Congratulations to Congressman Schweikert on an article in the Washington Post on Tuesday written by Philip Rucker.
I’m writing this post to give you the opportunity to show your support for David or to at least give him your opinion. For those of us who worked on David’s campaigns, watching him finally serve is a huge reward knowing he now gets to make the hard decisions we entrusted him with. I for one, certainly don’t envy being in his position but like many others, I do trust him to do the right thing for this country. Unfortunately, we’ve run out of money and patience. Democrats and some Republicans have run out of basic economic common sense and alarmingly, we are all running out of time.
Here’s an excerpt from that article:
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On his 104th day in office, Rep. David Schweikert stepped before about 60 of his constituents here and, like an economics professor, flipped through one scary chart after another to hammer home his point: America faces a tidal wave of debt.
Then he asked for a show of hands: If you were a freshman congressman like him, would you vote to raise the government’s debt limit?
Two hands went in the air.
He got the same reaction at another town hall meeting, and he expects it again at a tea party forum later this week.
Schweikert, a Republican, isn’t sure if he’d raise his hand, either.
This is his dilemma: He knows Congress has little choice but to raise the amount of money the government can borrow to prevent the economic havoc sure to follow if the United States defaults on its loans. He also knows doing so is deeply unpopular — not only among his conservative base, but among some moderates and liberals, too.
“I desperately want to vote ‘no,’ ” Schweikert said at the town hall. “I also desperately don’t want [the economy] to crash.” (continue reading)
We are so lucky to have Dave representing us. That guy is brilliant and he’s called me back twice already since getting elected to talk about the budget. Keep using that calculator Dave. We are behind you!
I have also gotten a call back from David. I didn’t even vote for him but now I think I will. I called his office and two days later a 202 number at dinner time. It was my Congressman! I put it on speaker and my husband and I asked questions and he gave us 20 minutes of his busy schedule! I like knowing that my Congressman works for me! (picture in this article is sweet)
Let’s not accept the false choice that Obama administration officials and the media are presenting – either raise the debt ceiling or the U.S. Government must necessarily default, and economic Armageddon will ensue – it’s not true! This situation can easily be avoided as long as the U.S. Treasury makes it a priority to service the debt first, rather than last, as they have done at least 4 times since 1985 when the debt ceiling was reached.
Senator Pat Toomey has introduced the Full Faith and Credit Act. It’s short and sweet, and says that if the U.S. government debt reaches it’s statutory limit, Treasury will pay debt obligations first, rather than last. Incidentally, this bill is only necessary because of the gloom and doom being fomented by the Obama administration and the Treasury Dept.
This will, of course, put Congress and the President in the difficult position of having to finally make the cuts in spending elsewhere in the budget – but isn’t that what we want?
I’m concerned that our Republican leadership in the House of Representatives doesn’t fully appreciate that default on the debt really is a non-issue, and are ready to go weak in the knees over the debt ceiling when they don’t have to.
@Jeff Smith. Great post, and Schweikert has the House version of Toomey’s Full Faith and Credit legislation. Not bad for a coincidence! Pat and David are tag teaming a lot of really strong conservative corrections to what Pelosi and Reid have done to this economy! Let Freedom Ring!
I just wish Mr Schweikert would tackle the most obvious piece of government waste: the fact that he and his colleagues will continue to receive Cadillac benefits and a 100% pension of their six-figure salary for life.
@ Paul – you should get your facts straight rather than believing everything you read on the internet. Members of Congress do not get their salary for life – they are federal employees for all intents and purposes and get the same retirement you or I would if we worked for the government.
Also, I personally asked Schweikert about his personal health care plan back in February and he told me that he enrolled in a high deductible plan where he is responsible for paying his bills well before the government does. Schweikert specifically said “this is the type of consumer driven plan that can lower costs by giving individuals more control of their health insurance. I believe in these types of plans, which is why I selected one for myself.” Now that is leadership.