Home 2019 Elections Ed Gillespie Now Says He Supports Tea Party Obstruction

Ed Gillespie Now Says He Supports Tea Party Obstruction

By
lowkell
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3

From the DPVA…this Gillespie guy is truly a piece of work.

 

Says He Would Have Voted With Ted Cruz to Block Debt Limit Increase

Demonstrates Appalling Hypocrisy on His Role in Bush Deficits & Debt

RICHMOND – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie says he would have stood with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the Tea Party on Feb. 12 and voted ‘no’ on the debt limit increase. Gillespie told The Hill newspaper on Friday that he would have voted ‘no’ even though bipartisan votes in the U.S. House and Senate to approve a “clean” extension of the government’s borrowing authority — one without strings attached — prevented another fiscal standoff and potential government shutdown.

“I would have voted 'no' on the clean debt limit increase and as part of a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, I will help set priorities that will bring down our national debt,” Gillespie told The Hill on Friday in response to specific questions about his position on the Feb. 12 debt ceiling vote. Gillespie, a leading D.C. lobbyist and former Bush Administration political strategist, faces Tea Party challenger Shak Hill in his efforts to win the Virginia GOP nomination in June.

“It could have been a simple 50-vote requirement, with Democrats delivering the votes to lift the debt limit, but Cruz insisted [on a 60-vote threshold],” the Associated Press reported.  Cruz and the Tea Party “showed no mercy,” the AP reported, “exposing Republican leaders to widespread criticism over the procedural vote on the debt limit… Pressed after the vote about what he made his leaders do, Cruz was unapologetic … It wasn’t the first time Cruz, a tea party favorite, had created massive headaches for Republicans. Last fall, he and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, precipitated the 16-day government shutdown,” according to the AP.

That Tea Party’s 16-day shutdown last October jeopardized the family finances of hundreds of thousands of federal workers who live and work in Virginia, and negatively impacted important federal agency services that millions of Virginians rely upon each day.

“Virginians are finally getting a clear look at the misplaced priorities and additional gridlock that Ed Gillespie promises to bring to the U.S. Senate,” said DPVA Spokesperson Ashley Bauman. “More obstruction is the last thing Virginians want to see in Washington, but Gillespie’s approach really should come as no surprise. As a top D.C. lobbyist and political strategist, Ed Gillespie has spent more than 20 years playing key roles in orchestrating everything that is wrong with Washington today.” 
 
Gillespie’s Feb. 21 statement to The Hill also is remarkable for his appalling fiscal hypocrisy. “I will help set priorities that will bring down our national debt,” Gillespie said, ignoring the fact that he was an architect and cheerleader for the runaway federal spending, accumulated deficits and near doubling of the national debt during the administration of President George W. Bush. Gillespie brags about his role as a senior strategist for Bush’s 2000 and 2004 national campaigns, and he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, President Bush persuaded Gillespie to leave his profitable D.C. lobbying firm to work in the White House as senior political advisor during the final 18 months of the Bush Administration.  
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