More Questions than Answers – Day 4 - Why would Ryan Frazier lie about the debt?In a candidate debate today at Colorado Public Television between candidates for the 7th Congressional District, Republican Ryan Frazier again played fast and loose with the facts – or didn’t bother to check them, which is usually the case.
As usual, Frazier spoke from national Republican talking points, (that he doesn’t bother to fact check), and said the debt was $400 billion at the beginning of 2009. The reality is this country inherited a debt that was already $1.3 trillion by the time President George W. Bush left office. The reason for this soaring debt is that President Bush, Karl Rove and Congressional Republicans insisted on giving unfunded tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, prosecuted two wars without paying for them, and let regulation of Wall Street go unchecked so taxpayers were forced to bail them out.
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/tables.pdf)**
The Aurora Sentinel said ‘it’s disappointing that [Frazier’s] fallen lock-step in with political talking points that have proven to be so mistaken.” This is just another example of that.
“The people in the 7th Congressional District deserve someone who tells the truth, not someone who is too lazy and sloppy to check the facts,” said Perlmutter spokeswoman Leslie Oliver. “Bob Beauprez said it best more than 5 months ago, Frazier ‘ought to be fired, not promoted.’”
** Chart S-1 shows that for FY2009, the deficit is 1.3 trillion. FY 2009 is the last year of President Bush. FY 09 started on 10/1/2008. Obama took office January 2009. FY 2009 includes TARP and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush is the one who first asked Congress to pass TARP, and it was passed with bipartisan support, and has been paid back substantially with interest.
