In the article “Mark Pryor: I won’t vote to raise debt limit without reforms,” April 20, 2011, Arkansas Business reports:
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor says he won’t vote to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit unless there is a “real and meaningful commitment” to reducing the nation’s debt by cutting spending and overhauling the tax code.
The Democrat from Arkansas said Wednesday that he was hopeful a bipartisan group of senators will within the next two weeks come up with a way to address the nation’s debt based on recommendations issued by a commission last year.
Pryor told the Political Animals Club that any debt reduction plan needs to include spending cuts, changes to the tax code and efforts to grow the economy.
John Lyon in his article “Pryor says he won’t vote to lift debt ceiling without cuts, reforms,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 20, 2011 notes:
By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
“I am not going to vote for that unless there is real and meaningful commitment to debt reduction,” Pryor said during a lunch meeting of the Little Rock Political Animals Club at the Governor’s Mansion. “We need to do that in a smart way.”
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the nation’s $14.3 debt ceiling will be reached no later than May 16. A contingency plan would prevent the U.S. from defaulting until July 8 if the ceiling is not raised.
Republicans in Congress have said they will not vote to raise the limit unless significant spending cuts are part of a deal.
House Republicans and the Obama administration have alternative plans for reducing spending by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 or 12 years. Pryor said he is optimistic that a compromise will be reached.
Calling the national debt “our biggest challenge that we’re facing,” Pryor said cutting spending is necessary, but it should happen without cutting loose the nation’s most vulnerable populations, such as children, seniors and the poor.
“Instead of getting the meat cleaver out and just chop, chop, chop, I think this has to be much more measured and targeted and thoughtful,” he said.
Talking to reporters later, Pryor said the Republican budget plan by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is “not going to get bipartisan support.”
Pryor told the Political Animals group he supports tax reform that addresses inequities in the system. He said Republicans who think a total embargo on tax increases will work are wrong, but that Democrats who think they can solve the nation’s problems just by taxing millionaires are wrong, too.
“Right now we have a tax system where 45 percent of Americans don’t pay any federal income tax,” he said. “There are a lot of problems in our tax code, and if you think you can solve this with bumper-sticker slogans, you’re wasting all of our time.”
Also key to lowering the debt is economic growth, Pryor said. Federal aid for regional innovation clusters, such as the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville, and a tax break for angel investors, or investors in small businesses, are two things Pryor said he believes will promote economic growth.
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In the last two weeks this blog has started two series concerning Senator Pryor and the issue of the out of control federal budget. One series is on the views of Senator Pryor and Senator Boozman concerning the Balance Budget amendment. The second series is a serious look at what spending cuts could be made out of the bloated federal budget. Senator Pryor asked for suggestions and I have been emailing at least one suggest per day for the last two weeks. Meanwhile the hits on my website have doubled!!!!!!!!!!
This article today indicates that Senator Pryor is serious about taking a look at the hard choices that need to be made instead of hiding his head in the sand like President Obama is presenting doing.
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I went to see the movie “The Conspirator” the other night and I really enjoyed it. Since then I have been digging up facts about the trial and the people involved in the trial.
Christy Lemire (AP critic and host of Ebert Presents at the Movies, check your local PBS listings) and Alonso Duralde (Movieline) review The Conspirator.
I loved the film “The Conspirator” and I wanted to look at the people involved.
Library of Congress Photograph
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George Andrew Atzerodt was born on June 12, 1835, in Dorna, Prussia. In June 1844 he came to America with his folks and settled near Germantown in Montgomery County, Maryland. Atzerodt never became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Later the Atzerodt family moved to Westmoreland County, Virginia. In 1857, George Atzerodt’s father, Johann, passed away.Before the Civil War started, Atzerodt settled in Port Tobacco, Maryland, with his older brother, John. Together, they set up a carriage repair shop. Although the business seemed to prosper, the two brothers eventually separated. John moved to Baltimore and George remained in Port Tobacco. (“Port Tobacco” became his nickname.)During the Civil War, George began rowing his Confederate friends back and forth across the Potomac River. While engaged in this activity, he became acquainted with a Confederate messenger named John Surratt. The introduction came through Confederate agent Thomas H. Harbin and occurred in January of 1865. Atzerodt’s knowledge of the back roads, escape routes, etc. impressed Surratt. Additionally, Surratt was looking for a boatman who could ferry the conspirators across the Potomac River after they had kidnapped President Lincoln. In time, Atzerodt was invited to Washington to meet John Wilkes Booth. He was also invited to the Surratt boardinghouse that was operated by John’s mother, Mary.He remained in an attic room at the boardinghouse for several days, but it is quite clear Mrs. Surratt did not like Atzerodt. While Atzerodt was out, Mary found liquor bottles in his room. She told her son, John, that Atzerodt had to move out because of his drinking.Booth was attracted to Atzerodt because he saw him as a knowledgeable accomplice in the initial plan to kidnap Lincoln. On the night of March 15, 1865, Atzerodt met with Booth and other conspirators at Gautier’s Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue to discuss the possible abduction of the president. These plans did not work out. Several days before the assassination, Booth told Atzerodt about the existence of a plot to blow up the White House. Atzerodt’s statement regarding this alleged plot disappeared until the late 1970’s when it was discovered by Joan Chaconas, then president of the Surratt Society.
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The statement was found among the private papers of Atzerodt’s attorney, William E. Doster. The plot, which never took place, was to mine that part of the White House nearest the War Department where Lincoln spent a lot of time. Among other things, this “lost” statement of Atzerodt’s revealed that Booth had sent liquor and provisions to Dr. Samuel Mudd’s home two weeks before the assassination. For more on this, see Dr. Edward Steers’ book titled His Name is Still Mudd. For the text of Atzerodt’s statement,CLICK HERE.In the assassination plot, Atzerodt was assigned to kill Vice-President Andrew Johnson. Whether Atzerodt ever really agreed to do this is unproven. Whatever the case, before 8:00 A.M. on April 14th, 1865, Atzerodt rented room 126 at the Kirkwood House directly above where Johnson was staying. (The Kirkwood House was torn down after the Civil War; an office building now stands at the site on the northeast corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The drawing to the right is from the National Park Service.) Atzerodt quizzed the Kirkwood House’s bartender, Michael Henry, about the vice-president’s character and habits. However, he made no attempt on the life of Andrew Johnson. At his trial, Atzerodt’s lawyer said, “Atzerodt was guzzling like a Falstaff at 10:15 P.M. After Lincoln’s assassination, Detective John Lee found a series of incriminating items in Atzerodt’s rented room most likely planted there by Booth or David Herold.
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National Archives Photograph of Andrew Johnson
Atzerodt was arrested on April 20th at the home of his cousin, Hartman Richter, in Germantown, Maryland. Atzerodt was charged with being a party to the assassination conspiracy, and he was tried along with the others. Things did not go well for him in the courtroom. His appearance was described by spectators as “stupid and crafty.” Like Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, and David Herold, Atzerodt was found guilty and sentenced to hang. On July 7, 1865, he was executed. In his strong German accent, his last words were, “Good-by, gentlemen. May we all meet in the other world!”
George Atzerodt was originally buried in an unmarked grave in Glenwood Cemetery north of the Capitol in Washington. Later his remains were moved to St. Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore. He was buried under the fictitious name of Gottlieb Taubert.
There are at least five known statements of George Atzerodt in addition to the one discovered by Joan Chaconas. There is a statement given to Frank Monroe aboard the USS Saugus on April 23, 1865. There is the statement given to Col. H.H. Wells aboard the USS Montauk on April 25, 1865. There is a statement published in the Baltimore American on January 18, 1869. There is a statement read by attorney William E. Doster on June 21, 1865. Another statement is privately held.
NOTE: The information on the plot to blow up the White House came from an article by noted Lincoln scholar, Dr. William Hanchett, in the December 1995 issue of Civil War Times Illustrated. Also, see p. 172 of the late William A. Tidwell’s April ’65: Confederate Covert Action in the American Civil War and the Appendix and Notes of His Name is Still Mudd by Dr. Edward Steers. For more details on Atzerodt, please see the biography of George Atzerodt in the December 2000 edition of the Journal of the Lincoln Assassination.
Left to right: Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt.
The Daily Hatch 