VIDEO: Udall, Bennet renew calls for bipartisan debt deal

Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall have been among the more outspoken critics of the partisanship that seems to grip the nation’s capitol every time the words “debt” “deficit” or “spending cap” come up.

On Friday, Bennet stood on a windswept knoll above Colorado Springs and spoke for seven minutes on the subject with MSNBC commentators. Among other things, he said Americans need jobs and that a tax code that worked to stimulate job creation in the 1950s may need some tweaks to accomplish the same goal in 2011.

He said people of both parties agree on the need to both cut spending and increase revenue and that no one in charge of a local government or school district would ever speak as casually about defaulting on public debt as some members of Congress do today. Video of his remarks is below.

Today, Udall released this statement:

“If ever there were a time when we could make meaningful progress on our long-term debt, it is now. We’re closer than we’ve ever been to a balanced plan that reduces spending, responsibly shores up our entitlement programs, eliminates wasteful tax breaks, and ensures everyone – not just middle class families – will share the responsibility for getting our debt under control. But in order to reach any plan, we have to work together – and I’m frustrated that it doesn’t appear that my Republican colleagues are willing to put the country ahead of partisan politics and negotiate a deal to get something big done for the country. We still have time – I urge my colleagues across the aisle to come back to the table for meaningful negotiation rather than walking away from a comprehensive debt plan.”

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Scot Kersgaard has been managing editor of a political newspaper, editor and co-owner of a ski town newspaper, executive editor of eight high-tech magazines (where he worked with current Apple CEO Tim Cook), deputy press secretary to a U.S. Senator, and an outdoors columnist at the Rocky Mountain News. He has an English degree from the University of Washington. He was awarded a fellowship to study internet journalism at the University of Maryland's Knight Center for Specialized Journalism. He was student body president in college. He spends his free time hiking and skiing.

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