"Barney Frank: Note to Ryan: Drop The Hollier-Than Thou Budget Attitude"

[applegrove]

Barney Frank: Note to Ryan: Drop The Hollier-Than Thou Budget Attitude

Main Sunday Telegram

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/Note_to_Ryan__Drop_the_holier-than-thou_budget_attitude_.html?pagenum=full

"SNIP....................................



Apparently concerned that many of their most ardent political supporters are unhappy when Washington functions well, many Republican leaders, including those who helped put together the recent compromise to keep the government funded throughout next year, are threatening once again to refuse to raise the debt limit unless they get major concessions.

This is disappointing.

I had thought after virtually all leaders of economic activity in America, including strong Republican supporters in the business community, made it clear that even threatening to prevent America from paying all of our debts on time would be economically damaging, the Republican leadership got the point.

In addition to being an economically foolish proposal, this threat also lacks any moral justification. The argument is, from Rep. Paul Ryan, for example, that President Obama and congressional Democrats must give the Republicans something in return for their allowing America to pay our bills. The implicit assumption here is that Democrats are responsible for the debts, and we are asking Republicans to pay them as a favor to us.

Wrong.

Ryan voted to incur much more of the current debt than I did. He voted for the war in Iraq; I voted against it. He voted for President Bush’s prescription drug program; I voted against it. He voted for the Bush tax cuts; I voted against them. It is true there are areas in the federal budget when I am for spending more than he is, but the fact is – unfortunately, from my standpoint – I have been much less successful in pushing the bills that I support that would have added to the debt than he has been. So the argument that my former Democratic congressional colleagues will owe him if he agrees to pay the debt that he did so much to run up is nonsense.




.................................SNIP"

[Cha]

1. Thank you, Barney!

Glad Barney Frank is still out there writing about Reality.. we need all the help we can get, applegrove!

"Ryan voted to incur much more of the current debt than I did. He voted for the war in Iraq; I voted against it. He voted for President Bush’s prescription drug program; I voted against it. He voted for the Bush tax cuts; I voted against them. It is true there are areas in the federal budget when I am for spending more than he is, but the fact is – unfortunately, from my standpoint – I have been much less successful in pushing the bills that I support that would have added to the debt than he has been. So the argument that my former Democratic congressional colleagues will owe him if he agrees to pay the debt that he did so much to run up is nonsense."

Thank you~

[freshwest]

3. Beat me to it, Cha. So glad he is finding time to speak up for Americans. n/t

[Cha]

4. Barney Frank does have a way with words, fresh, and he's

been in the trenches. So, he has a compelling grasp of what's going on in today's fascist, psychopathic rw congress.

I wish I were exaggerating. You can't exaggerate with these monsters.. they're already there.

[dionysus]

2. go Barn!

[applegrove]

5. Thanks to Frank for telling it like it is. It

is feigned outrage. As always, the GOP use the tools of a sociopath.

[Enthusiast]

6. Barney, besides that, Ryan's an asshole.

A typical hypocritical Republican asshole.

[Scuba]

7. Thank you Barney!!

[johnnyreb]

8. Give 'em hell, Barney!

And thank you sir!!

[Martin Eden]

9. Barney gives them hell by stating the truth

Republicans ran up the deficit, and have no credibility as deficit hawks.

[kentuck]

10. Truth.

So nice to hear sometimes.