Roll Call reports today, “Republican Senators are set to kick off a media blitz to push a balanced budget amendment, beginning Wednesday in D.C. and building up through their July Fourth recess next week, when Members will flood local papers and airwaves with support. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) laid the groundwork for the campaign Sunday, when he told ABC News that he would call for a mid-July vote. More than a dozen lawmakers will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to reintroduce the bill they touted in March, followed by colloquies on the floor Wednesday and Thursday and multiple television appearances throughout the week.”

Indeed, though President Obama held a news conference this morning, Senate Republicans will be offering an important contrast with the president. At the same time President Obama is explaining to reporters why he thinks taxpayers should take the hit for his out of control spending, a large group of Senate Republicans will be fighting to make the government live within its means and balance its budget.

Roll Call adds, “All 47 Members of the Republican Conference have united behind the balanced budget amendment, a rare occurrence in a Conference that encompasses moderates such as Olympia Snowe of Maine and tea party darlings like Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah. . . . In March, 10 Democrats backed a ‘sense of the Senate’ amendment offered by Lee in support of a balanced budget amendment: Mark Begich (Alaska), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Tom Carper (Del.), Herb Kohl (Wis.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Mark Udall (Colo.). . . . ‘America faces a choice — do we go broke or do we enact a balanced budget amendment to slash our over $14 trillion debt? That’s why we are forcing this debate that Washington Democrats don’t want to have, because we have to start living within our means,’ said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who will lead the floor colloquy Wednesday.”

Democrats seem to think that if you increase spending to the point that you can no longer pay the bills, you need to find other people to pick up the tab. This is the fundamental difference between the two parties in this debate.

Comments

comments