The debt ceiling extension was passed by a vote of 221-201 with only 28 republicans joining the majority of democrats to pass the bill. All five U.S. House members from Louisiana voted against passage and one Louisiana democrat voted with the majority. The five Louisiana reps who voted against the measure wanted the same phony concessions, namely, reduced federal spending, Washington's rampant spending and President Obama's failure to work with congress. (Note: there is no such thing as rampant spending taking place on Obama's watch.)
The Tea Party's little boy Steve Scalise continues to lead Louisiana's republican reps with statements that are not factual concerning federal spending and Obama's unwillingness to work with congress. It is Scalise's own party that has produced the largest increase in federal spending over the last 50 years and his party that has increased the federal deficit over the same period of time. And it was Scalise's party who vowed from day one to not work with the President. Scalise does not have the courage to be truthful to the people that he represents.
The 28 republicans who voted with the democratic majority had the courage to cast a common sense vote to move the country forward and not hold the country and its people hostage over a conservative ideology that is willing to lie to try and get its way. Managing by trying to create a crisis is not an option for serious public servants.
Its hell when you belong to a party that is incapable of debating the issues and instead use a phony ideology to only divide. All five republicans who voted against the bill served in congress while George W. Bush served as President and every one knows the horrible shape they left the economy in and the devasted job losses that occured on their watch. They also returned the country to massive deficit spending that the Obama administration has reduced by over 50%.
When one can not come up with the courage to cast a common sense vote on a common sense issue and then turn to phony excuses then you have a politician who is afraid to let the people judge the truth of an issue. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by John Lucia.
