Last fall’s elections were a vote for principle the likes of which haven’t been witnessed in this country for decades. The much maligned Tea Party activists sent a message and a whole bunch of new congressmen and women to Washington with a clearly defined mandate to reduce the size and scope of government. The budget negotiations that were undertaken to do the unfinished work of the last Congress were an opportunity to accomplish just that. And while token gains were made, cutting a few days of the Federal Government’s level of spending since January 1, the people we sent to Congress, and their leader decided that even the largely symbolic victory of another 61 Billion in cuts (as opposed to 900 odd Billion spent up to March 1) and ending borrowed government money to the real Murder Inc., Planned Parenthood, was just too difficult a deal to fight for.
To say that I’m disappointed to see that the House Republicans have all the backbone of a jellyfish is an understatement. They capitulated when presented with some of the most childish behavior I have had the misfortune to witness. As a parent, the best analogy I can think of is that the kids demanded their way, and not only do I have to pay the bills to keep the lights on, the roof over our head, the taxes, and the food bill, but they also demanded that we buy a brand new car and give the keys to them. Oh, and every meal is a desert or junk food now.
While I would normally take comfort in the idea that they can be replaced, the fact is that they will likely have run the credit card up so damn high that every dollar we earn will be paying the debt, and it just won’t matter.
Fellas, if you couldn’t make a stand on this, how in the hell do you think you will ever pass a budget that cuts $6 Trillion? Mr. Ryan needs to send a gift of thirty pieces of silver to the Speaker…if he can afford such a lavish expenditure.
The consent of the governed is dependent first and foremost on trust. If I can’t trust you to stick with your principles when you complete someone else’s unfinished work, I sure as hell can’t trust you to fight the big fights. I hope there was something you got out of the deal that was worth it, because your capitulation on something so small virtually guarantees your failure when its time to do the real work.
Unfortunately, at this point thirty pieces of silver comes to about $1200. Boehner and his acolytes simply don’t deserve it. A donkey turd would be more appropriate. (No, not an elephant turd; that would “send the wrong message.”)
The optimist in me hopes that the message isn’t completely lost though. Perhaps what has happened and what is still to come will provide the stimulus to keep the issue in the limelight and the necessary energy behind it.
These are first and foremost politicians and to expect bold, decisive, expansive changes immediately might be asking too much.
I am not happy with the apparent limits that the Republicans set on themselves in this instance, but I believe that the Democrats had deliberately engineered this manufactured “crisis” in hopes that the Republicans would permanently label themselves as “radicals” because of the social-issue riders attached to a piece of legislation that really should have been targeted on budget and spending issues. It seems to me that the Republicans managed to avoid the trap (barely), but weakened their bargain power considerably.
Also, they may have been testing the waters in anticipation of the big battle to come over the neglected budget for this year that the Dems purposely avoided installing.
The Republicans are still on probation and their actions over the next few months should provide a clear picture of their commitment to reducing spending.