Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on Friday strongly suggested that members of Congress are making it difficult for President Obama to raise the debt ceiling because of his race.
"I do not understand what I think is the maligning and maliciousness [toward] this president,” said Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Why is he different? And in my community, that is the question that we raise. In the minority community that is question that is being raised. Why is this president being treated so disrespectfully? Why has the debt limit been raised 60 times? Why did the leader of the Senate continually talk about his job is to bring the president down to make sure he is unelected?”
Earlier in her speech, Jackson Lee said Obama has been targeted unlike any other president.
"I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president — only this one, only this one — has received the kind of attacks and disagreement and inability to work, only this one," said Jackson Lee from the House floor.
I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president - only this one, only this one - has run three consecutive deficits of 10% of GDP post-WWII. Indeed, no President since WWII has run a deficit even one year anywhere close to what Obama has run for three years in a row.
When WWII ended, the deficits came to an abrupt halt, and the government actually ran surpluses. This president has no WWII to end (though ending the War on Drugs, the TSA, the bombing of Libya, the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the permanent establishments in South Korea and Germany would be a good start) and no plan to run surpluses not only in the near future, but ever.
As a side note, Obama voted not to raise the debt ceiling under President Bush. Was that because Bush was black? The House vote was not recorded to spare Representatives public scrutiny of their votes, but I'm willing to bet Ms. Jackson Lee voted against the debt limit because Bush was black too.
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