Straight Talk With Sam

I recently received this e-mail blast from my Missouri Rep., Sam Graves:

Comedian Will Rogers once counseled that when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is quit digging. Today, Washington finds itself in a deep financial hole. We finished the last fiscal year with a $1.4 trillion deficit. It was the largest deficit in American history.

Instead of putting the brakes on new spending, the Speaker instead will increase the amount of debt that this nation can legally hold. The debt ceiling now stands at $12.1 trillion. Next week, the House and Senate will vote on a proposal to increase the ceiling to nearly $14 trillion.

None of this would be necessary if Washington would simply stop trying to fix every problem by spending more money. Last week, the House approved a series of budget bills that will increase spending by 12 percent. This country is already spending money we do not have, but instead of tightening our belt, our leaders are approving double digit increases.

We need to stop digging and start making tough decisions. That is why I signed onto the CAP the Debt Act. This legislation will mandate a two-thirds roll call vote in both chambers to raise the debt ceiling and repeal the rule which allows a debt ceiling increase to be included in the joint budget resolution without facing a direct vote. These actions will make passage of yet another debt ceiling increase far more difficult and will bring more transparency to the process.

Washington is in a financial hole and we should stop digging.

I love the idea of that 2/3 roll call vote to increase the debt ceiling - anything that makes it harder for Congress to spend our non-existent money is a good thing!

Now, here's the thing about Sam Graves.  He voted against TARP.  He voted against the stimulus.  He voted against last year's omnibus spending bill.  He voted against the Obama's bloated budget.  He voted against this year's omnibus spending bill.

This is why I like Rep. Sam Graves - he says the right things, and he backs up his words with his actions.  No RINO here, folks.

I've said many times that there are few 'good ones' left in Washington, but Graves is most definitely one of them.  When I begin chanting at the next election cycle about how we should vote them ALL out, please note that Sam Graves currently carries a 2Cents-approved exemption card to that suggestion.  We need him right where he is.

There's my two cents.