Dems take harder fiscal stand than Obama

In a reaction to the emergence of spending as a top campaign issue this year, some Democratic Senate candidates are positioning themselves as more fiscally disciplined than President Obama.

With the majority now facing defending up to 10 seats that have become competitive, several dyed-in-the-wool Democrats like New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes and Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan are showing moderation on spending to keep competitive Republican-held open seats in play.

According to a Bloomberg News poll of 1,000 adults Dec. 3-7, 70 percent called chronically high budget deficits a high threat to U.S. economic performance over the next two years. The poll had a 3.1-point error margin.

After Obama released his fiscal 2011 budget earlier this month, Carnahan said she was "disappointed in the president's budget recommendation. Budgets are about setting priorities, and it's time Washington started making fiscal discipline and tackling the long-term budget deficit higher priorities."

She also whacked her likely general election opponent, GOP Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., for helping to "turn a $128 billion surplus in 2001 into a $1.2 trillion deficit by 2009." Both are seeking the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Kit Bond.

Within the last month, Hodes voted against increasing the federal debt ceiling and came out swinging against earmarks, saying he would no longer request them -- a crucial stance in the conservative Granite State. Hodes is running for the seat held by retiring deficit hawk Senate Budget ranking member Judd Gregg.

Appointed Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, whose Democratic primary challenge from former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is forcing him to burnish his party credentials ahead of a tough general election challenge likely from GOP former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, also has taken a hard line on spending.

In January, Bennet knocked the Senate's failure to create a bipartisan debt review commission.

Last year, the freshman senator introduced legislation to limit the deficit with Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who last year took the Senate floor to scold her party for some spending initiatives that made their way into the stimulus.

"These candidates are outsiders and they are showing people that they are, with Carnahan being a great example of that," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman Deirdre Murphy.

Pushing the Democrats' campaign line this year, Murphy added, "When voters go to the polls in November they are going to have a choice between Democrats who are tackling the tough economic challenges or Republicans who just want to bring us back to the failed economic policies that wrecked our economy in the first place."