Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, did it again. When Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy cracked the whip and demanded loyalty among the 206 House Republicans, our stereogram Congressman, Fitzpatrick, fell in line.
As usual, when it matters, he is a loyal Republican. When it doesn’t matter, he is a moderate.
This vote, on October 12, was on the antiquated debt ceiling.
Yeah, remember the debt ceiling? It usually comes up when a Democrat is President and McCarthy or someone like him decides to be an obstruction to the smooth running of Government. See Government shutdown (1995-1996 Bill Clinton/Newt Gingrich), and the debt ceiling crisis of 2011-2012 (Obama vs Boehner, after the Republicans gained control of the House.)
It has nothing to do with how much money the government can spend, only with how much money the government can borrow. “We should take a serious look at eliminating the debt limit. No other country in the world — none, zero — has a debt limit,” David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a private equity group, told CNN on Monday of this week.But in the hands of Repulsigans, the debt ceiling is a fabulous tool, one with which they can spank Democrats for out-of-control spending on things like helping the poor, providing hospitals and homes, better medical coverage and education. Meanwhile, they take no blame for what the Congressional Budget Office tallies as the $1.9
trillion loss from their own 2017 Trump-era tax cut. That finding, by the way, came in 2019, under Trump.
Fox did not feature it in their financial coverage that week. In fact, Republicans used the hearing in which it was presented to say that the tax cuts would pay off in the future.
No, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office replied. This $1.9 trillion loss was projected 10 years out. Giving money to the wealthy does not goose the economy.
Brian Fitzpatrick was in Congress in 2019. You would think he might have learned something from the CBO report.
But nu-uh.
