Debt Ceiling

Senators,
The vote today on this morally bankrupt bill to raise the Debt Ceiling should have all of you to consider your vision in the Senate and ask: What Would Ted Kennedy Do?
Is it possible to imagine that the "Lion Of the Senate " would actually consider such a compromise? Is it possible for you to envision that he would place the burdon of the economy on the backs of those who did not cause the financial meltdown of our country, or would he put the blame squarely on the shoulders of those who caused the problem.
This compromised bill if passed, will put at risk those whom the Democratic Party says it is to protect, but the elderly, the poor, the middle class, minorities and specifically African Americans will be on the front line of cuts just to pass a bill with no substance, yet with the consequences of life and death to those who have no jobs, no health care, no jobs, schools closing inside city limits, homes foreclosed, and oh yes, no jobs. So now, who among you will speak for those who cannot speak for themselves? Who among you will become the standard bearer for the least of us and for the stability of the middle class and equality. Who among you will be the the new "Lion of the Senate", and regardless of the outcome stand fixed and sure on the principles that you believe?
If you have difficulty seeing this, perhaps your vision will become clear and focused from the words of Senator Ted Kennedy who in humiliation of defeat at the 1980 convention, never forgot whom he represented and reminded his colleagues of the Democratic Party to also not forget their responsibility.
***
The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures.
Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue. It is surely correct that we cannot solve problems by throwing money at them, but it is also correct that we dare not throw out our national problems onto a scrap heap of inattention and indifference. The poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs. The middle class may be angry, but they have not lost the dream that all Americans can advance together.

***

We must insist that our children and our grandchildren shall inherit a land which they can truly call America the beautiful.

To all those who see the worth of their work and their savings taken by inflation, let us offer new hope for a stable economy. We must meet the pressures of the present by invoking the full power of government to master increasing prices.

In candor, we must say that the Federal budget can be balanced only by policies that bring us to a balanced prosperity of full employment and price restraint.

And to all those overburdened by an unfair tax structure, let us provide new hope for real tax reform. Instead of shutting down classrooms, let us shut off tax shelters. Instead of cutting out school lunches, let us cut off tax subsidies for expensive business lunches that are nothing more than food stamps for the rich.





Has your vision cleared?



Chenita Johnson, President

African American Caucus FCDP Jacquelyne Barber Branch