Debt Ceiling

Conservatives Renew Campaign Against Boehner Debt Limit Plan

Brian Beutler | July 27, 2011, 3:37PM

RedState's Erick Erickson

Conservative advocates opposed to House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) debt limit plan aren't relenting just because GOP leadership is twisting arms.

Club for Growth president Chris Chocola, and Red State founder Erick Erickson are both continuing to push House Republicans to vote against Boehner's plan when it comes to a vote on Thursday. Indeed, they're opposed to any plan that doesn't guarantee vast spending reductions, and allow conservatives to declare victory in a decades long fight over the propriety of federal safety net programs.

"That's why groups like the Club for Growth and others oppose the Boehner debt reduction plan, the Reid debt reduction plan, the McConnell debt reduction plan (has there been an Obama debt reduction plan?), and any other plan that does not include those basic tenets," Chocola writes in a Wednesday afternoon Politico op-ed. "Even newspapers like the Wall Street Journal that support the Boehner plan point out that 'It's true that the Boehner plan doesn't solve the long-term debt problem.'"

Erickson -- an influential figure among House conservatives -- is taking names.

Read more »

Debt Ceiling

Erickson To GOP: 'Hold The Debt Ceiling Hostage'

Brian Beutler | June 29, 2011, 9:27AM

RedState's Erick Erickson

An influential conservative activist is explicitly calling on Republicans to hold U.S. creditworthiness hostage until Democrats agree to pass a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to slash federal spending until the budget is balanced.

Erick Erickson -- a CNN contributor and founder of the conservative website Red State -- says Republicans should refuse to raise the nation's borrowing limit, likely triggering a catastrophic debt default, until a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate sign on to the Balanced Budget Amendment.

"Make it clear that until you do get the votes necessary for passage you will obstruct and block an increase in the debt ceiling," Erickson wrote in a Wednesday morning post. "Hold the debt ceiling hostage. If the Democrats want the debt ceiling raised, they need to send [the BBA] out to the states for ratification. They can fight to stop it there. But do this for me -- draw a line in the sand. You force a vote and then another vote and then another vote until you get the two-thirds needed in both houses and don't you dare give up fighting against the debt ceiling increase until you get that two-thirds vote. The rules in this fight must be different. You must keep blocking until they give you what you want."

Read more »

Michael Steele

Red State's Erickson: Steele Has Lost 'All Moral Authority,' 'Must Resign'

Brian Beutler | July 2, 2010, 2:04PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

They keep rolling in. Erick Erickson, founder of the influential conservative site Red State, and sometime CNN contributor, says RNC chairman Michael Steele "must resign."

"I have heard Michael Steele's comments regarding Afghanistan and the President," Erickson writes.

I have read the RNC's statement on the matter.

The RNC statement is indecipherable in the context of what Michael Steele actually said.

The war in Afghanistan is not a war of Barack Obama's choosing. It is a war of Al Qaeda and the Taliban's choosing. We responded.

Michael Steele must resign. He has lost all moral authority to lead the GOP.

Emphasis mine. The Republican cries for Steele's ouster are growing. Though it's still unclear what the fallout of his resignation would be, or who would replace him.

Decorum

Breach Of Decorum A Boon For Bank Accounts: Neugebauer Going Joe Wilson Route To Raise Money

Christina Bellantoni | March 24, 2010, 2:19PM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)

Last fall, Rep. Joe Wilson of "You lie!" fame quickly went from persona not grata to conservative hero with millions in the bank. Seems like Rep. Randy Neugebauer is trying to become the right's next big money-maker.

Wilson (R-SC) acted out, then apologized, but quickly turned to the conservative base to raise tons of money from the national attention. Less than 24 hours after Neugebauer's confession and half-apology for shouting "baby killer" on the House floor, he recorded a video aimed at raising pro-life cash.

Sources close to Neugebauer told us it has nothing to do with the money -- and that the Republican wants to draw attention to advocacy on behalf of pro-life issues. But his video was beside a large "donate" button and this note, "Thank you for your support and contributions as I stand firm in my commitment against the government takeover of healthcare and for protecting the sanctity of life."

Read more »