Debt ceiling: More Democrats threaten to vote against raising borrowing limit

[Freddie Stubbs]

A growing number of Democrats are threatening to defy the White House over the national debt, joining Republican calls for deficit cuts as a requirement for consenting to lift the country’s borrowing limit.

The tension is the latest illustration of how the tea-party-infused GOP is driving the debate in Washington over federal spending. And it shows how the debt issue is testing the Obama administration’s clout as Democrats, particularly those from politically competitive states, resist White House arguments against setting conditions on legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

The push-back has come in recent days from Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a freshman who is running for reelection next year. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) told constituents during the Easter recess that he would not vote to lift the debt limit without a “real and meaningful commitment to debt reduction.”

Even Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), generally a stalwart White House ally, is undecided on the issue and is “hopeful” that a debt-ceiling bill can be attached to a measure to cut the federal deficit, said her spokesman, Linden Zakula. Klobuchar is also up for reelection next year.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/debt-ceiling-more-democrats-threaten-to-vote-against-raising-borrowing-limit/2011/04/28/AF5KvY8E_story.html

[kenny blankenship]

1. Should I enjoy watching the Democrats slit their own throats as a party?

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SalviaBlue]

3. With "friends" like these, who needs enemies.

F'n idiots.

[emulatorloo]

4. They clearly need some education. DU'ers, start your engines. n/t

[bullwinkle428]

5. Apparently, "teh tea-bagger stoopid" must be contagious.

:mad: :mad:

[asjr]

6. Either Manchin and Conrad are dinos or they

just like to muddy the waters. They need to blame themselves as well as the WH.

[librechik]

11. They're Republicans. With tiny d's in footnotes

[Aerows]

7. Look, idiots in Congress

Americans are not as stupid as you think. We KNOW what the problem is - you need to quit giving tax cuts to the wealthy and to corporations. You need to end the subsidies to industries that are perfectly capable of profiting without them.

And if you are REALLY serious about deficit reduction, vote to reduce everyone in Congress' salaries, along with their staff and their benefits to the point that you want to reduce the rest of us. Until you do that, you aren't serious.

[Vincardog]

8. OK no debt increase unless we end the illegal wars and rescind the bush tax cuts/ Happy NOW Baggers?

[Jack Sprat]

9. politics and reelection posturing.

pitiful.

[mitchtv]

10. treacherous blue dogs

can't wait to line up with their party (R)'s

[Ramulux]

12. Amy Klobachar is terrible

Everyone seems to think shes some great liberal, but shes about as corrupt and conservative as any blue dog.

[sinkingfeeling]

13. You should have heard what told Mark Pryor's Washington office last week.

[badtoworse]

14. Across the board tax increases and across the board spending cuts

That way everyone has something to whine about.