Pick your hypocrite

There are four Republicans holding Congressional leadership positions today who have strong opposition to raising the debt limit and have vociferously denounced President Obama for a failure of leadership, and who have held office since 2000 or before. Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. President Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004.

Let’s compare how these four voted over the past ten years, and see Obama’s tilt once he was elected:

June 2002: $450 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $6.4 trillion.

Boehner, YEA

McConnell, YEA

Cantor. YEA

Kyl, NAY

May 2003: $900 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $7.384 trillion.

Boehner, YEA

McConnell, YEA

Cantor, YEA

Kyl, YEA

November 2004: $800 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.1 trillion.

Boehner, YEA

McConnell, YEA

Cantor, YEA

Kyl, YEA

March 2006: $781 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.965 trillion.

Boehner, YEA

McConnell, YEA

Canto,. YEA

Kyl, YEA

Obama votes, NAY

September 2007: $850 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $9.815 trillion.

Boehner, YEA

McConnell, YEA

Cantor, YEA

Kyl, YEA

Obama votes, did not vote

July 2008: $700 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $10.615 trillion.

Boehner, NAY

McConnell, NAY

Cantor, NAY

Kyl, NAY

February 2009: $789 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $11.315 trillion.

Boehner, NAY

McConnell, NAY

Cantor, NAY

Kyl, NAY

December 2009: $290 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $12.394 trillion.

Boehner, NAY

McConnell, NAY

Cantor, NAY

Kyl, NAY

February 2010: $1.9 trillion increase, raising the debt limit to $14.294 trillion.

Boehner, NAY

McConnell, NAY

Cantor, NAY

Kyl, NAY

So when the Shrub was in office, these hard line Republicans considered raising the debt limit as vital to the economy, but once Obama is in the White House that scenario changes. Obama, for his part, opposed the March 2006 debt limit increase with these words:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

For many years now the will to do what is best for America has be absent in Washington, replaced by greed and ambition. Congress is for sale to the highest bidder, and SCOTUS has the best judges money can buy. Americans are angry, but for the most part they are also uninformed. The Tea Party is evidence of both.

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