Are Rank and File Democrats in Congress Worried About the "Soaring" National Debt or Getting Votes?

May 27, 2010

The first sentence of a Washington Post article told readers that the Democratic leadership in Congress is scaling back plans to help the jobless and deficit ridden state and local governments because of: “fire from rank-and-file Democrats worried about the soaring national debt.” It is not clear how the Post knows the real concerns of these politicians.

A politician’s first priority is usually getting re-elected. Politicians who claim to be worried about the “soaring” national debt tend to get favorable mention from news outlets like the Washington Post and the many organizations financed in part or in whole by Wall Street investment banker Peter Peterson. It is not clear how the Post has determined that as a policy question, these rank and file Democrats are really more worried about the deficit than the jobs that will be lost as a result of their efforts at deficit reduction.

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