May 22, 2023 12:12 PM UTC

Neguse Leads Charge Against GOP's "Default on America Act"

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• by: Colorado Pols

As chairman of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, Rep. Joe Neguse of Boulder took point last week in a press conference blasting the House Republican bill for increasing the nation’s debt limit in exchange for severe cuts to cornerstone programs like Medicaid, education and even law enforcement funding:

“The only group in Washington threatening a default are House Republicans, no one else. House Democrats from day one have made clear our obligation to pay our bills, to do the right thing by the American people, and prevent a disastrous default. Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans have taken the exact opposite approach. They have manufactured a crisis, forced a false choice on the American people: To choose between draconian cuts in the Default on America Act, on one hand, or a catastrophic default on the other. And now attempting to leverage this crisis of their own making,” said Congressman Neguse.

He continued: “…there was some polling that came out just a few days ago – and I would encourage all of you to take a look. It shows what we all know to be true, which is that the Default on America Act is deeply unpopular with the American public. Fifty-eight percent of Americans, when they find out what is in that disastrous bill, oppose it. That includes, by the way, thirty-two percent of Republicans – one-third of Republicans across the country. Why is that? Of course the reason is obvious, because their bill would lay off teachers, lay off first responders, strip away food assistance for millions of families across the country, impose draconian cuts on health care for seniors and so many others.”

Here’s the Global Strategy Group poll Rep. Neguse cited showing that a solid majority of Americans oppose GOP hostage-taking to pass what should be a routine extension of the federal government’s borrowing authority. The caveat is that support for the GOP’s bill only erodes once voters are given specifics about what the bill would do:

It reflects the age-old axiom that while voters like hearing about “budget cuts” in the abstract, when it comes time specifically identify those cuts, support dwindles as voters realize how what they’re discussing would impact their own lives or that of someone they know.

“It’s why, by the way, House Republicans and Speaker McCarthy decline at every turn to talk about what is actually in their bill, because they know that it is deeply unpopular with the American people. It’s time for them to get serious, do the right thing by the American people.”

It’s the right message, but just like the GOP-engineered debt ceiling crisis of a decade ago these poll numbers reveal the perpetual challenge that Democrats face in overcoming superficially appealing Republican proposals to “cut spending.” The polling shows that once Democrats break through on educating voters about the details, voters get it and want nothing to do with these cuts. That educational challenge never really ends, though, and Democrats can’t rely on simply assuming that voters will retain the lesson next time.

On the upside, Democrats have one of Colorado’s–and America’s–best communicators on the job.