Kent Conrad’s Deficit Reduction Panel Doesn’t Have The Votes

• January 13, 2010

For a while now self-styled “deficit hawk” Senator Kent Conrad has been saying that he’ll withhold his vote from any attempt to raise the debt ceiling (outside of the relatively modest hike done late last year as a hold-over to this year) unless the creation of a congressional deficit-reduction panel is also passed.
As it turns out, that panel (which would actually make it harder to reduce deficits) apparently doesn’t have the votes to pass. Which puts Conrad in an ugly position of having to follow through on his promise to gum up any attempt to raise the national debt ceiling on a more permanent basis.

There are not enough votes in the Senate to create a bipartisan commission to cut the federal debt, according to a key lawmaker.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) told The Hill on Monday that the proposal he’s pushing with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) doesn’t have the 60 Senate votes necessary to pass. An amendment creating the fiscal commission will get a full Senate vote next week during a debate over a bill raising the debt limit.

So what’s Senator Conrad going to do? When he voted for the modest increase in the national debt ceiling to tide things over until this year Conrad said the vote was necessary to show the world that we wouldn’t be default on our national debt. Will he use that same excuse again? Or will he follow through on his promise not to vote to raise the national debt limit?
My guess is that Conrad will cave. Because the whole “deficit hawk”, debt reduction routine is just a show he puts on for the benefit of his constituents.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array sayanything-22

Conrad backing out of a pledge?!?!? Say it ain’t so, Joe. He’s built a career on this. He pledged not to run for a second term unless the budget was balanced. That was in the nineties.
sayanything-203

This was never about reducing the nation’s budget deficits. The purpose was to provide cover in the coming off-year election for Democrats who are scared of the voters back home. The idea was to have a bi-partisan endorsement for tax increases which the Dems and Obama had promised not to institute. But having spent to damn much money that we didn’t have to begin with, and no private sector job growth to show for it, the Dems are now looking for Republicans to bail them out with the voters. Bravo to the GOP for standing (mostly) firm. The Democrats spent the money… let them answer for their actions.
sayanything-43

Conrad’s never been concerned about cutting spending. He wants to grow government as much as he can.

I think he was hoping he could push through some massive tax increases onto the public and be able to blame Republicans.

If he wants to balance the budget then he’s in prime position to do so. He took over the Budget committee in 2007. He and his Democrat buddies tripled the deficit and then tripled it again.

And he had the guts to call the Republican fy 2007 budget (written in 2006) a danger. The deficit was 160 Billion Dollars.
sayanything-6955

What the hell do you need a panel for? Quit spending money you don’t have!! On wasteful government junk, like that 2-4 trillion dollar health care boondoggle 65% of the country does not want. Give the rest of that 787 billion dollar stimulus money, yes that stimulus money that isn’t stimulating, back to the taxpayers and the job creators. Conrad is as phony as that damn red flannel shirt he wears once a year in a wheat field for his annual photo op! Conrad’s answer to deficit reduction is more government meddling.
bikebubba

If the panel is about deficit reduction instead of spending reduction, they’ve lost before a single vote is taken.

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Kent Conrad’s Deficit Reduction Panel Doesn’t Have The Votes

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