The debt ceiling debacle is now the subject of political ads against Republican members of the House.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has begun making automated calls in 60 Republican-held Congressional districts that were won by President Obama in 2008. The ad copy suggests that those members are refusing to budge on negotiations to lift the debt ceiling by Aug. 3, negotiations that stalled last week after Speaker John A. Boehner walked away from his negotiations with Mr. Obama.
Those voters who answer their phone will hear:
Hi, this is Travis calling on behalf of the D.C.C.C. Congressman X and Speaker Boehner would rather our economy default just to protect tax breaks for big oil companies and billionaire jet-owners. Republicans quit negotiating with President Obama on raising the debt ceiling.
This is serious. X’s billionaire buddies will be O.K. But we will pay the price if government can’t pay its bills. Our Social Security and Medicare benefits are at risk. Interest rates would spike for our credit cards, car loans and mortgages. Our 401(k) retirement accounts would drop. And, gas and food prices would skyrocket. Enough is enough. Call Congressman X and tell him not to gamble our future to protect tax breaks for big oil and billionaires.
Republican response ads cannot be far behind. “Democrats won’t quit spending money we don’t have,” said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, “and they won’t quit raising taxes and burdening Americans with policies that make a bad economy even worse.”