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Tapper to Carney: Back to hostage again, eh, champ?
December 5, 2012 by Dustin Siggins
In 2011, the Republican Party and especially the conservative/Tea Party wing was accused of holding the country hostage over the debt ceiling debate. In yesterdays White House briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney decided to bring the term back into style, using it twice when answering questions on the debt ceiling. Here is the second one:
Q: Jay, speaking of the debt ceiling, does an agreement to raise the debt ceiling have to be part of an agreement to avert the fiscal cliff?
CARNEY: Were not going to negotiate over what is a fundamental responsibility of Congress, which is to pay the bills that Congress incurred. It should be part of the deal. It should be done and it should be done without drama.
We cannot allow our economy to be held hostage again to the whims of an ideological agenda. We are the United States of America. We are the greatest economy on Earth. We pay our bills. We always have. If Congress wants to reduce spending, that should be part of the negotiations that go into making decisions about how we spend the programs we spend money on.
CARNEY: Were not going to negotiate over what is a fundamental responsibility of Congress, which is to pay the bills that Congress incurred. It should be part of the deal. It should be done and it should be done without drama.
We cannot allow our economy to be held hostage again to the whims of an ideological agenda. We are the United States of America. We are the greatest economy on Earth. We pay our bills. We always have. If Congress wants to reduce spending, that should be part of the negotiations that go into making decisions about how we spend the programs we spend money on.
Fortunately, ABCs Jake Tapper didnt let Carney get away with it:
Q: Just a second ago, you referred to, when talking about the debt ceiling, taking it off the table needs to be part of the deal. You referred to the economy being held hostage by an ideological view. Youre aware that when he was a senator, President Obama voted against raising it.
CARNEY: We addressed that and there was no threat of default at the time. What happened in 2011 as we all know, because we all lived it, most of us in this room was the threat of default, a willingness expressed on the record and publicly by numerous members of Congress to see the American economy under default and with all the consequent impacts on the global economy and on the American middle class in order to achieve some sort of political victory that was driven by ideology and partisanship.
CARNEY: We addressed that and there was no threat of default at the time. What happened in 2011 as we all know, because we all lived it, most of us in this room was the threat of default, a willingness expressed on the record and publicly by numerous members of Congress to see the American economy under default and with all the consequent impacts on the global economy and on the American middle class in order to achieve some sort of political victory that was driven by ideology and partisanship.
.
Q: So its okay for people to engage in that kind of nonsense if its
CARNEY: Jake, I appreciate the question, and we engaged in this a lot at the time and I refer you to my comments about it back then. But the fact that
Q people voting the way that Senator Obama did and except youre using derisive terms
CARNEY: What happened in 2011 is that Republicans in Congress demanded said they would let America default for the first time in its history if they did not get the items on their agenda. That was consequential and it was unprecedented, and the result was bad for everyone.
So, in the last few days, weve gone from the President putting forth an unreasonable plan and taking a vacation to his Press Secretary saying principled disagreement is equivalent to hostage-taking, but only if that principled opposition doesnt actually impact the country. Gotcha.CARNEY: Jake, I appreciate the question, and we engaged in this a lot at the time and I refer you to my comments about it back then. But the fact that
Q people voting the way that Senator Obama did and except youre using derisive terms
CARNEY: What happened in 2011 is that Republicans in Congress demanded said they would let America default for the first time in its history if they did not get the items on their agenda. That was consequential and it was unprecedented, and the result was bad for everyone.
But now the question arises: Who is really taking the country hostage? I answered that question the other day at the Tea Party Patriots blog:
Since the start of the Tea Party Movement, politicians in both parties have found it convenient to blame [the Tea Party] whenever the Beltway Bubble is pierced. This hit something of a climax last year, when Tea Party-minded Members of Congress held strong against a no-frills debt ceiling increase. If youll remember, the word hostage was thrown about.
Well, now principled opposition to increased taxes is being used by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to say the coming fiscal cliff wont be avoided. In other words, Rep. Pelosi is holding the middle-class hostage on tax increases in order to eke out a little more from the wealthy.
Between them, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi are holding the country hostage over increasing taxes on the rich to cover less than 2% of projected spending over the next decade. Isnt that the definition of an ideological agenda, especially when the nation has at least $61 trillion in long-term debts, liabilities, and obligations, and the Presidents plan to deal with this problem is to essentially ignore it?Well, now principled opposition to increased taxes is being used by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to say the coming fiscal cliff wont be avoided. In other words, Rep. Pelosi is holding the middle-class hostage on tax increases in order to eke out a little more from the wealthy.
Tapper to Carney: Back to hostage again, eh, champ? « Hot Air