Waters goes to war with Obama's 'super-committee'

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This week Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) continued to play her latest role of thorn in President Obama’s side.

First, it was her request to be “unleashed” during a CBC jobs tour over the summer recess. Then it was her critical reaction to President Obama’s speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Phoenix Awards Dinner, which she found “curious.”

theGrio: Don’t expect drinks with Waters at the White House

In response to the president’s call to “stop complainin” and “to put on your marchin shoes,” Waters said, “I don’t know who he was talking to because we’re certainly not complaining,” Waters said on CBS’ The Early Show. “We’re working. We support him, and we’re protecting that base because we want people to be enthusiastic about him when that election rolls around.”

Rep. Waters has called out the administration time and again for what she feels is inadequate attention to the economic situation in communities of color.

Most recently, Rep. Waters has called for an end of the debt “super-committee” that was a result of the compromise during the debt ceiling debacle. Waters said of the super-committee:

I firmly believe that Congress should be focused squarely on this nation’s unemployment crisis. Since the super-committee’s single charge is to produce $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction- which could include cuts to programs that create jobs — it must be promptly dismantled so that regular order can be restored and the federal government can fully dedicate itself to creating jobs and stimulating the economy. If not, unemployment will inevitably rise in all communities, in particular in communities of color…Republicans have completely hijacked the legislative process, and they have seized every opportunity to hold the most perfunctory of congressional business hostage for their radical agenda.

The Republicans manufactured ‘debt ceiling crisis’ last July is the latest example of the lengths this relatively small group of lawmakers is willing to go to achieve irresponsible cuts. The formation of the Super Committee is merely another counterproductive tool the Republicans can exploit for the next ‘showdown’ they are certain to stage, while doing nothing to create jobs.

Rep. Waters is exactly right that the super-committee is a product of the radical Tea Party wing of the Republican House which refused to compromise during the debt ceiling crisis. Waters is also correct when she says that the Tea Party freshman which all signed the Grover Norquist “no tax” pledge are “not negotiating in good faith” and only seek to make extreme cuts to necessary social programs for the poor and middle class families as well as the elderly.
The goal of the committee is to find 1.2 trillion dollars in cuts across the board and Waters has said this is going to be “devastating” for communities the most in need. Instead of looking towards cuts in oil and gas subsidies or in the financial sector, the super-committee is aiming right for students who need Pell Grants, low income families who need heat subsidies as we head into the winter months, and graduate students who may need additional aid.

And despite the fact that the super-committee is bipartisan, Waters says she doesn’t necessarily trust that the Democrats have enough power relative to the Republican counterparts to really affect the outcome of the super-committee’s work.

theGrio: ‘Super’ debt committee gets more diverse

Twelve members (11 men and 1 woman) are going to be making decisions that could affect millions of Americans without allowing any of the 535 members of Congress to propose amendments after the super-committee does their work and produces a bill. Essentially, the super-committee is making the important decisions and all the rest of Congress can do is vote for or against the committee’s recommendations.

Waters has said that while she and her fellow members of Congress may not have a voice in this debate, she wants her constituents and the public at large to have a voice in the process and her office announced last Friday she is going to give a speech on the floor of the House made up of comments from her twitter followers and Facebook supporters. http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/187709-waters-asks-her-twitter-followers-to-compose-speech Waters has asked her followers to use the twitter hashtag #ourspeech to give her ideas and content in a speech dedicated to jobs and the economy.

While Waters has continued her stint as chief CBC critic of the Obama administration, her relentless focus on jobs and the economy may prove helpful if it influences the tone of the Obama re-election campaign over the next year.

Nothing Waters says in a speech made up of ideas from her social media following will become legislation with the GOP in control of the House. But it doesn’t matter. The idea that the people (and not the lobbyists) will create the content of a floor speech in the House for a change is certainly a breath of fresh air.