House economic ...

Will He Say He Has No Choice or Will He Use Seigniorage?
The media and much of the blogosphere are framing the coming Debt ceiling decision as one in which the Republican-majority House may refuse to extend the Federal Debt ceiling, thus forcing both a Government shut-down, and also a possible default of the US in paying its Debt obligations to its creditors. Republicans saying they will not vote to extend the ceiling see this as an opportunity to force Spending Cuts out of the Democrats and the Obama Administration. This second round of hostage-takin...

Political Quote of the Day
From former Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.”A little context from Fox Nation: The numbers tell a different story. When the Pelosi Democrats took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the National Debt stood at $8,670,596,242,973.04. The last day of the 111th Congress and Pelosi’s Speakership on December 22, 2010 the National Debt was $13,858,529,371,601.09 - a roughly $5.2 Trillion increase in j...

Republicans take over House, dilute cuts
By Thomas Ferraro and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 5, 2011 12:45pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans scaled back plans for deep cuts in Government Spending as they took power in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, diluting a key promise that helped them to victory in November's election. A senior Republican also signaled the party could work with the administration of President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to avert a Debt crisis in the coming months. "Our spending has caught up...

Democrat Blames Reagan, Bushes For Deficits
(CNSNews.com) - In his last day as House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) put much of the blame for America’s growing Debt on past Republican administrations, including former President Ronald Reagan. “Ronald Reagan came in and adopted an economic program that created $1.4 Trillion in Deficits over the next eight years,” Hoyer said in a Capitol Hill Press Conference on Tuesday, where he appeared with other members of the Democratic House Leadership. “George...

Dont raise the debt ceiling
Daniel Foster at NRO Corner thinks Republicans will get a great bargain in exchange for raising the ceiling on the National Debt — which just hit $14 Trillion. That’s the on-the-books figure, by the way. From Daniel Foster: “Unlikely as it may seem at the moment, I’m becoming more and more convinced that congressional Republicans can get a lot — in terms of Spending Cuts, entitlement reforms, and the like — in exchange for agreeing to raise the federal Debt ceiling at s

Time to grab the third rail, Madame Governor
Soon, Governor Martinez sends the 2011 Legislature her Budget for fiscal 2012. At last count, she is looking to plug a $400 million gap. She campaigned on the promise that she would not make Spending Cuts to education or Medicaid. Read my lips: ‘Where are you going to find $400 million to plug the gap, Madame Governor?’ The “Third Rail” of politics refers to extremely Controversial issues in which it is observed that, when acting unilaterally, “touch it, and you die...

House adopts new rules
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Lively, partisan debate Wednesday gave way to a vote along party lines, 240-191, to accept new rules for the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. The new rules of the U.S. House of Representatives either make the legislative process more transparent or obfuscate it, depending on the party speaking in the well. The new rules "establish a Constitution-focused House of Representatives," said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and sends "a credible signal to families, ...

Ron And Rand Paul Disagee Over How To Fight Debt Ceiling Battle
Congressman Ron Paul and his son, new Senator Rand Paul , together appeared on Fox News with Neil Cavuto, and after some joking between the Pauls about whether the House or the Senate was better, the conversation turned serious with the Debt crisis. Neither Paul was in favor of raising the Debt ceiling outright, but the two disagreed on what it would take for them to get on board and avoid the catastrophe warned of by Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, if ...

In call with Obama, Cantor says Republicans want to cooperate on spending cuts
The new House Majority Leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), told President Obama in a phone call Wednesday that Republicans hoped to work with him to cut spending and reform the tax code, Cantor’s office said. Cantor, along with Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), called the White House to officially inform the president that the 112th Congress had convened and elected Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker. The Virginia Republican told Obama that the GOP was “anxious” for him to d

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Using The Debt Ceiling To Send A Powerful Message. Austan Goolsbee, Obamas
Washington Examiner: Using The Debt Ceiling To Send A Powerful Message. Austan Goolsbee, Obama’s chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, expounds in horror that not raising the National Debt ceiling yet again would be “insanity.” Goolsbee should consult a floor Speech delivered not so long ago by a certain member of Congress who offered this counterargument to automatic debt ceiling increases: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America&...

Boehner moved to tears as he moves to speakership (AP)
WASHINGTON – The chin started trembling partway down the center aisle as the applause rose to a roar. John Boehner, the emotional Ohioan about to become the House's new speaker, took his time, shaking hands with colleagues and their Children on his way to the rostrum. At its foot, the hankie came out. "It's still just me," he told the House after departing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, dry-eyed, handed Boehner his outsized "gavel of choice." It is known to bug Boehner that he can't keep it toget...

Boehner cries again (and again, and again)
Stumble This! Incoming House Speaker John Boehner -- already famous for his crying stints -- let the waterworks flow Wednesday as he assumed the Speaker's chair from outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi. ABC News reports that Boehner broke out in tears no fewer than three times during the ceremony on Capitol Hill -- once as he walked down the aisle to applause, again as Pelosi read her introduction, and finally as he took the podium. And Boehner was apparently not alone -- his relatives teared up too,...

House Passes Republican Rules Package
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, walks to the floor of the House on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (Credit: (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)) The House late Wednesday afternoon passed the rules package for the 112th Congress put forth by Republicans in conjunction with their takeover of the chamber. The vote was 240 to 191. "The passage of these reforms marks a first step towards restoring the House as an institution focused on listening to the people," House Speaker Joh...

HUFFPOST HILL - Top O' The Mornin', 112th Congress
Jeez Louise! What a Wednesday!!! First day of the 112th Congress not enough for you??? BOOM!! Robert Gibbs announces he's leaving the White House. Not satisfied yet? KAPOW!! President Obama huddles with the man who might be his next chief-of-staff. Haven't gotten your fix? SHUH-ZAM!! Michele Bachmann is reportedly mulling a White House bid. Still need more? Um...uh...ShamWow!! Russ Feingold is going to lecture Law Students on the precedence of motions and things!!!...Yeah! This is HUFFPOST HIL...

Ten Questions for Vin Weber
Vin Weber was in the vanguard of conservative change before some Tea Party Activists were born; he won a House seat from Minnesota in the 1980 Republican revolution led by then-President Ronald Reagan. He worked alongside Newt Gingrich in the years-long effort to break the Democrats’ grip on the House. Now a prominent Washington Lobbyist, he spoke with John Harwood of The Times and CNBC about the new Republican majority in the House. Here’s a condensed, edited ...

Obama on the Debt Limit: Then and Now
Yahoo! Buzz In 2006, Sen. Barack Obama voted against raising the Debt ceiling to allow the U.S. to borrow more money, saying Washington was saddling future generations with its out-of-control spending. Now, his administration is implying that those who say the same are irresponsible. Asked on Wednesday about the seeming contradiction, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that in 2006, the outcome of the vote to raise the legal borrowing authority was not in doubt, and therefore the ...

Marco Rubio Sworn In as U.S. Senator
Shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, and according to tradition, Marco Rubio walked down the aisle of the Senate floor with Senator Bill Nelson, D-FL on his left and retired Sen. Mel Martinez on  his right. After reaching Vice President Joe Biden at the right of the Senate President's desk, Rubio stepped up, took the oath, and became Florida's newest senator. "I'm here to be the United States senator from Florida and the best senator I can. I mean that," Rubio told reporters earlier that mor...

US risks default as it is quickly approaching its debt ceiling with over $14 Trillion in external debt
Debt in the US is as high as it has ever been. It is now over $14 TT. It is even above the numbers that are presented below on CBS. Via CBS: The latest posting today of the National Debt shows it has topped $14 Trillion for the first time. The U.S. Treasury website today reported that as of last Friday, the last day of 2010, the National Debt stood at $14,025,215,218,708.52. It took just 7 months for the National Debt to increase from $13 Trillion on June 1, 2010 to $14 Trillion on Dec. 31. It ...

Video of Juan Williams: debt ceiling a "come to Jesus moment"
The Bible does in fact reference finances a huge number of times, more than many other topics. That said, what is the point of a Debt ceiling when it continually gets raised? Funny that Williams wasn't so driven about the nations Debt problem the last 4 years when Pelosi racked up more the $5 Trillion of it. An additional silver lining to William's statement? A liberal that can use the name of Jesus. So there's that. ...

Republicans Vow to Cut Spending
(FOXNews.com) - As a new and politically divided Congress prepares to convene Wednesday, the newly muscular Republicans and the White House seem to be on a collision course over whether to raise the federal Debt ceiling. Some Republican lawmakers have vowed not to vote to raise the Debt Limit unless there is a plan in place for dealing with long-term obligations, including Social Security, and for returning to 2008 spending levels. But the White House says that refusing to raise the limit would ...