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Moderate Dems Balk Over Obama Deficit

Right wing of the president's party will fight to shave budget

By Gabriel Winant,  Newser User

Posted Mar 11, 2009 11:07 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Barack Obama may be president, but it’s Congress that passes the budget, and moderate Democrats are the ones holding the keys to the federal treasury, reports Time. Obama’s 2010 budget calls for $3.6 trillion in federal spending. And though deficit-hawks appreciate the president’s honest numbers (in contrast to his predecessor), they’re still uneasy. “There'll definitely be movements by moderate Democrats to impose fiscal responsibility,” says Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman predicts that he and his fellow moderate senators—the same gang that reined in the stimulus—will “start to try to cut back.” But for Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Nebraska Democrat, the concern is less abstract. Obama’s budget diverts money from private student lenders, including Nebraska’s NelNet. “I think it'd be the wrong direction for people to outsource jobs from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Washington DC.”

Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, appears before the Senate Budget Committee to defend President Barack Obama's budget for FY2010, March 10, 2009.
Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, appears before the Senate Budget Committee to defend President Barack Obama's budget for FY2010, March 10, 2009.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., greet each other after Obama's address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009.
President Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., greet each other after Obama's address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., left, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, make their way through a crowd of reporters off the Senate floor during deliberations on the economic stimulus bill, Feb. 6, 2009.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., left, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, make their way through a crowd of reporters off the Senate floor during deliberations on the economic stimulus bill, Feb. 6, 2009.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Budget Director Peter Orszag testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 10,2009, before the Senate Budget Committee hearing on President Barack Obama's fiscal 2010 federal budget.
Budget Director Peter Orszag testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 10,2009, before the Senate Budget Committee hearing on President Barack Obama's fiscal 2010 federal budget.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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At least the budget that the Obama Administration presented, even though it's huge and it's a huge deficit — and that enables the other team to beat up on it — the truth is that it's honest and truthful. - Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
Doctor-Zaius
Mar 12, 2009 6:04 AM CDT
Last sentence should read "which is what we are currently watching play out"
Doctor-Zaius
Mar 12, 2009 6:02 AM CDT
This is the ultimate problem with the standard Republican philosophy of lowering taxes, primarily on the rich, and running up large deficits when you don't have to. You kick the can down the road to the next generation but then when you need to do some actual deficit spending to right your economy you already have a huge credit card bill. I am not against deficit spending when required by a deflationary spiral (which is what we are in now) however spending as a demagogic strategy to win the votes of the uninformed is a recipe for disaster play out.
Doctor-Zaius
Mar 12, 2009 5:59 AM CDT
I was referring to his "let's do nothing while the country circles the bowl for three years" philosophy. Yes I am familiar with the Smoot/Hawley tariff in case you were wondering.

 
Senate Democrats • Joe Lieberman • deficit • House Democrats • Ben Nelson • federal budget • Obama administration • Blue Dog Democrats

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