Yesterday, Eric Cantor offered one example of why I don't like Republicans. He published this on his "republicanwhip" website:
... today, we’re hearing from the White House that it is the emphasis on PAYGO that Congress must now focus on. Now, that is an interesting claim given that we have just gone through five months of historic spending of taxpayer dollars. We've amassed more debt over the last five months than this country has amassed in the last 200 years. This Congress rammed through a $3.6 trillion budget. So for us to sit here and listen to the White House say that ‘we ought to be responsible, we ought to pay for what we’re doing’ I think lacks just a little bit of credibility.
We Republicans, as the Leader said, are continuing to offer solutions. We will offer and ask the President once again to sit down with us. We’ve tried before and were not listened to and ignored and we said that the stimulus effort could be a lot better...
Cantor can't be stupid enough to actually believe this drivel. He holds degrees from George Washington University, Columbia University and took a Juris Doctor from William & Mary Law School. To say he was being disingenuous would be too kind.
His claim that "We've amassed more debt over the last five months than this country has amassed in the last 200 years" is patently false. According to the U.S. Treasury, Bureau of Public Debt, the Outstanding Public Debt on Sept. 30, 2008 was $10,024,724,896,912.49. Have we amassed more than $10 Trillion in debt over the past five months? No.
In his next statement Cantor says "Congress rammed through a $3.6 trillion budget." After President Obama met with Congressional Republicans and made concessions on several tax issues, the House passed a budget by a vote of 233-196 without a single Republican "aye." Is there another way to deal with the "Party of No?"
The budget Congress passed wasn't entirely debt. It included loans to banks that were in danger of failing because of the lack of regulations and oversight - largely due to the Republican Congress and George W. Bush. Some of those loans are being paid back, with interest. McClatchy reported yesterday that the annualized rate of return is 3.94% to 4.64% on the first $68 billion repayment, not including "the intangible question of what the costs of doing nothing might have been and the financial system had collapsed."
Cantor's remark about the White House lacking credibility in paying "for what we’re doing" is laughable.
Cantor was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. At that time, the Outstanding Public Debt was $5.67 Trillion. Since then the public debt has steadily increased; it is now twice what it was when Cantor took office:
Date | Dollar Amount |
09/30/2008 | 10,024,724,896,912.49 |
09/30/2007 | 9,007,653,372,262.48 |
09/30/2006 | 8,506,973,899,215.23 |
09/30/2005 | 7,932,709,661,723.50 |
09/30/2004 | 7,379,052,696,330.32 |
09/30/2003 | 6,783,231,062,743.62 |
09/30/2002 | 6,228,235,965,597.16 |
09/30/2001 | 5,807,463,412,200.06 |
09/30/2000 | 5,674,178,209,886.86 |
When did Eric Cantor express any concern about the debt during this time? A review of OnTheIssues website and a Google search for "Eric Cantor Debt" did not produce any evidence that Cantor was concerned about the debt until the Republicans lost control of the White House. Meanwhile, he voted for every major bill that would cut taxes which, I would argue, is the primary reason for the debt increase over the five terms that Cantor has been in Congress.
Cantor claims that Republicans are continuing to offer solutions ... like this:
He said. "We will offer and ask the President once again to sit down with us. We’ve tried before and were not listened to and ignored and we said that the stimulus effort could be a lot better." What did "the Leader" highlight in the Budget Alternative offered on April 1st:
Does not raise taxes
Permanently extends the tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003
Extends the current AMT "patch"
Lowers the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 25 percent
Suspends capital gains taxes through 2010
Allows individuals to choose how they will pay their federal income taxes
Simplifies income tax rates
Tax cuts. Republicans have a one-size-fits-all solution for any situation: Tax Cuts. It's no wonder they are "not listened to and ignored ."
Posted on Cantor's Blog yesterday:
Republicans have thoughtful, focused initiatives. The Administration needs to get serious, and we are – again – willing to meet with the President to work on substantive, focused efforts to revive this economy – because Americans deserve better than what they are getting.
I do agree with one thing in the post:
Americans deserve better than what they are getting from Eric Cantor.
Cantor is not being disingenuous; he is a liar or a hypocrite, or both. As I have previously observed, Republican Hypocrite is a Pleonasm.