As the government shutdown drags on and the deadline to raise the debt ceiling draws near, the Republican National Committee and the progressive advocacy group Americans United for Change released new ads on Wednesday, each directing blame at the opposing party.
Republican National Committee’s debt ceiling-themed ad, titled “Did I Say That?” points out that then-Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Minority Whip Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) all opposed raising the debt limit when George W. Bush occupied the White House. It does not mention that Republicans supported clean debt ceiling raises in 2004 and 2006.
AUFC criticized Republicans for forcing the government into a shutdown, causing hundreds of thousands of federal workers to be furloughed. The AUFC ads target 10 Republicans such as Representatives Tom Latham (R-IA), Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Sean Duffy (R-WI), who represent swing districts. The ads, which will run throughout the week, include congressional office phone numbers and urge voters to call and tell their congressman to “do his job” and “end the Tea Party’s shutdown of our government.”
A majority of Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown, raising doubts over whether anyone will care what Democrats said about the debt ceiling during the last Bush presidency. The public clearly recognizes that Republicans who once supported raising the debt ceiling under a Republican president are now the ones holding the debt limit hostage until they get the concessions they demand.
Meanwhile, as the ad war builds, there is still no sign that the GOP is taking serious steps towards ending the manufactured crisis.
Photo: SpeakerBoehner via Flickr
