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Jewish World Review
August 2, 2011
/ 2 Menachem-Av, 5771
When partisans fling charges of partisanship
By
Byron York
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid frequently accused Republicans of playing partisan politics during the debt ceiling crisis.
"The moment for partisan games is long since passed," Reid said July 21. "It is time for patriots on both sides of the aisle to join hands and actually govern."
On July 26, Reid released a statement headlined "REPUBLICANS PUT POLITICS AHEAD OF THE ECONOMY."
And on July 24, Reid cast himself as a bipartisan compromiser, trying to talk sense into his partisan adversaries. "We hope Speaker Boehner will abandon his 'my way or the highway' approach," Reid said, "and join us in forging a bipartisan compromise."
Now, both sides have joined hands and governed. But Reid's words raise a question: What's wrong with partisanship in the debate over the debt ceiling? It's a political dispute, and it hardly seems possible, or perhaps even desirable, to remove partisanship from it.
If you want proof that partisanship is an enduring part of debt ceiling arguments, you need look no farther than the record of Harry Reid himself. Not counting the current standoff, in the last decade the Senate has passed 10 increases to the debt limit. During that time, Reid always voted to raise the debt ceiling when Democrats were in control of the Senate, and never voted to raise the debt ceiling when Republicans were in control.
Some of Reid's colleagues also accuse Republicans of partisanship in the debt fight. "It's time for bipartisan leadership, not partisan gamesmanship," said the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Richard Durbin, after Republicans pulled out of budget talks with President Obama. And Obama himself described the debt debate as a "partisan three-ring circus" -- leaving no doubt that he considered the Republicans guilty of partisanship.
But a look at Durbin's record shows that he, too, has voted along party lines when it comes to the debt ceiling. In the last decade, Durbin always voted to increase the debt limit when Democrats were in control and never voted to increase the debt limit when Republicans were in control. Obama was in the Senate for just four votes to raise the debt ceiling. He missed two of them, voted yes once when Democrats were in charge, and voted no once when Republicans were in charge.
Here are the 10 votes to raise the debt ceiling since 2002, according to the Congressional Research Service.
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On June 11, 2002, with the Senate in Democratic hands, Reid and Durbin voted to bring the total national debt to $6.4 trillion.
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On May 23, 2003, with the Senate in Republican hands after the November 2002 midterm elections, Reid and Durbin voted against a bill to raise the debt limit to $7.384 trillion.
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On Nov. 17, 2004, Reid voted "present" and Durbin voted against a bill to bring the total debt to $8.184 trillion.
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On March 16, 2006, Reid, Durbin and Obama voted against a bill to bring the total debt to $8.965 trillion.
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On Sept. 27, 2007, with the Senate back in Democratic hands, Reid and Durbin voted to increase the national debt to $9.815 trillion. Obama, running for president, did not vote.
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On July 26, 2008, Reid and Durbin voted to increase the national debt to $10.615 trillion. Obama did not vote.
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On Oct. 1, 2008, Reid, Durbin and Obama voted to increase the national debt to $11.315 trillion.
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On Feb. 13, 2009, Reid and Durbin voted to increase the national debt to $12.104 trillion.
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On Dec. 24, 2009, Reid and Durbin voted to increase the national debt to $12.394 trillion.
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On Jan. 28, 2010, Reid and Durbin voted to increase the national debt to $14.294 trillion.
The point of this is not to show that Reid and Durbin are uniquely partisan, although the partisan pattern of their votes is unmistakable. Others are partisan, too; until the new debt deal, the Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, voted to increase the debt limit when Republican George W. Bush was president and against increasing the debt limit when Democrat Barack Obama was president. The point is that leaders who have voted along strictly partisan lines might want to think twice before denouncing others as partisan.
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Previously:
07/26/11 Obama could be comeback kid if he heeds Clinton's lessons
07/19/11 Book casts doubt on Obama healthcare story
07/12/11 Controversial budget law begins to pay off
07/04/11 Anti-Mormon bias persists, notably among Dems
06/27/11 Huntsman tries McCain model, but he's no John McCain
06/06/11 Amid media circus, Palin lays out policy positions
05/30/11 GOP condemns Dems' breathtaking refusal to produce budget
05/24/11 Eye-for-an-eye filibuster stops Democratic nominee
05/17/11 Amid RomneyCare fight, voters ask: Where's Mitt?
05/10/11 Bin Laden coup won't help Obama in budget fight
05/09/11 Inside the GOP debate: Pawlenty underwhelms, Cain struggles, Santorum scores
05/02/11 Huckabee decision will shape GOP presidential race
04/27/11 Get ready for game of chicken over debt ceiling
04/25/11 McCain: Libyan rebels seek U.S. recognition, might pay for war costs
04/18/11 Have the U.S. and NATO given up on Libya mess?
04/11/11 Reforming entitlements is key to a strong military
04/05/11 Jihadis Who Killed Americans Get U.S. Support in Libya
04/04/11 Unions deploy money and muscle in Battle of Wisconsin
03/30/11 Labor fight in Wisconsin is far from over
03/28/11 Obama fails to grasp the gravity of going to war
03/21/11 Union equates lavish benefits to black civil rights
03/15/11 GOP should heed lesson of 1991: No guts, no glory
03/14/11 GOP focuses on NPR's subsidies, not its politics
03/08/11 While Obama seeks new ideas, his bureaucrats stifle them
02/28/11 Why the GOP shouldn't fear a government shutdown
02/22/11 In Hawaii, a dispiriting glimpse of one-party rule
02/21/11 Obama team uses slippery words to tout budget
02/15/11 Myth and memory: The battle over Reagan's legacy
02/07/11 Invoking Reagan, Palin says this is a time for choosing again
01/31/11 With each passing year, Reagan grows larger in the American political imagination
01/24/11 House GOP begins long drive to dismantle Obamacare
01/17/11 GOP gears up again to strip NPR of federal funds
01/10/11 To House GOP, illegal immigration is a jobs issue
01/03/11 Obamacare mess is legacy of Dems' moment of power
12/27/10 Smiling Dems will soon cry Washington is broken
12/20/10 Dems are earmark junkies but GOP goes straight
12/13/10 Needed: A more presidential Palin
12/06/10 With Dems in a funk, Obama charts a new course
11/29/10 Obama's poll numbers point to his defeat in 2012
11/22/10 Holder ignored risks of civilian terror trials
11/16/10 Dems love facts and science --- except when they don't
11/08/10 Obama, new GOP lawmakers are on collision course
11/01/10 New GOP star on track to defeat Dem legend Russ Feingold
10/26/10 If Dems lose, Obama will blame everyone but himself
10/19/10 Profligate Congress should read its own bills
10/13/10 Why Big Labor couldn't match Glenn Beck's rally
10/11/10 Trash-talking Democrat faces defeat in Florida
10/05/10 A GOP unknown in striking distance of Barney Frank
09/28/10 Administration inflates green-jobs numbers
09/20/10 In Delaware, GOP should target Dems, not O'Donnell
09/14/10 GOP Insiders Wary of Landslide Predictions
08/31/10 For Obamacare supporters, judgment day approaches
08/23/10 Obama has himself to blame for Muslim problem
08/17/10 Cut spending without cutting services? Start here
08/17/10 For Michelle Obama, extravagance dents popularity
08/09/10 Obama's zealous civil rights enforcer gets busy
08/02/10 A battle between Left and Right --- inside the GOP
07/26/10 GOP spoiling for fight over Berwick appointment
07/20/10 How long will the public tolerate Afghan war?
07/12/10 NASA's Muslim outreach: Al Jazeera told first
07/02/10 Legal complaint against Gore is detailed, credible
06/28/10 Obama and Dems heading for electoral disaster
06/21/10 Who told Obama drilling is absolutely safe?
06/14/10 Billions for green jobs, whatever they are
06/07/10 Sestak a no-go for any job. So what was the deal?
05/31/10 As economic worries worsen, White House puts on the glitz
05/25/10 GOP dilemma: Fight Kagan, or go along?
05/11/10 Enforcing nation's immigration laws would be a bargain
05/03/10 How Obama could lose Arizona immigration battle
04/27/10 What's behind the anti-Tea Party hate narrative?
04/20/10 As government expands, beware the post-office example
04/19/10 Who wins in 2010? Good luck reading tea leaves
04/12/10 GOP Obamacare strategy: Try repeal, then cut
04/05/10 Obamacare was mainly aimed at redistributing wealth
03/30/10 Message to Dems: People still don't like Obamacare
03/23/10 The coming consequences of Obamacare
03/16/10 Marco Rubio and the Republicans who love him
03/15/10 GOP hopes town halls take health care off table
03/08/10 Dems turn risky health vote into manhood contest
03/01/10 Why Obama defies the public on health care
02/22/10 South Carolina mulls 2012: Romney? Palin? Huck?
02/16/10 GOP winning war over Miranda rights for terrorists
02/09/10 Who are the 300 terrorists held in U.S. prisons?
02/02/10 Is Obama dissatisfied with being president?
01/19/10 The Republican dilemma: Good Michael or Bad Michael?
01/12/10 Now the lawmakers are figuring out what they didn't know
01/05/10 GOP deserves blame for Democratic excesses
12/29/09 Dems' dreams of a blue West begin to turn red
12/22/09 Why Dems push health care, even if it kills them
11/30/09 Dems' kamikaze mission: Health care by New Year's
11/23/09 Why it's a mistake to bring Gitmo prisoners here
11/16/09 Dems' slick fix: $210 billion of fiscal restraint
11/10/09 Obama can't be community organizer for the world
11/02/09 At key moment, Obama leaves health post unfilled
10/26/09 Fierce urgency' for jobs, not health care
10/12/09 Facts hurt Jennings in youth sex controversy
10/05/09 Amid terror threat, Dems chip away at Patriot Act
09/27/09 In Afghanistan, let U.S. troops be warriors
09/21/09 Under fire, Democrats abandon ACORN in drove
09/14/09 Dems stifle Republican health care plans
09/08/09 For Dems, a serious Charlie Rangel problem
09/07/09 Obama's speech: Wrong setting for a sales job
09/01/09 What happened to the antiwar movement?
08/24/09 Why Dems may jam through health care plan
08/17/09 GOP thinks the unthinkable: Victory in 2010
08/10/09 The empty words of a journalist turned flack
08/03/09 Probe finds new clues in AmeriCorps IG scandal
07/27/09 Obamacare haunted by unkept promises of stimulus
07/20/09 Why the GOP failed the Sotomayor test
07/13/09 What the GOPers will ask Sotomayor
06/29/09 Serious questions remain for Mark Sanford
06/22/09 How GOPers can crack the AmeriCorps scandal
06/16/09 Worried about Sotomayor? Consider Andre Davis
06/08/09 Can Mitch Daniels save the GOP?
06/01/09 When the Dems derailed a Latino nominee
05/26/09 Why the GOP will defeat Obama on healthcare
05/19/09 Rosy report can't hide stimulus problems
05/12/09 The Reagan legacy is the man himself
05/05/09 Sen. Specter, meet your new friends
04/27/09 Ted Olson: ‘Torture' probes will never end
04/20/09 Who's Laughing at the Axis of Evil today?
04/14/09 Congress needs Google to track stimulus money
04/06/09 Beyond AIG: A bill to let Big Government set your salary
03/30/09 On Spending and the Deficit, McCain Was Right
03/24/09 It's Obama's crisis now
03/17/09: Geithner-Obama economics: A joke that's not funny
© 2009, NEA
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