Country singer Aaron
Tippin’s old hit song “You’ve Got to Stand for Something (or You’ll Fall For
Anything)” could be the new theme song for the Republican leadership in the
U.S. House. There’s a reason that 71% of Republicans across America
are dissatisfied with Republican leadership in Washington. The big budget deal announced this week breaks
important promises congressional leaders have made to each other and the
American people to cut spending and taxes. It is essentially a tax-and-spend
plan, but is being hailed by the political and media establishment as a
reasonable and modest accomplishment because it promises to do better in the
future.
In their defense,
Republicans are in a tough spot. They have two bad options. They can continue
to capitulate and go along with the always happy to tax and spend liberals, or
they can take a stand for the good of the country and watch the Democrats close
the government, change the rules, or issue an executive order—and then listen
to liberals and the media blame it all on Republicans. It’s a pattern that’s
been developing for a long time. The Democrats know the Republicans are afraid
to take a stand, so they keep pushing the “compromises” further to the left.
Many want to return to the
“good old days” in Congress when everyone got along, compromised, and worked in
a friendly bipartisan way. That’s how America got $17 trillion in debt. You
can’t spend, borrow, and waste that much money without bipartisan cooperation.
When I came to Congress in 1999, senior appropriators
(the guys who hand out the money) from both parties ran the place. They used
thousands of special project giveaways (earmarks) to Members in both parties to
buy votes, pass big spending bills, and achieve bipartisan support for other
big government programs. But thanks to a conservative resurgence in 2010,
earmarks were banned. That’s made it harder to pass big spending bills and why
you have some still hoping to bring back pork barrel politics.
Make no mistake: Compromise in Washington is used to
increase spending, grow the federal government and expand its power. Those
defending the status quo deal-making say Americans who are concerned about debt
and spending should take half a loaf now and go back for the second half later.
Nonsense! This deal is a win for big spenders and leaves conservatives with
little more than crumbs.
The big new budget deal was prompted by political
pressure to eliminate spending cuts instituted by the sequestration deal to
slow the growth of our massive, destructive, and unsustainable debt. Despite
its poor design and unwise cuts to our military, it is the first real
commitment by Congress in a long time to slow the growth of government over a
10-year budget window. Don’t be fooled. Sequestration does not cut spending.
Instead of federal spending increasing 74 percent over the next 10 years, the
sequester would hold spending increases to 69 percent! And some people call
that Draconian?
Let’s take a close look at what’s in the new budget deal:
Increases spending immediately for promises to reduce
spending in the future (Fool me once…)
·
Cuts Medicare using provider cuts that threaten
access to care for seniors (price controls, instead of sensible
Medicare reforms)
·
Takes more money from the American people to
fuel higher spending in the form of user fees (these are tax increases by
another name)
·
Uses gimmicks for savings
·
Funds Obamacare
·
Fails to make a down payment toward the spending
and debt crisis
As Ronald
Reagan’s former budget director, David Stockman, said yesterday: “Let’s
be clear—it’s a joke and betrayal. It’s the final surrender of the House
Republican leadership to Beltway politics and kicking the can and ignoring the
budget monster that’s hurtling down the road.”
This week leaders in both parties will speed the passage
of this new bill, which is another new pattern of the Washington establishment:
Pass it quickly before the people find out what’s in it. If you ever wondered
how America got $17 trillion in debt, now you know.
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