Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa suggested Sunday that Democrats and Republicans in Washington “should submit their resignations if they put us in a situation” where the federal government defaults on its debts.
(Photo by Freedom To Marry/Flickr)
Speaking on the CBS News broadcast “Face The Nation,” the two-term Los Angeles Democrat blamed members of both parties for failing to compromise on the contentious issue of raising the federal debt limit.
“Democrats won’t address entitlements — Medicare and Social Security –and Republicans don’t want to talk about revenues or defense spending, and the fact is we need to do both,” he said.
“I think Washington has its head in the sand,” Villaraigosa told moderator Bob Schiffer. “We’re dithering with default, (and are) on the verge, frankly, of jeopardizing the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”
Republicans and the White House are locked in a standoff over the credit issue, which could put the U.S. in default if it is not solved by early August.
Sunday was the second time in two weeks that Villaraigosa has popped up on a Sunday morning network political panel show to attack partisan gridlock in Washington.
He made a similar charge on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on June 19.
On Sunday, he told CBS that he does not see the rancor of Washington is not present in state capitals, city halls and in the L.A. council chambers.
“I think in cities and states you are seeing a lot less of the polarization, the ideological warfare that you see in the Beltway, in really solving problems,” he said.
Villaraigosa will also conclude a four-day trip today by joining Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker on a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colo titled “Strong Schools, Strong Cities.”
Villaraigosa is in the midst of his second term as the mayor of the nation’s second-largest city. He cannot run for a third term, his when his term expires, in 2013.
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