Politico.com: on Budget & Economy
Bernie Sanders:
2012: Supported fiscal cliff compromise package on taxes
Over the years, Sanders has tried to turn his grand progressive vision into a reality, most dramatically over the Bush-era tax cuts. In 2010, he took to the Senate floor for about nine hours to rail against the Obama administration's deal with
Republicans on tax breaks. The multihour rant made Sanders a progressive folk hero.Nonetheless, two years later, he voted for a major tax and budget bill known as the fiscal cliff package, which made 98% of the Bush tax cuts permanent--a package
that only eight senators opposed. It was a major compromise for Democrats, especially for Sanders, who now wants to hike tax rates to levels not seen in the last 30 years. One Democratic colleague said, "It was it a lousy deal but the only deal
available."
Sanders' record of compromising doesn't make him a flip-flopper. It shows him as a pragmatist who, like most of his colleagues, compromises to pass legislation even when it may not achieve all the things he would have liked.
Source: Politico.com on 2016 presidential hopefuls
Feb 11, 2016
Chris McDaniel:
Those in D.C. don't appear to be listening
Thad Cochran voted for the budget compromise to reopen the federal government--giving any potential opponent fodder for attacks. "There are those in D.C. that don't appear to be listening,"
McDaniel said in the statement announcing his candidacy. "We stand today ready to restore this republic." [The endorsing groups commented]:- "Cochran supports earmarks and crossed over to vote with Democrats on a host of issues.
There are those like Senator Ted Cruz who not only vote with conservatives, but give voice to liberty-loving citizens across the country. Then there are those like Thad Cochran who are completely missing in action in the fight against ObamaCare."
- "Chris McDaniel has the courage to stand up to the big spenders in both parties."
- "Chris McDaniel is ready to take the fight straight to the liberals in Washington who have led us to $17 trillion in debt."
Source: Politico.com on 2014 Mississippi Senate debate
Oct 17, 2013
Doug Ose:
COVID: Open schools and businesses; get people back to work
Ose, 65, represented a Sacramento-area House district for three terms from 1999 to 2005. "We need our schools open,
we need our businesses open, we need to know where you can get a shot and people to go back to work," Ose [said].
Source: Politico.com on 2021 CA recall race
Mar 16, 2021
Pat Roberts:
Ok to spend in time of war; otherwise don't be over-generous
Gov. Sam Brownback showered Roberts with praise for his work on a $404 million research lab at Kansas State University. But Brownback didn't mention that Roberts voted against a sweeping spending bill earlier this year that provided the money for the
research lab; had his position prevailed, the project could have collapsed."I have voted for omnibus [spending] bills in the past; in the past, I have voted for [raising] debt ceilings," Roberts said. "But that was a time of war; we were doing
emergency spending." Now, "all of a sudden, you are at $16 trillion debt," he said. "It's astounding. Now, $17 trillion, $18 trillion."
Similarly, Roberts said he voted against the farm bill because its subsidies for certain commodities were too
generous and it did too little to overhaul the food stamp program. Still, when Roberts travels through the state, he touts his role crafting the law's provisions reforming the crop insurance program.
Source: Politico.com weblog on 2014 Kansas Senate race
Jul 8, 2014
Richard Cordray:
A look back at the recession demands common sense reforms
House Republicans want the consumer watchdog to take responsibility for why home and small-business loans are still hard to come by. But Director Cordray isn't taking the bait. He said loans are still hard to come by because of banks' hesitancy
to jump back into the market following the financial crisis and ensuing recession--not because of new rules or government policies. "You can't look at what happened in 2007 and 2008 without realizing that we need common-sense reforms," Cordray said.
Source: Patrick Reis in Politico.com on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race
Jul 24, 2012
Scott Walker:
Eliminating collective bargaining created $154M surplus
For a moment Thursday, the campaign returned to the issue that sparked the historic recall in the first place. The two rivals spent the first 15 minutes of the debate sparring over the governor's decision to eliminate collective bargaining rights for
public employees.Walker framed his budget bill as a bold but necessary action taken to get the state's finances in order and pointed to a $154 million surplus and the addition of 23,000 jobs this year as evidence his reforms had already produced
results. "The mayor has said repeatedly throughout the primary he wants go to back and restore collective bargaining," Walker noted.
Barrett acknowledged as governor he would restore collective bargaining rights, but pushed back on the assertion that
he would be a pawn of the unions. "The difference is I'll allow them to be at the table. He doesn't even want to have a conversation with them. They know that I'm not a pushover, but the difference is I respect them to be at the table," he said.
Source: Politico.com on 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall debate
Jun 1, 2012
Page last updated: Aug 15, 2024