4th of July in Washington, D.C. - Politicians Absent But Spending And Debt Still Present

Michael Ramirez Summarizes the Problem!

Today in Washington, D.C. - July 1, 2011:
The House is already in recess.  And today the Senate headed out of town.  Today, the Senate met briefly for pro forma session.  They agreed to return on Tuesday verses taking their schedule break. When the Senate returns, it will take up the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 20, a resolution on Libya.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 94-0 to confirm Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director.


 The AP reports, “President Barack Obama will be taking a break for the Independence Day holiday weekend. He'll travel to Camp David in western Maryland Friday afternoon, following some morning meetings.”  Finally, the President or his WH advisers "might" have listened to bloggers, cartoonists, and others who have complained about his extravagant trips.  Although he will be out of Washington, D.C., he will be using an already paid for government retreat location established for Presidents and their families.  Camp David is secure and in reality an alternative White House without all the visitors and White House staff. 

The Vice President is also out of town but not in Delaware.   Politico, reports, “Like President Obama, Joe Biden will be leaving Washington on Friday — but instead of relaxing at Camp David, the vice president will be talking to union members in Las Vegas.”  When Biden talks with anyone, we should be concerned, but when he meets with the unions in Vegas, we need to be very concerned.


End of Week Comments: At his press conference on Wednesday, President Obama said, “And I’ve got to say, I’m very amused when I start hearing comments about, well, the President needs to show more leadership on this. Let me tell you something. . . . We’ve got to get this done.  And if by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress, then I think members of Congress need to understand we are going to start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done. . . .  And then they're saying, Obama has got to step in.  You need to be here. I’ve been here. . . .You stay here. Let’s get it done.”

Responding to the president’s complaint, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cancelled the Senate’s July 4th recess. And speaking on the floor yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “I’d like to invite the President to come to the Capitol today to join Republicans for lunch, or at any time this afternoon that he can make it. That way he can hear directly from Republicans why what he’s proposing won’t pass. And we can start talking about what’s actually possible. The President says he wants us to get working. I can’t think of a better way than to have him come over and hear directly from our conference about the legislative realities in the Congress right now.”

But as CNN reported, the White House dismissed the idea, with Press Secretary Jay Carney saying, “That's not a conversation worth having.” CNN wrote, “White House Spokesman Jay Carney responded to the remarks by reeling off several ‘listening sessions’ the president has had with both McConnell and Reid and House and Senate Republicans at the White House on the debt issue. ‘[McConnell] invited the president to hear what would not pass,’ Carney said. ‘That's not a conversation worth having. What we need to have is a conversation about what will pass.’ As for the prospect of Obama cancelling his evening fundraisers, Carney demurred. ‘We can walk and chew gum at the same time, as the president said yesterday,’ he said.”


Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) expressed frustration with the president’s absence from the prior discussions and his empty rhetoric in his speeches. .  On the floor speech yesterday, saying, “Frankly, it rankles many of us to have the President engage in such blatant demagoguery and blame-shifting, when he himself is unwilling to take responsibility for his duties, which are to lead by example. We are ready to work with the President to try to solve the Nation's problems. The House has passed a proposal. . . . [T]here are plenty of other proposals out there that will fix the Nation's fiscal problems, one of which is the President's own fiscal commission itself. He appointed it . . . otherwise known as the Bowles-Simpson Commission, a bipartisan commission the President appointed himself. But he has ignored it. There is another one, the Domenici-Rivlin Commission, a bipartisan commission that made recommendations. The President has ignored it.”

As freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said yesterday, “Mr. President, you called on us yesterday to work. We are here working. The only financial and fiscal blueprint that you have offered--your budget for 2012--did not even get one vote from a member of your party in this Chamber. This budget blueprint would have added another $14 trillion to our debt. So I say to our President: We are willing to roll up our sleeves and get to work with you to avert this looming fiscal crisis, but where is your plan that will reduce spending and get us on a responsible fiscal path to preserving the greatest country in the world?”

Conclusion: 4th of July in Washington, D.C. - Politicians Absent But Spending And Debt Still Present!

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