Two opinion columns published in the New Orleans Advocate of 4/23 and 4/25 by opinion writer's Stephanie Grace and Mark Ballard concerning Scalise and Graves missed the real story about the GOP's attempt to hold America hostage over the "debt ceiling" and how speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy turned to Graves to lead the effort instead of majority leader Scalise.
The real story tells the tale of how McCarthy, Scalise and Graves, who served during the Trump administration and voted with Trump the majority of the time was part of a administration that became the biggest spending administration in the history of the U.S. and still raised the "debt ceiling" without demanding any budget cuts or less spending. It was also their administration that increased the national debt $8.2 trillion in 4 fiscal years, the largest ever number in the national debt during any Presidential one term.
In the 40 years that Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama and Trump served, $17.7 trillion (65%) was added to the national debt by those 4 GOP Presidents. $9.7 trillion (35%) was added to the national debt by those two democratic Presidents. Year to year federal spending in the last 50 years was down four times. Three times during the Obama administration in fiscal 2010,2012 and 2013. It was down once in Biden's first fiscal year ending 9/30/22. No GOP administration in that same time period ever reduced year to year federal spending.
McCarthy, Scalise and Graves are still supporters of Donald Trump, voted for his $1.5 trillion tax cuts financed by deficit spending which the government is still paying for. They cared nothing about the fiscal disaster they created during their own administration, and to think editorial writers speak of Graves and Scalise as assets for the state of Louisiana in Congress. No one can be supporters of Trump and be an asset.
The GOP's hypocritical bill passed the House by a vote of 217-215 but will not become law because the GOP has no record of reducing federal spending or reducing deficit spending. In other words, the GOP cannot "walk the talk." Democratic administrations have a proven record of reducing federal spending and deficit spending and as a result can and already have "walked the talk." The latest example was Biden's first fiscal year budget which ended 9/30/22 where federal spending was down 8% from Trump's last fiscal year budget. And the deficit was down over 50% from Trump's last fiscal year budget.
The numbers and the records, really do matter.
Note: Past PolitiDose commentary break down all the numbers and the source of information used concerning the federal budget, deficit spending, the national debt, federal spending and etc.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
