Tom Harkin: “I thank the Senator from New York for his very lucid remarks and for his great leadership in trying to get through this…”

“I thank the Senator from New York for his very lucid remarks and for his great leadership in trying to get through this mess. I say to my friend, a lot of people in the country are looking and thinking that this is some kind of food fight; that somehow everybody is to blame for this here in Washington. I ask my friend, the Senator from New York, isn't it true that there are some 50 members of the Republican caucus in the House who have said forthrightly that they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance? One of those, of course, being Representative Bachmann, who is seeking the Presidential nomination on their ticket, said she would not vote to raise it under any circumstance. Does the Senator know of any one Democrat, either in the House or the Senate, who has said they would not vote to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance? I ask the Senator, is there one? I have not been able to find one.”