It’s All about Obama, Isn’t it?
Well, the U.S. government doesn’t require a big old yard sale to try to pay down its debt after all.
All of those unnecessarily wrung hands on Capitol Hill; all of that political posturing and those harsh words – but we’re right back where we started.
The entire argument over raising the debt limit (if you take a serious look at the public record) didn’t really have to lapse into playground politics in the first place.
It’s been raised, without much of a whimper for years.
Oh, I’ve heard people who watch Fox News claim, well, when Barack Obama was a U.S. Senator, he voted against raising the debt limit.
Too bad Fox News only finds arguments that show the president in an unfavorable light. A closer look at the public record reveals, Obama was in the U.S. Senate for three debt limit votes.
He, as well as fellow presidential candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain each abstained from voting when the debt limit came before the Senate in both September of 2007, and in April of 2008.
In fact, when Obama did vote against raising the debt limit in March of 2006, he was one of 44 Democratic senators who voted against raising it.
What’s that? Democrats who voted not to extend the public debt, when 51 Republicans voted to increase it? Hum.
You’ll also find that from 1997 through 2008, the debt limit was raised eight times.
For each of those eight times, a majority of the Republicans senators voted to increase the debt limit.
In fact, while most of the increases in the debt limit were passed with bipartisan support, in May of 2003, in November of 2004 and in March of 2006, Democrats voted no on legislation that raised the debt limit with 43, 42 and 44 Nay votes respectively.
But let’s get back to that single nay vote by, then, Sen. Obama. The implication is that he’s had some kind of curious “change of heart” about increasing the debt limit since becoming president.
Well, he’s not the only person in Washington who’s had a curious “change of heart.”
I’ve found that there’ve been 10 Republican senators who’ve served continuously since that 1997 debt increase. (11 if you count the late Frank Murkowski, who was replaced by his daughter Lisa).
Of those 10 (or 11) with only a few exceptions I’ve discovered every single one of them has voted yes, when asked to raise the debt limit since 1997.
That’s eight debt limit increases, and those 11 Republicans plunged the nation deeper in debt, each time they were asked.
But there’s one exception. It’s the ninth time those Republican senators were asked to agree to raise the debt limit.
On Feb. 10, 2009, less than a month after Obama entered the Oval Office, those 11 Republican senators all voted not to raise the debt limit as part of the stimulus bill.
That’s certainly more of a curious “change of heart” than Obama’s single nay vote on raising the debt limit. Additionally, those Republican senators who suddenly refused to put their stamp of approval on raising it had voted in near lockstep to approve it since 1997.
In December of 2009, the very same 11 Republican senators voted against raising the debt limit again.
The most visible Republican who’s led the fight against raising the debt limit since Obama has taken office, is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell’s eight straight votes for raising the debt limit had been interrupted by two straight votes against it.
And McConnell, more than any other Republican in Washington, has gone on record as having the most vocal reason for never having to willingly admit he’ll agree with Obama about anything.
In October of last year, McConnell told the National Journal, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for Obama to be a one-term president.”
It’s no wonder Republicans suddenly worshiped at the altar of “fiscal responsibility” after paying no heed to it in the past.
It’s all about Obama.
Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net