Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) said his office is fielding significantly more phone calls today following President Obama’s prime-time plea last night. But many constituents are relaying the opposite message from what Obama asked them to deliver on the debt-limit debate.
My phone started lighting up last night. Both Twitter, Facebook, texting, people calling me even last night during the speech. It was a reverse effect from what I think he assumed. They’ve been flooded with people contacting me, saying, ‘Stand your ground. Don’t do his plan.’
Now, we’ve had plenty of contact the other way as well. But we’ve had plenty of folks who have seen that and said, ‘Oh, no, I’ll contact you. But I’ll contact you and say, work toward real solutions.’
Earlier today Heritage Action asked its supporters to call Congress in opposition of Speaker John Boehner’s new plan. The White House is also facing a flood of phone calls, led in part by the American Action Network.
Lankford, a freshman lawmaker who represents Oklahoma’s 5th District, spoke at Heritage today for The Bloggers Briefing. He echoed the call of many conservatives, saying he didn’t come to Washington to strike a deal, but rather find a solution to the debt crisis.
“The frustration is there’s a whole group of people focused on Aug. 2,” Lankford said. “And quite frankly, Aug. 2 doesn’t solve it either way. Aug. 2 comes and goes and we move from $14.3 trillion in debt to a potential $17 trillion worth of debt. … That’s not solving the problem.”
