Dems Raise National Deficit To $1.8 Trillion...2010 Election Backlash

Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2010 backlash


In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections.

“We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday. And the Maryland Democrat confirmed that the anticipated increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in last spring’s budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year.

The leadership is betting that it’s better for the party to take its lumps now rather than risk further votes over the coming year. But the enormity of the number could create its own dynamic, much as another debt ceiling fight in 1985 gave rise to the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction act mandating across-the-board spending cuts nearly 25 years ago.

Already in the Senate, there is growing pressure in both parties for the creation of a novel bipartisan task force empowered to force expedited votes in the next Congress on deficit reduction steps now shunned by lawmakers.

As introduced Wednesday, the legislation sets no specific targets for deficit reduction, but its 18-member task force — 16 of whom would come from Congress — is promised immense leverage to force change if they can first come together behind a plan.

“This is a defining moment,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of the lead sponsors, and New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, the panel’s ranking Republican, is already maneuvering to try to add the legislation as an amendment to any bill tapped to carry the debt increase.

As explained by Hoyer and other Democrats, that will almost certainly be a pending $636.4 billion Pentagon appropriations bill that includes $128.3 in contingency funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House leadership has held back the bill for weeks, saving it for this moment, but now appropriations clerks have been instructed to have a final package ready to go by Monday.

Leadership staff stressed that nothing was yet final in what has become a year-end negotiation between top Democrats in the House and Senate. But the Senate appears to have been the first to put the $1.8 trillion number on the table. And Hoyer’s comments are the clearest yet on the scale of the increase and the expectation that it will be part of a larger year-end legislative train pulled along by the must-pass military bill.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, who is pursuing job-related measures he would also like to add, insisted that the debt issue is a “leadership call” alone. But the Wisconsin Democrat showed no sign of opposition to the strategy outlined by Hoyer.

“It is December. We don’t really have a choice,” Obey told POLITICO. “The bill’s already been run up; the credit card has already been used. When you get the bill in the mail you need to pay it.”

Though Treasury can buy itself time by moving assets around, it is already coming close to the current debt ceiling of $12.1 trillion. Last spring, the Democratic-backed budget proposed to raise this to about $13 trillion, but given the current pace of borrowing, no one now expects that will be sufficient to get through 2010.

In fact, fiscal year 2009 ended Sept. 30 with a $1.4 trillion deficit, which demanded higher-than-expected Treasury borrowing. Most of that was due to the downturn in the economy and spending commitments in place before Barack Obama took office. And as much as Republicans point to the president’s economic recovery bill last February as the culprit, only a small share of that $787 billion package was spent by Sept. 30.

The picture in 2010 is different. The administration is predicting the stimulus will hit its stride with much more spending. And there will be a steady escalation of outlays driven by back-to-back increases in 2009 and 2010 appropriations for domestic agencies.

The White House has vowed to be more deficit conscious in its forthcoming 2011 budget due out in February. But the House could vote as early as Thursday on a $446.8 billion year-end package covering more than a dozen Cabinet departments and agencies and representing a healthy 9 percent to 10 percent increase over current spending for the same accounts.

For example, transportation and housing resources would grow by 12 percent, including $2.5 billion for high-speed-rail investments on top of the $8 billion already added by the White House to the giant stimulus bill in February. A $163.5 budget for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education would add an additional $8.6 billion to annual spending, and Veterans Health Administration spending would grow to $45.1 billion, a $4.1 billion increase.


Sources: Politico

Foxx Wins Charlotte's Mayor Race, I'm Moving!...Dirty Politics & Racial Straight Ticket Voting Works

Yes its true, Mr. Anthony Foxx (Democrat) won Charlotte's Mayor race. Congrats!

He beat a good man (John Lassiter-Republican), much more qualified to manage this city than himself.

Bummer!

Listen folks why do you think Foxx wanted to campaign together with Lassiter?

Lassiter was a Stronger, More Qualified candidate and Foxx needed to feed off of him to build himself up in the eyes of voters.

So yes, Dirty Politics and Racial Straight Ticket voting did play a huge role in his victory whether Foxx wishes to admit it or not.

Since he's a slick Lawyer he probably won't, however God knows the real truth of how this race was run.

As I stated on yesterday I have no regrets voting for John Lassiter and yes I still believe he is Charlotte's best choice politically speaking.

I wish Mr. Lassiter the best and Godspeed.

In the meantime Foxx's win now gives me an excellent reason to move from this region.

Where to? Perhaps back to New York City my native hometown, or not.

You can rest assured that where ever I move it will most definitely be a city where a Republican Mayor rules.

Why?

Let's just say that I have had enough of Crooked, Self-Serving, Tax and Spend Democrats to last a life time. Charlotte-Meck's Gov't is full of them!

Despite lies from the Mainstream Media Republican Leaders can be progressive.

If Pat McCrory wasn't a Progressive Leader Charlotte would NOT have been the first city in North Carolina to have a Light Rail System.

Republican Leaders are also known for being Fiscally Responsible managers.

Does this mean that I no longer support Pres. Barack Obama who is after all a Democratic President?

No. I will still support and pray for Pres. Obama.

Furthermore I don't see Pres. Obama as a Crooked, Corrupt, Self-Serving Politician.

Prior to being elected U.S. Senator and President of the United States, Barack Obama had a proven Public Service record for helping ALL types of people: Poor, Middle Class and Wealthy.

Charlotte's newly elected Mayor Anthony Foxx does NOT have that type of Public Service record.

Foxx is also an Opportunist who only cares about himself, his immediate family (NOT his Blood Cousins) and his elite, inner circle friends. That's It!

Everyone else are just pawns for him to manipulate to get what he wants.

Wait a minute! Am I describing Harvey Gantt? No just Gantt's spawn Anthony Foxx.

Well let me go back on my knees and get out my bible to pray for Charlotte's future.

Everyone who voted for Anthony Foxx will soon be on their knees begging God for mercy and help too because once this man's true agenda is unveiled, its going to really hurt this city.

Am I being Pessimistic?

No. Just wait until your Taxes are increased again, Crime continues to rise and Reverse Discrimination runs rampant, You'll see. (Atlanta, Detroit)

Charlotte your going to be sorry. You'll see.

Charlotte asked for CHANGE!

I just hope the constituents can handle what they think they wanted, versus what they actually needed.

Congrats!






Tough times will require Foxx to find new solutions


And so a new era begins. After 14 years with Republican Mayor Pat McCrory at the wheel, Charlotte will see a new approach in the person of Democrat Anthony Foxx.

We have said from the beginning that Charlotte was fortunate to have two good choices for mayor this year in Foxx and Republican John Lassiter. That's been proven true, and we believe Foxx will perform admirably.

Foxx, 38, is intelligent and hard-working. He also has shown an ability to address shortcomings. Over the course of the campaign, he went from an unpolished candidate inconsistent about articulating a clear message to one who both delved into issues and communicated his stances on those issues effectively.

Foxx, we expect, will be an inclusive mayor who listens to arguments from all sides, all constituents, all City Council members. Foxx has said he will treat the office as a full-time job. He'll run the City Council meetings and work closely with staff on all the issues facing the city. But he'll also use the office as a bully pulpit, calling attention to issues that need it and working with regional, state and federal governments to fight for Charlotte's interests in a collaborative way.

We're confident he will work hard to connect with residents, including by holding regular town halls he promised during the campaign. We believe he will be open-minded about looking for new ways to approach intransigent problems.

We have many hopes for Foxx's tenure. We hope he governs from the heart, not from the polls. We expect him to stand up to his Democratic colleagues on the City Council when needed. With an 8-3 majority, council Democrats could safely ignore the concerns of Republicans if Foxx lets them. We would like to see him fulfill his promise to scour the city budget for areas where spending could be reduced responsibly, knowing that a tax increase on citizens already hurting in a slow economy is not an attractive option. We hope he makes homelessness and affordable housing a truly high priority for the city.

But most of all, we hope he will strive to approach the city's challenges in a new way. These are difficult times, particularly for Charlotte, and will continue to be well into the new year. Foxx faces an entirely different challenge navigating the city out of this slowdown than McCrory did leading Charlotte through 14 years of prosperity. He'll have to avoid the temptation to bring old solutions to new problems, and instead find ways to truly innovate.

We applaud both candidates for the clean, informative campaigns they ran. Lassiter, 55, has loyally served Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for two decades, and we strongly urge him to remain engaged in public life and in this city's future. This loss must be extremely disappointing, but his talents are considerable and Charlotte needs leaders like him in public office.





Foxx wins race for Charlotte mayor


Voters ended more than two decades of Republican leadership in Charlotte Tuesday by electing Democrat Anthony Foxx the city's second African-American mayor and the youngest in memory.

Foxx won Charlotte's closest mayoral race in years, taking just over 51 percent of the vote over Republican John Lassiter in unofficial totals.

At a victory celebration, Foxx shared a long hug with a jubilant Harvey Gantt, the last Democratic and first African-American mayor.

"It's been 22 years since we've had this moment," a hoarse Foxx told a cheering crowd at the Westin hotel. "The work of rebuilding our community starts very soon. ... We will work together - Republican, Democrat and unaffiliated, white and black and Hispanic. ... Let's get going.

"We're going to pull Charlotte together."

He went on to thank Lassiter for a "race well run."

An hour earlier, Lassiter had been conceding on live TV when his cell phone rang.

"Oh, it's Anthony," he said, telling Foxx, "You can count on me in any way I can serve this city. Good luck to you."

Foxx carried a wide swath of precincts from east to west Charlotte, while Lassiter's support was largely confined to a wedge in the south and southeast.

Though turnout was heaviest in the southeast, Foxx benefited from heavy straight-ticket voting that pushed Democrats to an 8-3 City Council majority.

Foxx got his strongest support in predominantly African-American precincts. He carried two by more than 1,000 votes. At East Stonewall AME Zion Church off Beatties Ford Road, he won 1,307 votes to Lassiter's 3.

Foxx planned to continue the momentum that began a year ago when Barack Obama carried Charlotte by more than 25 percentage points. He benefited from a strong base. At 35 percent, the city's proportion of black voters is more than a third higher than when Gantt was first elected in 1983.

After 14 years of Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, Foxx campaigned on a platform of change and promised to help Charlotte to "reach its true potential." At 38, he'll be a year younger than McCrory was when he was first elected at 39.

Throughout the campaign, Foxx stressed his own story: growing up in west Charlotte with a single mother and grandparents, becoming the first black student body president at Davidson College and going on to study law at New York University.

"My life example proved what this city must do," he said Tuesday night, "which is the simple thing of believing in yourself."

Lassiter, a lawyer and businessman, campaigned on experience. He brought a long resume of community service - as a neighborhood leader, planning commissioner, school board member and a City Council member since 2003. He said all that offered a stark contrast to Foxx, a council member for four years.

But change trumped experience for many voters.

Foxx supporter Lachelle Smith took her 5-year-old son Julius Hall to the polls at Hawthorne High School. He pointed to Foxx's picture on a campaign flyer. "Why's he running for mayor?" he asked.

"He wants to make changes in the city to help us," Smith replied.

Lassiter had appeared to break away from Foxx in recent days.

Last week Raleigh's Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found the race tied. Monday it released a poll that gave Lassiter a 4-point lead and showed white undecided voters moving toward him.

The mayoral campaign featured more than 40 forums and debates and was widely applauded for its civility. That began to fray last week when Foxx and the state Democratic Party made an issue of Lassiter's support from developers.

In a televised debate, Lassiter accused Foxx of spreading "false information" about his record and later lashed out at a state party mailing that he said injected negative politics into the campaign. Foxx distanced himself from the mailing.

Throughout the campaign, the two tried to underscore contrasts over streetcar funding and taxes. But many people struggled to find differences between candidates whose City Council voting records were often similar.

"I don't see a big difference between the two, frankly," said Republican Ben Kinney, a magazine publisher who voted for Lassiter in east Charlotte. "I have a strong feeling Democrats are basically going to control most of City Council."

Foxx alluded to the strengthened grip Democrats will hold on council.

"There's a great amount of opportunity there," he said. "But there's a great amount of pressure."



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Daily Kos, Under The Dome, Google Maps