Sooner or later, the Democrats have to call 'the bluff' of the GOP. That is what it is. The debt ceiling will be raised, but, the Democrats in their House Minority don't have to vote for it. They could easily 'end the game' the Republicans are playing by voting against raising the debt ceiling.
...There is some truth to each of these claims, but (click title to entry - thank you) well-informed Minnesotans know there are also problems with each of them. Every Minnesota governor balances the budget, since it’s required by the state Constitution; every state had a sharp reduction in the growth rate of government spending during the Great Recession; Pawlenty did sign at least one tax increase (although he tried to call it a “fee” increase); his policies led to bigger increases in local taxes to compensate for cuts in state aid; he left behind a record deficit for his successors to deal with; and, the biggest flaw in the story for me, one of his biggest cost-saving measures was the transparent bookkeeping gimmick that we call the education “shift,” which, as far as I’m concerned, is just a tricky form of deficit spending that gets around the constitutional balanced budget requirement. And Minnesota’s economy declined, relative to the national averages, during his tenure. Pawlenty has responses to some of these criticisms, and they are not trivial....
Pawlenty, as Governor of Minnesota, has one of the MOST deceptive records on the books. It is time to stop the GOP from walking all over people, playing around with power as if it were a football and make them grow up before the very eyes of the nation.
If Nancy Pelosi, threw in with Pawlenty and her minority Democrats stood against raising the debt ceiling, the Democratic base would love it and stand by them.
The House Majority needs to lead and stop their hideous political games that do nothing but deceive people that trustt their intuition when they choose their candidates.
The Democrats in the House need to think about their 'advantages' and how best to serve their constituents while preserving the constitutional principles we all believe in.
Go get 'em, Nance.
