Congressman Raul Grijalva doesn’t like the debt-ceiling deal hammered out over the weekend:
This deal trades peoples’ livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it. Progressives have been organizing for months to oppose any scheme that cuts Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, and it now seems clear that even these bedrock pillars of the American success story are on the chopping block. Even if this deal were not as bad as it is, this would be enough for me to fight against its passage.
This deal does not even attempt to strike a balance between more cuts for the working people of America and a fairer contribution from millionaires and corporations. The very wealthy will continue to receive taxpayer handouts, and corporations will keep their expensive federal giveaways. Meanwhile, millions of families unfairly lose more in this deal than they have already lost. I will not be a part of it.
Republicans have succeeded in imposing their vision of a country without real economic hope. Their message has no public appeal, and Democrats have had every opportunity to stand firm in the face of their irrational demands. Progressives have been rallying support for the successful government programs that have meant health and economic security to generations of our people. Today we, and everyone we have worked to speak for and fight for, were thrown under the bus. We have made our bottom line clear for months: a final deal must strike a balance between cuts and revenue, and must not put all the burden on the working people of this country. This deal fails those tests and many more.
The Democratic Party, no less than the Republican Party, is at a very serious crossroads at this moment. For decades Democrats have stood for a capable, meaningful government — a government that works for the people, not just the powerful, and that represents everyone fairly and equally. This deal weakens the Democratic Party as badly as it weakens the country. We have given much and received nothing in return. The lesson today is that Republicans can hold their breath long enough to get what they want. While I believe the country will not reward them for this in the long run, the damage has already been done.
A clean debt ceiling vote was the obvious way out of this, and many House Democrats have been saying so. Had that vote failed, the president should have exercised his Fourteenth Amendment responsibilities and ended this manufactured crisis.
This deal is a cure as bad as the disease. I reject it, and the American people reject it. The only thing left to do now is repair the damage as soon as possible.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.
I reject the previous poster’s comment and support the opinion of Congressman Grijalva.
I remember when one-third of all federal tax revenue came from the corporate income tax and the very richest people paid a 95% marginal income tax. They really didn’t complain about because it was the time of America’s greatest prosperity.
Jobs were plentiful and high paying and we were the leaders of the world. A brand new car was $2000 and tuition at the U of A was $0.
We were building massive public infrastructure and finishing the Interstate highway system.
It all worked because people and corporations were all paying their fair share.
CNN news footage of Grijalva yesterday was an embarrassment for Tucson… He looked like he just walked 3 miles to speak on the Congress floor and made zero sense when he spoke.
So many well-meaning conservatives are adept at following the lead of their favorite talk radio entertainers. Isolated by Internet anonymity, name calling and personal attacks are their strong suit. With just the slightest bit of enlightenment, which they fear would instantly turn them gay and liberal, and even worse, black like their duly elected president, they would realize that Grijalva makes some strong arguments for those of us struggling to stay afloat in the economic mess manufactured by politicians of both parties for the benefit of the people who keep them in office. What Tea Party enthusiasts need to understand is that the government IS the most important thing in the lives of many people, and many businesses. Tens of millions of Americans–veterans, disabled, seniors, unemployed, college students, people starting businesses–depend on and deserve taxpayer support. And we all deserve a government that wisely spends the taxes we pay. But, sadly, Tea Party activists appear to be more interested in government that supports only their interpretation of the American Dream. And that means more government intrusion, not less.
Happy Monday America…..”we are going deeper in debt and the stock market is down”…. debt, jobs, housing, economy and cost of living all negative indicators.
Left will vote no… Right will vote no…. can the center hold and pass something ???
Debt deal is reported to be 74 Pages…. I sure hope Page 1 Line 1 reads….”Stop ALL foreign aid help America first”.
I am pleased to see Grijalva stand up for the middle class. This bill does nothing to strip oil company subsidies and does not require the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share – like the tax rates they paid under Bill Clinton when the economy was booming. The disparity of wealth in this country is astounding and the gap will continue to widen. More astounding are the numbers of middle-class Americans who are too lazy to read and educate themselves on what is actually going on and who mindlessly buy into the republic party’s propaganda… Sitting here watching the big republic d-bags speaking on CNN right now – these people absolutely repulse me.
First-poster Jay got here before everyone else did just to show that he has absolutely no idea what the debt-ceiling means, what the deficit means and how they are and aren’t related. He just came a-runnin’ just to hack on Grijalva. And simplistically and unintelligently at that.