Yesterday's Washington Post reported that some Democrats may not support President Obama in his efforts to raise the debt ceiling. Some have joined Republicans in requiring that deficit cuts be attached to any bill to raise the debt ceiling.
The article cites a few examples:
"The push-back has come in recent days from Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a freshman who is running for reelection next year. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) told constituents during the Easter recess that he would not vote to lift the debt limit without a "real and meaningful commitment to debt reduction."
"Even Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), generally a stalwart White House ally, is undecided on the issue and is "hopeful" that a debt-ceiling bill can be attached to a measure to cut the federal deficit, said her spokesman, Linden Zakula. Klobuchar is also up for reelection next year."
The fact that this is even being discussed is due to the existence of the Tea Party. Regardless of how you feel about the group, they have totally changed the dialogue in Washington.
The article further reports:
"On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said legislative leaders in both parties "have been clear that the debt ceiling has to and will be raised to prevent another economic meltdown." She added that there is also bipartisan agreement about reducing the deficit by trillions of dollars. "If members of Congress act responsibly and try to reach common ground, we can agree to significant deficit reduction without playing reckless politics with our economy," she said."
I would love to hear the White House's definition of middle ground.
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