The message below was emailed to President Obama on 05-13-11 at 1030A.
Dear Mr. President:
I am a life-long, fiscally conservative Democrat. I believe you are intelligent and have courage, that you know that we must deal with our long term deficit, and that this will require both a reduction in spending and an increase in revenue. So I do not understand, and am very frustrated, that you and your administration are not making this case to the American public.
With the need to raise the debt limit, Republicans like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are saying unequivocally that they will not raise this limit without significant spending cuts and they will not accept any revenue increases. I watch and read this almost daily. But I find no consistent rebuttal that increased revenue must be part of the mix, and that you and Senate Democrats will not accept any debt limit measure that does not include them.
I also see evidence that some Democratic Senators are backing away from revenue increases. I blame you for this, because you are providing no leadership.
You have already shown that you will cave when the chips are down. This occurred last December when you let McConnell block raising tax rates on high earners. It occurred again this year when you accepted spending reductions in the 2011 budget bill that will slow the already much-too-slow recovery.
I applaud your handling of the Osama bin Laden mission and the follow-up. Your public standing is high. Now is the time for you to take a tough stand and face down Senator McConnell and his colleagues. If you do this, then most Democratic senators will probably follow. John Boehner will eventually go along with what the Senate does.
Of course, it will be better to deal with McConnell privately and not make public threats, but you must make clear that you demand revenue increases. You may educate the public on the need for these increases without making threats.
Because he has made you blink before, McConnell may block legislation and force a “crisis”. When this occurs, I recommend that you simply declare that there is no provision for a debt limit in the US constitution, and that you will assume whatever executive powers are necessary to maintain the orderly functioning of our financial affairs.
There will never be a better time for a show-down with the people who want to destroy you and Democrats. If you lead, the people will support you. Please lead Mr. President.
Bill Allen
May 14, 2011