Today, voters in three of Georgia’s 12 congressional districts
will return to the polls to vote in runoff elections that will
determine their nominees for the U.S. House.
The winners of these runoffs will face their opponents in a
general election whose theme — solidified last weekend by Mitt
Romney’s choice of budget guru Paul Ryan to be his
running-mate — will be how to fix the broken federal budget.
To understand how the debt crisis has already factored into this
year’s races, consider what happened just two weeks ago in
Texas. There, ascendant conservative star Ted Cruz won the
Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff against his
establishment-backed opponent David Dewhurst.
How did a little-known former state solicitor general rise from
low single digits to defeat the sitting lieutenant governor and
long-presumed favorite?
One reason is that he pledged to Reject the Debt.
A total of 19 federal candidates nationwide — six from Georgia
— have pledged to voters that they would vote only for balanced
budgets, not vote for new spending programs whose costs aren’t
offset, and vote against increasing federal borrowing.
The Reject the Debt pledge is an effort by the Coalition to
Reduce Spending to elevate the issue of the federal
government’s severe spending problem. It gives voters a
measure by which they can assess the seriousness of candidates who
desire to set future fiscal policy.
Of the six Georgia candidates who took this pledge, three are
still competing for a chance in the general election.
Rick Allen, vying to take on incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop in
the second district, claimed a plurality in July 31st primary.
Meanwhile, in the ninth district, state Rep. Doug Collins and
well-known Tea Party activist and media personality Martha Zoller
will face each other in the upcoming runoff.
For years, politicians on the campaign trail have talked a big
game about reducing government spending only to get to Washington
and vote for increased deficit spending that we could not
afford.
But as the selection of Paul Ryan and the nomination of Ted Cruz
illustrate, the political winds are changing — and Allen, Collins,
and Zoller show that Georgia is out in front.
Pledges such as Reject the Debt give candidates credibility on
important issues, and also act to pressure the competition to
step up to the plate. For example, just one day after it was
announced in Texas that Ted Cruz pledged to Reject the Debt,
David Dewhurst promised to do the same. To stay competitive in
today’s political climate, he too had to pledge to tackle our
unsustainable $16 trillion debt.
In Georgia today, Allen, Collins, and Zoller are showing true
leadership by holding themselves accountable for their actions if
elected. When candidates go on the record against
overspending, voters now have a substantive way to judge their
performance in office.
As it currently stands, every man, woman, and child in this
country owes over $51,000 of the public debt. This isn’t just
economically unsustainable, it’s morally reprehensible. More
Americans are starting to realize that we passed the point of
fiscal insanity long ago – and now we’re nearing the cliff.
Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz and candidates in Georgia are leading the
charge to show that reducing spending is not only necessary, but
politically popular as well. This November, the American
public should hope every elected official follows their lead.
The Reject the Debt pledge can be found online at
www.reducespending.org.
