Quotes of the day

“A growing number of Democrats are threatening to defy the White House over the national debt, joining Republican calls for deficit cuts as a requirement for consenting to lift the country’s borrowing limit…

“The push-back has come in recent days from Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a freshman who is running for reelection next year. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) told constituents during the Easter recess that he would not vote to lift the debt limit without a ‘real and meaningful commitment to debt reduction.’…

“‘As catastrophic as it would be to fail to raise our debt ceiling, it’s even more irresponsible to not take this opportunity to own up to our unsustainable spending path,’ Sen. Mark Udall (Colo.), another Democrat challenging the White House, said in a statement his office released this week. ‘If we don’t take action to reduce our deficit spending, Congress will be facing this same debt ceiling vote in the near term – still with no end to our deficits in sight.’”

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“It’s a message that’s catching on: More and more Republicans are calling for hard caps on spending and moderate Democrats — desperate for a palatable way to vote to increase the debt limit — are starting to buck White House officials who are lobbying Democratic senators to oppose Corker’s bill…

“Like many Republicans, Corker realizes the vote to increase the debt ceiling will come under fire from the tea party wing – even if they win serious concessions from Democrats. And Corker is already receiving some political blowback for his effort to lure Democrats — some Republican officials worry he’s giving bipartisan cover to vulnerable incumbents, like Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Joe Manchin of West Virginia…

“The Corker plan would put in place a 10-year path to cap federal expenditures, bringing down spending to 20.6 percentage of the country’s economic output. If Congress failed to meet the annual cap, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget would make cuts throughout the federal budget – and only a two-thirds vote of Congress could override its decisions. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – the expensive entitlement programs Democrats have vowed to protect – would be on the chopping block, too. Corker projects that the plan would save the country $7.6 trillion.”

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Via Reason TV.

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“‘Hells no. I would not vote to increase that debt ceiling,’ she said during an interview on Fox News, where she is a paid contributor…

“‘It turns my stomach to hear this assumption articulated that we have to, despite the fact that we are raking in the federal government $6 billion a day,’ she said. ‘Take that money and service our debt first and pay down some of that debt. Make sure that we are showing the international financial markets and our lenders that we’re serious about getting our debt and our deficit problems under control.’”

• “Experienced Democrats” whispering that it might be time for Holder to go
• New MSNBC theory: Maybe the IRS commissioner appointed by Bush targeted tea partiers because they’re a threat to the GOP
• Carney: No, seriously, Obama’s lawyer didn’t tell him that the IRS was targeting tea partiers when she found out; Update: Obama’s chief of staff was told?

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