Republicans Campaign On Failure Of Super Committee, Blame All On Democrats

WASHINGTON -- Republicans have already begun campaigning on the Super Committee's impending failure by blaming Democrats in a blast email Monday morning.

"Without fail, Democrats have refused to get serious about restoring fiscal accountability in Washington as they show a blatant lack of interest in giving up their limitless credit card that has spiraled America's debt out of control," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay in an email aimed at Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.).

Shuler was not a member of the 12-member Joint Committee On Deficit Reduction, but was a leader of a "Go Big" coalition that advised the Super Committee to aim for at least $4 trillion in deficit cuts, not just the minimum $1.2 trillion.

But Shuler, a conservative Democrat from a tough swing district, was among 50 members of Congress targeted in the email.

"The message that Democrats like Heath Shuler are sending to North Carolina families is that they would rather play political games with their tax dollars than promote policies that encourage a healthy economy and a strong job market," Lindsay charged.

Democrats in fact did not agree to GOP offers on the Super Committee, but neither did Republicans agree to Democratic suggestions, with the biggest stumbling point coming over how to deal with the Bush-era tax cuts.

The quick anti-Democrat hit vividly illustrates the fear each side feels that it could be blamed for failure. But a Democratic official thought the blast -- fired even before the Super Committee officially died -- betrayed greater concern on the GOP side.

"They sound a bit defensive," said the official, who declined to be named because she thought it was too soon to politick over the dying committee.

For evidence, Lindsay pointed to reporting that said at least some of the Democratic members were not very engaged in the committee, largely because from their perspective the Republicans did not come close to a real compromise.

Shuler's campaign could not be immediately reached for comment.

Comments

[5041360]

05:16 PM on 12/19/2011

grover's boys sold out the country for 30 pieces of silver- republicans line up at his office every morning to get their instructions and their silver.- they do nothing until he tells them to.

[spikedawg71]

08:40 PM on 11/22/2011

I'm glad the super committee failed, that's not how to conduct business. Pointing fingers back and forth is also no way to do business either. Fact is neither party is reasonable or has been reasonable for some time. I ditched my Democrat allegiance years ago, because I saw they were just as nuts as Repubs, and started looking more for people that get results. Tough to find though, with corporate contributions destroying democracy and favoring corporatocracy, which is now Kleptocracy, since corporate welfare is now chic. Sadly were stuck with these muling cabbages running things til we can get corporate donations eliminated from the process altogether. We need a constitutional ammendment prohibiting their involvement.

[OFTENCORRECT]

10:43 AM on 11/22/2011

Senator Lindsay ( Repub. N Carolina) has to be kidding. Does he think the American voters couldn't see what was happening. Since all of this started with the negotiating of the debt level so the Country could pay its bills, take a look at what your retirement assets (401k, IRA, value off your already reduced residence, and non guaranteed pension plan) have been reduced to. Do you think these "congressmen" really care -- they have life-time federal benefits in most cases better than you as an individual ever dreamed of having. All of this so as not to raise taxes on the" one percent" making on average many millions each year and having a net worth of many times their yearly earnings. This are the lowest tax rates the wealthy have ever enjoyed while the rest of us have seen our cost of living go up and our assets go down. In which direction have the assets of the legislators and the wealthy gone??

[ponchoparadise]

10:27 AM on 11/22/2011

If we should have OWS type encampments outside each and every
Republican, Senators and congresspersons, home district offices.
That would be hundreds of OWS type
protests at hundreds of Republican districts all across red state America. Every time they try the heavy handed tactics they have tried on OWS protesters we could put the
the blame for this UnAmerican response right at the feet of the Republican party, where the blame
belongs.

[trollsbwild]

10:23 AM on 11/22/2011

Republicans are laughable. Fact is, the cuts acrossthe board and the end of the Bush tax cuts sound like the American people got a fair deal.

[dmak1331]

10:15 AM on 11/22/2011

Who are they trying to fool here ? not me ! I hate to repeat what everybody already knows " Our # 1 goal is to make this Pres. a one term Pres." people , do you remember who utter those words ? and why do all those Repubs. who sign that stupid document with Grover " not elected to anything " Norquist still in office ? where is the outrage ? all who sign this document should be charge with Dereliction of Duty .

[sharin]

09:44 AM on 11/22/2011

though the proposals of the dems on the super committee stank, these dems were at least trying to find a compromise position. The repubs, however, wanted all or nothing and so the committee came up with nothing.
Good for you dems, for once you didn't cave

[psychophil]

09:42 AM on 11/22/2011

There is no need to report on this even-handedly. The Republicans signed no tax pledges and waved them about before their self-created tea party fundamentalists. How many Democrats signed "no cuts to spending" pledges?

[ronp121]

09:07 AM on 11/22/2011

What a beautiful day the sun aint shinin and the pubs be cryin. Surprisingly surprised the Democrats didn't yield any farther than they did with their cuts to entitlements. I believe the Democrats could have offered to completely destroy Medicare and Social Security for a dollar tax on the rich and it would of been refused. But the highlight of the last evening was watching Obama say NO with a veto to any deals from the republicans to save their war machine from a cut. Notice the Republicans weren't worried about the public taking a hit. This can still be righted but not without the republicans stopping the insanity of not getting any revenue back into our country with taxes from the 1%.

[lisaman]

09:06 AM on 11/22/2011

Another non surprise.

[victorlove1]

09:04 AM on 11/22/2011

Take every current American (300m) earnings ability over their lifetime, add it all up, and according to The Donald that sum is $240+Trillion.

Our debt is , what?
Don't tell me that R's and D's don't know that figure, but please tell me why you couldn't shake out a few trillion from the income tree, put our debt on lay-a-way, and make quarterly payments on it thereafter.

Failure doesn't come from ignorance of the issues, you fail when you stop trying.

If you stop trying, you abdicate the contract between you and your constituents to do their bidding. The honorable thing to do now is for you to resign. NOW !

[southernman]

07:48 AM on 11/22/2011

The biggest chink in the republican armor is the majority of the American voting public is not as ignorant and gullible as they are led to believe they are. Tea Party yes ... All the people All the time ... you bet, that's why they have a smile on their face all the time "Ignorance is Bliss "

[Charles-12881]

07:35 AM on 11/22/2011

Well of course they do and I can blame it all on ronald reagan!

[ShanaJuly]

06:24 AM on 11/22/2011

Uh hey republicans...the stupid super committee was another one of your ideas but of course you republicans can NEVER, EVER ACCEPT BLAME for anything...why you have spent almost 3 years trying to make us forget George W. Bush by keeping him hidden and blaming PBHO for everything since slavery...

Republican Boehner = FAILURE

NOW CRY ABOUT THAT JOHN...

[DG-NY]

05:41 AM on 11/22/2011

I wonder how much of the time they were "IN" the Supercommittee, the members were actually writing the response rather than trying to work together?