DAILY CALLER: DAVID BOSSIE: Republicans’ Common-Sense Demands Are Winning The Debt Ceiling Debate
Republicans are winning the debt ceiling fight for two main reasons. First, the vast majority of Americans value and understand common sense. The issues being debated are spending decisions not unlike the ones hardworking folks have to deal with at their kitchen tables on any given night. This reality alone has made it very difficult for President Joe Biden and his allies in the biased mainstream media to manipulate the narrative.
It’s simply a matter of common sense to reform spending habits if you accumulate a mountain of debt, everyone knows that. It’s common sense to claw back unspent COVID emergency funds now that the pandemic is over. It’s common sense to require able-bodied adults to find work in exchange for getting welfare benefits. And it’s common sense to let the American people have another say about federal spending next year before the 2024 presidential election. These are the positions being championed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the negotiating table.
The other reason for the GOP’s momentum as we hurl toward the June 5th default deadline is that President Biden’s overall approval rating is way under water and how Americans view his handling of the economy is even worse. Just 41 percent approve of the job President Biden is doing compared to 54 percent disapproving. And according to a new AP poll, on economic matters, an abysmal 33 percent approve of the president’s policies. President Biden has finally decided to negotiate — after months of arrogantly refusing to do so — because he’s been in Washington long enough to know who gets blamed for economic downturns during election years: the person sitting in the Oval Office.
Making Biden’s hand that much worse is the fact that House Republicans already passed a debt ceiling bill nearly a month ago. By just putting his plan on the table for all to see, Speaker McCarthy surprised his leftist adversaries and put them on the defensive. In response, Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrongly decided to offer more political gamesmanship instead of offering their own plan. Now people are coming to the conclusion that if the White House and Senate Democrats had operated in good faith, we wouldn’t be days away from going off the economic cliff due to a Biden-Schumer induced default.
But unfortunately, this is the modus operandi for career left-wing politicians like Biden and Schumer. Legislate from crisis to crisis, convince the lapdogs in the liberal media that a $31 trillion national debt isn’t something to worry about, and kick the can down the road for our children and grandchildren. It’s been refreshing to see McCarthy and the younger generation of House conservatives confront this failed mentality of the past. It’s flat out irresponsible to keep spending out of control like this. It took America 211 years to accrue $5 trillion of debt and only 23 years to tack on an additional $26 trillion. Anyone choosing not to see the enormity of this problem has no business serving in high office.
For Speaker McCarthy and his band of reformers in the U.S. House, now comes the hard part. Biden and those fighting to preserve business as usual are going to lie until they’re blue in the face. They’re going to say your responsible reforms are drastic; they’re going to make false assertions about entitlement programs; they’re going to throw it at all at the wall and see what sticks. But this is the time to stick to your guns. It’s been a long three years to get out from under the COVID pandemic and the American people desperately want to get back to normal and they expect their leaders to follow suit, particularly on matters involving federal spending.
We’re about to see if Joe Biden remembers what he said in his inaugural address just 28 months ago. “With unity we can do great things. Important things,” the president declared. We’re these just the hollow words of another out of touch career politician? We’re about to find out.
David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United, and he served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016. @David_Bossie @Citizens_United