Conservatives and Tea Party folks are mad at House Republicans for not cutting enough. I feel for this ire, to say the least. The fact is that cutting $60 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions that Obama has put us in debt for.
But… yes, there is a “but.”
John Boehner is also right in that the GOP simply does not have the power to make massive all-at-once changes in the budget. As Boehner has said, the GOP only controls one half of one third of the federal government. House Republicans simply do not have the power to compel either the president of the senate to acquiesce to GOP demands.
Whether Tea Partiers and hard-core conservatives like it or not, politics is the art of the possible, not a game of druthers.
Even The Wall Street Journal is noting this political reality.
The fact that Congress is cutting any spending from the $3.6 trillion budget is a big cultural shift in Washington and an important course correction. In 2008, domestic discretionary spending rose by roughly 8%. The budget for federal agencies then expanded another 24% over 2009 and 2010, not including the $270 billion of stimulus funds for these programs. By contrast, the $10 billion in cuts that Republicans have already won for fiscal 2011 will reduce spending by roughly 1%, and 3% if a $33 billion compromise becomes law.
I have interviewed GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R, ILL) and he reminded me weeks ago that this really is a major shift in political will in Washington. He told me then that no longer is the House of Representatives forging ahead with the assumption that spending and taxes will automatically be raised, but the discussion is in how much cutting will be done. This is a major shift in the culture.
I am not suggesting, though, that now is the time to slack off. Certainly we conservatives need to keep the pressure on. But what I am warning about is people listening to loud-mouths like radio talker Mark Levin who seems to be suggesting that all Republicans are traitors and that we should give up in abject anger. Allowing agitators like Levin to make you so mad that you give up just when we are turning the tide is a fool’s errand.
This is hard work. We have a long way to go and it won’t come easy. We are facing almost 100 years of tax raising and big spending in Congress. That simply won’t change over night.
I have a warning for conservatives: don’t give up like a petulant child and imagine you’ve lost just when we are starting to win.
April 1st, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Given that we are still talking about the budget for fiscal year of 2011, which ends Sept. 30, and was completely ignored by COWARDLY DEMOCRATS, I’ll cut the GOP some slack on it. If they can successfully pass SOMETHING, even if it’s only $30 Billion or so in cuts, fine.
The REAL tests are going to be the Debt Ceiling and 2012 budget. The 2012 budget better have at least $100 Billion, if not $200 Billion, in further cuts, and they better use an ultra sharp eye on increasing the Debt Ceiling. Keep it at or under $16 Trillion just so we have this issue timed again next summer for the campaign season. Then make the Democrats squirm like the spineless worms they are.
April 1st, 2011 at 3:22 pm
“The fact is that cutting $60 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions that Obama has put us in debt for.”
Were not going to get anywhere as long as guys like Schumer, and there’s plenty of them, who call these piddly measures “Extreme” and say that as a result of these piddly measures thousands of kids will DIE.
15 trillion is ‘extreme’, 30-60 billion is not.
These schmucks play the “kid victim” card every time they want money.
I’ve pointed this disgusting technique out many times in the past.
This morning Kimberly Guilfoyle (yummy) mentioned and reaffirmed my claim the same technique was used in Pelosis push for SCHIP.
What fcking difference is anything going to make with the potential and existing costs threatening us at the pump, the doctor, the store, and in the Middle East ?
April 1st, 2011 at 3:34 pm
I’ll believe that the republicans are serious when they spend as much time and effort on getting rid of useless things like agricultural subsidies and us spending hundred of billion $ protecting europe from aliens and fixing medicare as they spend on npr, planned parenthood, or college scholarships. Otherwise, they’re political hacks the same as the democrats are.
April 1st, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Nothing will change until Barry is gone.
Republicans are doing what they can but those towing the Tea Partys demands are beginning to look fickle.
Until we can grab another branch of power everything is just speed bumps slowing our progress to the inevitable.
Hopefully Obamacare will get enough/more exposure for the bullsht it is before the elections.
April 1st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Yeah, I get what you’re saying, micky, but that would provide even more reason for the House to say here’s how to straighten out this mess with real changes, not symbolic ones. I think people would rally around a real effort that treated them like they were intelligent.
I’m too old for symbolism, and never get the point of it, anyway.
April 1st, 2011 at 4:40 pm
“Yeah, I get what you’re saying, micky, but that would provide even more reason for the House to say here’s how to straighten out this mess with real changes, not symbolic ones.’
Even if the house got away with real substantial changes with majorities favoring cutbacks on huge monsters like SS, medicaid/care,illegals it all still has to get past the Senate and Executive.
you want to treat me like I’m intelligent ?
Then instead of only switching from real butter to margarine lets stop eating steak everyday and spring for some pork n beans 3 or 4 times a week.
At this rate the dems are no doubt hanging themselves but at what cost before a serious administration is in place ?
Its the point of no return that worries me the most
April 1st, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Once again, folks, the House GOP only control one small part of the federal govt. They CANNOT do whatever they want to do. They can only do what they can at this point. Once the GOP gets the senate and (hopefully) the White House THEN they have the power to make major changes. Right now they do not.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Warner
That was pretty much my point.
I’m giving the right due credit and critique in the face of a luxury we dont have.
Time.
And an administration that could put us in a much more dire situation before the right has any real power.
If Obamacare ends up in the SCOTUS before Scalia leaves, the middle east settles down instead of dominoing to catastrophe we might stand a chance before having to wait another 2 years for a new POTUS or 3 1/2 for a congressional majority.
Then again, the way things have gone and are going I see no reason why in 2012 the people would settle for just about any republican over Obama.
Cain/Nugent, Trump/Palin, My wife and I…
Just about any semi informed candidate could put together a pretty damning list against Barry …
you would think
April 1st, 2011 at 6:01 pm
correction
hen again, the way things have gone and are going I see no reason why in 2012 the people would “NOT” settle for just about any republican over Obama.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I get everyone’s point, that the republicans have no obligation to try to correct things, since they can shift the blame to the dems. Sort of like the dems did with the deficit, I guess, blaming it all on bush2.
My point is that if all you try to do is make some minor ideological changes, then big deal. Instead, why not actually try to do something that has meaning. Then, when the dems kill it, as they most certainly would, make that a campaign theme in the next election. It’s either that, or winning elections has no real meaning.
So, when we were all excited in november, somebody should’ve said, ‘well that was cute, but that means nothing until, at best, 2013.’ Then, in 2013, we can claim that if it weren’t for that darned filibuster, then we’d get something done.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:23 pm
It would not surprise me if Obama wins reelection. Firstly, few presidents in the last 100 years did not get his second term. Only LBJ, Carter and the elder Bush were cast out. (JFK doesn’t count for obvious reasons and I don’t count Ford because he never got elected in the first place).
Secondly, African Americans are entirely racist in their voting pattern and will vote almost as strongly for Obama the second time as they did the first time no matter WHAT he does or doesn’t do. He will lose only slightly in the African American vote.
Democrats won’t vote off party regardless and will vote Obama because they won’t admit they were wrong the first time.
The only thing that the Dems will hurt for is that some of their voters will simply stay home. This is what hurt the GOP in 2008.
Now, the key will be the mushy middle. Where will they go? Stay home or vote GOP? That is the segment to battle over. And if the GOP moves too far to the middle to get those votes, the mushy middle will see no reason to vote for a sort-of Democrat (by voting for a GOP that is leaning too far to the middle) and will either stay home or even vote Obama. The GOP needs to get as many of the so-called moderates as it can to beat Obama.
The GOP’s trick will be to stay far enough to the right to stay on principles yet not seem like the “extremists” that the hardcore, socialist left (like Obama) will try to make them out as.
But the fact is, long term the GOP has really set itself up well. So many state legislatures have moved right that during the upcoming redistricting the GOP will be in a very good position for a nice bit of time into the future.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:29 pm
So, you are suggesting we create “campaign issues” 2 years before an election? Recipe for disaster. No one will remember the “campaign issue” two years hence and if the GOP was beating this drum for two years then many voters would vote against them simply because they had become tired of hearing it all! Better to get smaller steps now, then go for the “campaign issue” votes closer to the election.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I’m not that good at predicting the 2012 races, wth, but you may well be right. I’d guess that the house and senate will switch teams, but that is only on the basis of voter participation and what that might mean in swing districts. I’d have guessed that obama was in trouble until all of the top dogs are too scaredy cat to even run. They must know something that I don’t.
As far as AA’s and their voting pattern. Obviously, for a number of reasons, they’re a lost cause for the republicans, generally. But there are plenty of demographics that provide a similar advantage to republicans, in numbers if not in percentages (like white southern men).
April 1st, 2011 at 6:36 pm
wth, NOBODY will remember the deficit problem, NOBODY will remember the economic mess???
Even if these topics hadn’t been discussed ad nauseum for 3 years now, the only time they aren’t pivotally important is when we’re at war, or things are going well. Then, the public gets concerned about other things.
In a normal campaign, candidates would already be speaking out on their vision of the country and how to fix the problems.
April 1st, 2011 at 7:19 pm
“wth, NOBODY will remember the deficit problem, NOBODY will remember the economic mess???”
I believe at this pace things will only be worse.
There will be plenty of valid selling points to use against Barry. Even if they come from some mediocre candidate it will be just as effective.
But yeah, we shouldn’t hammer on that nail til right before the elections.
No one wants to hear it and everyone is tired of hearing the same crap for years.
That being said I’m still concerned that no matter what happens in 2012-14 it may be too late. Our present picks aren’t too reassuring either
I know its an over simplification but its the best analogy that fits.
We and our leaders are like junkies and alcoholics who will not learn until they’ve lost everything.
I’m 53 years old, as far as our budget and economic matters go, I’ve been hearing the same thing and seeing the same thing every 4 years as long as I can remember.
If it ever was truly fixed at any point in our history we wouldn’t be at this level of deescalation were seeing now.
Call me simple minded, I dont care.
I know math
April 1st, 2011 at 7:22 pm
“Secondly, African Americans are entirely racist in their voting pattern ”
Holy sht, you’re gonna get it now.
I’m surprised every moonbat online hasn’t swooped down on you yet
April 1st, 2011 at 7:26 pm
“My point is that if all you try to do is make some minor ideological changes, then big deal. Instead, why not actually try to do something that has meaning. ”
Seriously, if they’re not willing to defund NPR and miniscule sht then do we really expect the left to cooperate on anything substantial ?
That point right there would be a great talking point against them.
April 2nd, 2011 at 4:04 am
“Seriously, if they’re not willing to defund NPR and miniscule sht then do we really expect the left to cooperate on anything substantial ?”
So the GOP makes that move and the left makes it a sticking point and shuts down government to save NPRs tiny allotment (for which they could easily do without).
What will be the result?
The left will say that GOP hates kids TV. The left will say the GOP wants to shut down govt and stop old people from getting their soc sec checks. The media will echo that.
Enough mushy middle voters will believe these lies and the GOP will lose in 2012.
THAT is what will happen.
Better to avoid sticking points, get what other cuts you can get (and us that as your success story for the elections), then AFTER 2012 cut NPR off at the knees when you have both the Senate and the House.
That is smarter strategy.
April 2nd, 2011 at 6:21 am
“So the GOP makes that move and the left makes it a sticking point and shuts down government to save NPRs tiny allotment (for which they could easily do without).
What will be the result?”
Good for us
I think we should go for the bigger and smaller cuts and then when the left rejects them we can use their obstructionism against them.
“Enough mushy middle voters will believe these lies and the GOP will lose in 2012.
THAT is what will happen.”
I’m not so sure.
i think(hope) that by now theres an increasing majority that have seen how these heart string pulling tactics got us where were at.
Hopefully exposing these tactics only going back as far as SCHIP people will be that much wiser.
I for one (aside from the liberal media) am not willing to sit by and let em keep getting away with this bullsht.
The case with Bush/Pelosi and SCHIP in 07 can be used as the perfect example.
” Bush doesn’t want to end S-CHIP, nor does he want to freeze its funding level. He wanted to increase funding to the program, but Democrats wanted to increase it seven times more than Bush’s proposal — and they wanted to slap a highly regressive tax onto the public to fund it. In effect, the Democrats wanted to take money from the poor to subsidize health insurance for middle-class children.”
“The bottom line here is the original bill was always meant to cover children from families that cannot afford private healthcare and the bill that was just vetoed would have allowed some families that can and do afford private healthcare to place their children on state funded healthcare.”
We gotta start using these ass-holes history and what its lead to against them.
Any candidate with half a brain ought to be able to compose a litany of these tactics that got us here.
One can only hope that those “mushy middle voters” will of had it by now and do just a little more research besides depending on the MSM
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:22 am
I love how the article says, “The trillons Obama put us into debt for”.
The current debt is the result of:
Two (now three) wasteful military engagements
The enormous cost of programs that started decades ago, Medicare and Social Security, that worked fine when people had the decency to die at the age of 66.
Duplication of programs.
Tax cuts
A recession.
There were a lot of responsible parties to this debt.
April 2nd, 2011 at 10:25 am
Obama will most likely wen a second term.
Our economy is cyclical and he will reap the benefits of an upswing.
He may eventually extricate us from Iraq.
A mere increase to 3.5 GDP will solve half the deficit.
The Republicans have yet to fine a viable candidate.
The Tea Party will demand their say, which will alienate centrists.
The next elections will have a different voter turnout than the midterms.
April 2nd, 2011 at 11:01 am
Buzz, give it a rest.
Every administration has tacked on debt.
But never in history has any president piled on so much in so little time accomplishing “ABSOLUTELY” nothing like Barry.
FACT
April 2nd, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Give what a rest? The temerity to have a differing opinion?
Bush doubled the debt during his tenure.
When it comes to numbers, nothing is fact as numbers do, indeed, lie.
Is it percentage of debt increase?
Debt compared to GDP?
How many assets you started with?
Long term debt?
Tax revenues due to GDP?
No one will know the real outcome for years.
As I stated earlier, a minor cyclical economic rebound will solve a lot of the debt trending. Although GE paying no taxes is indicative of some gaping loopholes in the collections department.
Unfortunately, baby boomers are just now starting to take part in Medicare and Social Security and life expectancy keeps rising.
I already apologized to my 20-something nieces as we are going tax them to death. The bulk of the baby boomers (I am in the middle of that bulge)are going to start retiring over the next decade and as always with my generation, we will want more than our fair share.
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I think it was in The Hill, or some similar source, an article explaining the five reasons Obama will lose in 2012:
1) The Economy: Even the most optimistic analysts say that the unemployment rate will still be between 7.7 to 8.5% through most of next year. Add to that higher prices for gasoline, food, etc., and the mood on ‘Main Street’ will be ugly.
2) The Wars: We’re still going to have a military presence in Iraq in Nov. ‘12, and we’ll still be fighting in Afghanistan. We’ll still be launching drone attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere. This thing in Libya will not go away quickly and the whole region in general is coming unglued.
3) The Track Record: What has Obama really accomplished so far? What is he going to run on? Health Care? More than half the country wants the whole thing scrapped. Even more will as its complexity becomes better known. Just yesterday, the White House did the old ‘Friday Dump’ of almost 500 more pages of new regulations, hoping it would not get much press.
4) The Man: In 2008, people voted for Obama because he appeared to be ‘one of them’. Somebody you’d have over for dinner and feel comfortable with. The country doesn’t see him that way any longer. He is aloof, professorial, and anything but an ‘average American’.
5) The Question: Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago? Is the country on the right track? Take your pick, there are other basic questions, too. The answer for most voters to any of them will be “NO!”
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:36 pm
buzzbee,
Shame on you for enslaving your nieces, and children everywhere, with your greed. You should be a patriot, like me! Smoke cigarettes, over-eat, drink and party-down! I’ll be dead LONG before I see one penny of Social Security!