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Why McConnell’s Plan Is Bad for America

By: Robert Bluey (Diary)  |  July 15th, 2011 at 03:30 PM  | 

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s politically motivated plan to raise the debt limit “does nothing for the good of the country,” according to The Heritage Foundation’s David S. Addington, who outlined the think tank’s concerns on The Foundry this afternoon.

“The McConnell Plan would put America deeper into debt and achieves nothing toward the vitally important objective of getting federal overspending and overborrowing under control,” wrote Addington, who served as chief of staff and counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney before joining Heritage.

McConnell’s plan would allow President Obama to raise the debt limit by more than $2 trillion without congressional approval. It abandons any hope of getting federal overspending and overborrowing under control.

Addington highlighted the concerns raised by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). DeMint said the plan was “like leaving the jail door open and looking the other way, then saying it’s not our fault.”

Addington concluded:

Conservatives in Congress need to focus on what is good for the country. That starts with a clear understanding that this is the moment to put the country on the path toward getting federal overspending and overborrowing under control. The guiding principle is simple: Don’t raise the debt limit, without getting spending under control. Use the legislation on the debt limit to put America on the path to driving down federal spending and borrowing, while preserving our ability to protect America, and without raising taxes.

Bluey directs the Center for Media and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation. He also blogs at Scribe.

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COMMENTS

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  • ysonyou

    McConnell is trying to do what is politically a party interest ploy, rather than hammering out a solution. It’s exactly the opposite of what is needed.

  • Spiral

    Here’s Senator McConnell

    If Obama stiff-arms us we’ll go to the people

    The simplest way to view the debt ceiling debate in Washington is as a struggle over the kind of government we want. If you want a government that runs everything from the student loan business to car companies, then taxes will have to go up. If you think government is too big already and should start to pull back, then Washington has to change its ways ? fast.

    This is the message I have brought to the White House for more than two years in an effort to persuade President Obama to rein in a government that has lost all sense of limits. This is also why, when those discussions failed to bear fruit, I had hoped an approaching limit to the president’s borrowing power would cause him to think again.

    Unfortunately, it was wishful thinking. As it turned out, the president is simply too committed to big government to agree to serious belt-tightening. At the same time, however, the president realizes that most Americans fear government is too big already. That’s why he has tried to portray himself in recent weeks as advocating a “balanced approach.”

  • kowalski

    The question is whether or not the American people have the political will, having seen everything in the world that has gone on in the past three years, all the bailouts, all the undercapitalized collateralized debt obligations, all the ridiculous spending and borrowing, all of it – whether in the end they’ll have the real courage and credulity to bring their own finances into order.

    The world is watching. Obama’s plans amount to passing the buck and continuing the “borrow and spend” prerogatives of the past.

    • kowalski

      There’s a big difference, psychologically and otherwise. McConnell wants to be there after the fire happens, trying to put it out. He most certainly doesn’t want to be the cop who arrests people and prevents the fire from happening by patrolling the beat and confronting the thugs.

      There’s a tremendous difference between police officers and firefighters – not to take away from either of them – but McConnell wants to be the latter, not the former. Right now, we need more cops than firefighters and that’s not an easy thing to be, but it’s true.

      • ihateliberals

        he doesn’t have a sword or a horse!

      • edintexas

        While firefighters do not arrive until the fire is already underway, they do act to stop the fire, often successfully. On the other hand, the police usually don’t arrive until the crime is already accomplished and the criminals have left. They usually can not act to stop the crime, though they can often apprehend the criminals post facto and prevent further criminal activity by the actor/s for some period of time while incarcerated (but not before trial if out on bail).

        This is not the fault of the police officers, and sometimes they do arrive while the crime in is progress (but nowhere near as often as TV depicts). The days of the “cop on the beat” are from my childhood and youth – when Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were Presidents. The much vaunted “Community Policing” initiative of the Clinton years helped, but still was no equal to the neighborhood policing of 40+ years before – when the officer knew most of the people on his beat and could stop someone for no reason at all without worrying about being disciplined because of complaints from “community activists”. Not to mention that any adult could act in loco parentis without fear of being sued/jailed for stopping someone’s “precious” from performing some anti-social action.

  • dkm466

    McConnell it seems to be Socialist.He Blocks Demint from the Finance Committee, his postition on Tarp, his postition on Rand Paul, I swear he is a S-L-I-C-K socialist.

    Anyone think Mitch cares about average people??

    • Spiral

      McConnell isn’t a socialist. He’s a realist.

      When he said the other day that as long as Obama remains in the White House there will be no significant spending cuts, he was saying what many conservatives know in their hearts to be the lord’s truth, but refuse to say in public.

      Conservatives have a tendency to over-estimate the impact of mid-term elections.

      When the GOP won the US House and US Senate in 1994, most conservatives believed that President Bill Clinton was a dead man walking, that there was no way possible that Clinton could win reelection in 1996.

      After all, the GOP takeover of Congress was a stunner, the first time in 40 years that the GOP had won a majority of the US House of Representatives.

      So, the GOP began trying to reform Medicare. But Clinton vetoed the legislation and then successfully ran for reelection against “Dole-Gingrich.”

      McConnell and Boehner were both in Congress back then, but not in the high leadership (Boehner was 4th in leadership, behind Gingrich, Armey, DeLay).

      They took notes about how a Democrat who looked like a dead man walking in 1995 got reelected in 1996 as the man who would protect the American people against “extremist Republican cuts.” (Those were VP Al Gore’s words).

      McConnell and Boehner simply don’t want to hand Obama reelection. They would prefer to let Obama have his debt limit increase and then let Obama try to get reelected on 9 percent unemployment a trillion dollar annual deficits.

      Sometimes in the United States, at least, you have to win 2 consecutive elections before you can enact the conservative agenda.

      The Democrats knew this in 2006 and 2008. Has the GOP learned this yet?

      We’ll see.

      • Tbone

        A Republican elitist, the worst kind. He has zero understanding of anything outside the Beltway. He is basically an electable blob of protoplasm that his staff feeds and wipes to maintain their jobs. Remember, they get to keep their jobs whether McConnell fights or caves. Why fight when caving is so easy?

        A big part of our problem is that you have professional congressional staffs that really are only interested in their paychecks. Not values, not principles, just their paychecks and power perks. They come from the prestige law schools, probably never held a non-government job. They are really only worth the value of their organs.

        • ihateliberals

          The entire power brokers (I refuse to say leaders) the RINO’s are elitist. They think that they have been there so long that no one else understands them or what they are trying to do. Problem is now that they have been there so long they don’t know what the hell to do. They feel that anyone outside the Beltway is stupid and ignorant of how to make things better. They also think that we voters are a pain and only get in the way of them making their laws. This is what the Founding Fathers were trying to prevent but the miss some important things. Term limits. Back when this was all being put together the life expectancy was in the early 50′s No one was expected to live long enough to be elitist. Two years is too short for the House and 6 is too long for the Senate. Two terms of 3 years each should be the limit for House offices. Two terms of 4 years each for the Senate. We finally fixed the President but I fear a repeal of that law if Obama wins a second term. He could slowly then pull the Chavez style coup of the government.

      • carolina

        I agree with your analysis. The GOP can do their best to reduce spending, but the dems still have control.
        Hopefully the GOP can ‘play this hand’ in a way that helps defeat BO (and lots of dem Senators) in 2012. I think giving BO more rope might work out just fine.
        As long as the GOP prevents tax hikes – I think they will come out ahead in the end.

        • ihateliberals

          Dem’s are in control because they know how to handle them now.

      • carolina

        I agree with your analysis. The GOP can do their best to reduce spending, but the dems still have control.
        Hopefully the GOP can ‘play this hand’ in a way that helps defeat BO (and lots of dem Senators) in 2012. I think giving BO more rope might work out just fine.
        As long as the GOP prevents tax hikes – I think they will come out ahead in the end.

        • edintexas

          It appears that you and spiral believe that if the House passes a spending bill/budget which cuts spending, and it fails to pass the Senate – or is vetoed by Dear Leader (both of which are probable), then the House will be forced to pass a bill/budget with higher spending.

          The fallacy of this position is the House does not HAVE to pass the bill with the higher spending. It seems likely, with the current leadership, that the leadership will twist arms to get a bill McConnell likes passed. But that isn’t cast in concrete either. It is more likely that those who were in Congress in 1995 will cave, rather than shut down the government. Certainly the MSM is telling the Republicans are being told they will be blamed for any shutdown. What else would the MSM do, they have to get their favorite politician re-elected.

      • mspector

        I get what McConnell thinks he is trying to do, but as the Brits would say, his plan is “too clever by half.”d

        Let’s say I’m a Dimmycrat. And let’s say McConnell’s plan passes the House and Senate. And let’s say that the economy stays in the tank, maybe even goes a little deeper. What do I say about the GOP?

        I say that the GOP likes to make a lot of noise about spending cuts and smaller government, but when push came to shove the GOP turned it over to Obama. The GOP says they did this so that Obama would “own” the disaster, but the reality is the GOP did it because they had no real plan, and no real stomach for the fight. So whom do you want to sit in the White House? The people who passed the buck, or they guy they passed it to?

        You’re not leading when you give up the decision-making to someone else. If the GOP does that they are reduced to howling from the back bench for many years to come.

  • chrysostom15

    Let’s face reality. Obama is not going to sign anything that cuts the budget prior to 2012 in any significant way. He simply is not going to do it. It is very unlikely he will sign anything like that after 2012.

    Obama believes in big government. He will not vote to make it smaller.

    The only sane solution is to replace Obama.

    All this name calling and critisism of McConnell is missplaced. He is the one politician who clearly understands that to balance the budget, without raising taxes, Obama needs to be defeated in 2012.

    Obama would LOVE to be able to blame the GOP for the economy. That is his goal. He is trying to trick the GOP into forcing the biggest crisis he can. This way he can blame the problems on the GOP, rather than on his policies.

    In 2012, do we really want the media to say that the GOP caused a double-dip recession by making too big of cuts? Most voters may not trust the media, but undecided voters do.

    The 2012 election will be in the hands of the small 5% of Americans who votes for Obama in 2008, who blame Bush for the economy, and who — by large — are an unpredictable group. These voters, mostly, do not like Obamacare, do not like tax increases, do not like government regulation.

    To win, the GOP needs to attract these voters. It needs to not drive away those voters who don’t like obamacare, but don’t want to miss a social security check.

    To win, the GOP needs to keep the votes of the pro-life, working class, union member who doesn’t like healthcare, abortion, or gay marriage; but wants to keep social security.

    To win, the GOP needs to keep the votes of the federal government workers in northern Virginia who chose to live there, as opposed to Maryland, because they want low taxes, a more conservative school system, and more personal freedoms from regulations. To increase their pension contributions would cause the GOP to lose Virginia, a must-win state.

    To win, the GOP needs to keep the votes of the typical rurual West Virginia voter. The voter who hates Obamacare, gay marriage, abortion, and doesn’t like Obama; but who also elects officials like Joe Manchin, and Robert Byrd. Namely, voters who supported FDR, supported, LBJ, supported Clinton, and who — generally speaking — like government of a certain size and function. They are social conservatives, fiscal moderates, and would not vote if a GOP candidate is too far right.

    To win, the GOP needs to not lose people who want to vote GOP, because they want to vote against Obama.

    The GOP will not, and cannot win if the vote is based on if the public likes the GOP or not. The ONLY way the GOP can win is if the vote is whether or not the public likes OBAMA. It must be the Obama economy.

    This requires that the GOP not block Obama too much. Not overstep. Not go out on the lead for budget cuts that will cost votes.

    The options are:
    1- raise the dept ceiling without meaningfull cuts — campaign on it in 2012, and then fix things
    2- raise taxes
    3- cause a depression and huge financial crisis by not raising the debt ceiling, recieve the blame for it; and watch as Obama becomes the 2nd comming of FDR, raising taxes, instituting new government programs, and watch him get re-elected, and then watch Biden be elected president.
    4- Sign an agreement with smoke-and-mirror cuts that are totally fake; in exhange for a debt increase. Obama gets credit, looks like a moderate, and has a better-than-even chance to get re-elected in 2012. Which means that some or all of the Bush tax cuts will expire.

    Make no mistake, unless a GOP president is in office, the Bush tax cuts will not all remain in place.

    Let us face reality. The COUNTRY cannot afford to let Obama win so that some of our politicians can pretend they are trying to help the country. The best way to help the country is to stop pretending to negotiate spending cuts that will not take place, and start campaigning against Obama.

    • Spiral

      I wish the common sense and political savvy that you possess were in more abundance in the conservative movement.

      Conservatives are correct on policy, but they don’t understand the swing, mushy-middle voter.

      Republicans simply need to hand Obama a little more rope, an increase in the debt limit, so that Obama can hang himself by November 2012.

      Instead, many conservatives are demanding that Republicans attempt to rescue Obama and the Senate Demorats from their idiotic economic policies. Would this be good for the country if the GOP could pull this off? Sure. But it assumes that the Democrats will sign on to a conservative agenda. They won’t. Period.

      You will not get Harry Reid and the Democrats in the Senate and Obama to support significant cuts in spending without tax increases.

      Just raise the debt limit and let the voters sort this out in November 2012.

      Do a Ronald Reagan in October 2012.

      Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

      • Tbone

        because you sure must like what the Democrats and McConnell are doing to you.

        • Spiral

          Anyone who has any understanding of politics can understand what the Democrats are doing.

          The Democrats control the White House and the US Senate. They own the crummy economy and the huge budget deficits.

          They are looking ahead to 2012, knowing that they will get their behinds kicked.

          Unless…….

          They can make the GOP look like the cause of the nation’s problems.

          Raise the debt limit and the GOP wins in 2012. Then we can talk turkey.

          • carolina

            .

          • Tbone

            What the the GOP will lose now is all credibility with the real conservatives and with independents who will write them off as no better than the Democrats.

            I have voted Republican since Nixon. Why should I vote in 2012 if I’m going to get Romney, McConnell & Boehner?

            There are a lot of people watching to see if the Republican Leadership is going to fold. If they do, they are going to figure the GOP is dead.

            Oh, and don’t tell me because they will be a lot better than Obama. Those three will ruin this country, just at a slower pace.

          • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

            Winning elections does not mean diddly squat if it doesnt move the ball on policy.

            THAT is the ‘realism’ that a lot of the inside-the-beltway Republicans are failing to grasp. Conservatives have figured out that RINOs who sell out at the drop of the hat are sometimes worse than liberal Democrats, because bad policy gets tagged as ‘bipartisan’.

            Now, McConnell is far from the worst offender on that behavior, however, in this case, his prescriptions is EXACTLY the kind of ‘muddy the water’ cop-out that ends up deliverng bad policy AND being bad PR for Republicans.

            The Democrats control the White House and the US Senate. They own the crummy economy and the huge budget deficits. ”

            Fine. Then we SHOULD be DEMANDING the Senate pass a debt ceiling hike NOW … on whatever terms they desire, BEFORE we negotiate further. McConnell’s plan B gets ALL of the 23 Democrat Senators OFF THE HOOK for the tough choices to make on the debt ceiling (which cuts? add taxes like obama demands? do a ‘clean’ / nothing debt ceiling? ) Why is McConnell getting the Democrats off the hook?

            It’s not hard for the Republicans to take their FY 2012 budget, tie it to the debt ceiling increase, add in spending caps and voila, that’s the debt ceiling ‘price’. Haggle from there.

            McConnell’s copout undercuts all that hardnosed positioning and sets us back, both in terms of the substantive FY 2012 spending, forcing a refight on that (will we go to govt shutdown in Oct over it? Or has McConnell’s weak knees signalled a pre-cave?)

            “They can make the GOP look like the cause of the nation?s problems. ” THEY WILL DO THAT ANYWAY.

            “Raise the debt limit and the GOP wins in 2012.” I CALL BS ON THIS. Obama will win or lose based on the economy. Good economy, he wins. GOP caves, he looks strongers. Obama’s poll numbers went up in April after the ‘deal’ was signed. If the GOP caves and/or a deal is made at the last minute, OBAMAS POLLS WILL RISE. And deal or no deal, this wont make or break Obama. Unemployment at 9% is the anchor around his neck.

            What’s the best we can do? Look at how the Minn. GOP handled a loon for Gov. They stood firm, and got the Gov to agree to things no liberal would willingly agree to.
            So it will be here. If we have a firm “We need spending cuts to increase the debt limit” position, we will get them.

            No need for a wimp-out, cave-in, pass-the-buck Plan B.

          • Spiral

            Some conservatives are great on policy, but lousy on politics.

            There is absolutely no need for the Republicans in the US House or in the US Senate to take responsibility, at this point, for the budget deficit, given the current situation.

            If Obama and Reid actually indicated that they were serious about significant deficit reduction, without any tax increases, then, of course, the Republican Congresssmen would be well advised to join with Obama and Reid and get the job done.

            But anyone who has been paying attention for the past several months knows that the Democrats are completely unserious, unwilling to significantly cut spending without raising taxes.

            So, the Republicans should do what McConnell suggests. Raise the debt limit and take the issues of taxes, spending, deficits, economic growth and unemployment to the voters in the November 2012 elections.

            The GOP can simply say to the voters, “For the last 4 years we have done things the way Obama and Reid wanted them done. Look at the results. Had enough?”

            That’s smart politics.

            Haggling for months and months over raising the debt limit is stupid politics. McConnell is absolutely correct in saying, “Let’s take this to the voters in 2012.”

          • Tbone

            but aren’t.

    • post4u

      The only problem that could arise from House and Senate Republicans voting for the McConnell Plan is what is happening right now with that plan in the Senate. Harry Reid is working on it, so it could be another indecipherable 2,000-pager that Harry brings to the floor at the last minute. Thereby neither Senate nor House Republicans would have time to digest and amend it.

    • ihateliberals

      entirely when they won the mid-term. The message was to stop spending and repeal Obamacare. That was it and all this haggling over the 2011 budget the Debt Ceiling etc. is just wasting the time to do what we the people really sent them there for. Boehner never had any intenetions of fighting for repeal of ocbamacre. he wants to be in the middle of the mess he and Obama have created now. The fact that we ask for somethng different just makes him mad.

  • babykaboomer

    That’s what the Republican message needs to be, and it needs to repeated hourly. Keep Mitch and Eric away from the cameras, they’re not particularly effective communicators. Boehner’s probably the best of the bunch, when he’s on. Comes across with sincerity and strength, the bar owner’s son who can connect with the average American; a nice contrast to the pious, pinch-faced professor of platitudes.

  • jonnymuffin

    Make no mistake about it. The GOP (leadership) has already made that clear. Boehner has said it several times.

    It’s a shame because it’s a GOLDEN opportunity for anyone who wants to rein in spending AND balance the budget. All we have to do is nothing, just don’t raise the debt ceiling, and by default the budget is balanced and spending is cut by 40%. They are forced into doing it because they don’t have the option to borrow more (on the backs of citizens).

    You can argue that it should be done in a more orderly fashion, and I’d probably agree, but RIGHT NOW you’ve got the nuts (if you like poker references). Obama is drawing dead. You can make any demand you want, and tell Obama here is the deal, take it or leave it. We don’t want to balance the budget this way, but we will.

    Unfortunately it seems the leadership isn’t serious about cutting spending and balancing the budget. It will always be something that we get to in the future. I mean how serious can you be if you put ‘just giving up’ on the table?

    • YnotNOW

      raising the debt ceiling, but tying any raise to serious spending cuts. The key being “serious”.

      Looks like the House is currently holding the line:
      http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/15/gop-announces-vote-on-18-month-debt-ceiling-plan/

      • jonnymuffin

        I’d have to see what “with matching cuts and guidelines to control future government spending” means. I suspect smoke and mirrors. They knew the figure they are going to borrow more of, but the details of the cuts and controls didn’t seem to be available… weird

        • YnotNOW

          I agree that the uncertainty of what the negotiations are working on (or even what the Repubs fall-back plan consists of) create high risk. And I don’t trust them to follow through – therefore the requirement for close scruitiny and holding their feet to the fire.

          In the end, we’re probably not going to like what we get, but we must get as much as possilbe, push it through passage for now, and work toward a better majority in 2012 that can build upon this with REAL budget reform and substantive cuts.

          • jonnymuffin

            we will get more debt and no cuts in spending. And that’s if we’re lucky, If we aren’t lucky we’ll get tax increases too. But I guess we pay for it all in the end anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

    • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

      Boehner has wisely walked the narrow path of firmness in terms of conditions on what is required to pass a debt ceiling increase, combined with a seriousness that the debt ceiling will need to be increased.

      “You can argue that it should be done in a more orderly fashion, and I?d probably agree, but RIGHT NOW you?ve got the nuts (if you like poker references). Obama is drawing dead. You can make any demand you want, and tell Obama here is the deal, take it or leave it. ”

      Nope. It doesnt work that way, you cannot even get a my-way-or-highway bill through the senate to put on Obama’s desk. Any final bill will be a compromise. You have to know how far you can push before it breaks.

      • jonnymuffin

        if your serious about spending cuts.

        Fact of the matter is the Debt will never be easier to pay off that it is now. in 18months when we are $2.whatever trillion in debt, it will he harder than it would be now without the extra trillions to pay off.

    • Spiral

      It is pure fantasy to think that there are going to be significant spending cuts without large tax increases as long as the Democrats control the White House and the US Senate.

      Those who think that the Republicans in the US House can somehow magically convert Obama and Reid into spending cutters are either on heavy medication or they have not followed politics for more than two weeks.

      Given that reality, the smart thing for the GOP to do is, as McConnell mentioned this week, take the issue of govenment spending, deficits, unemployment and anemic economic growth under the policies of Barack Obama and Harry Reid directly to the voters.

      Raise the debt limit.

      Win in 2012.

      Then get about the business of cutting spending.

      The last thing the House GOP should do is attempt to rescue the Democrats by trying to force the Democrats into adopting responsible policies. It can’t be done. And it’s not the responsibility of the GOP to potty train Democrats or educate them as to sound economic and fiscal policy. ‘

      It is, however, the responsibility of the GOP to kick the Democrats’ behinds in 2012 and then do what is right for the country.

      But the order is important. Win the 2012 elections first. Then enact the right policies.

      Trying to enact the right policies now, while the Democrats hold the Senate and the White House is political malpractice in its most extreme form.

      • jonnymuffin

        Don’t raise the debt ceiling.

        That’s the point, you can make it happen, it’s simple, don’t let them borrow more money!!!

        It’s very unamerican to saddle us with more debt to score some political victory. It’s ‘we the people’ that have to pay for it, not the people who score the political points, just keep that in mind

      • funwithknives

        BHO simply will not bite. Why should he? IT IS all about HIM , is it not? HIM and what HE Envisions.
        From the evidence so far it is apparent that ,like some have described here , we are only part way through a process. Lotsa’ RINOS yet to be converted or thrown out, and some recent “forgetful” Republicans as well. That Tea Party input and assistance was instrumental, is not in dispute.They were instrumental in The Shellacking. (WE Know this, ’cause Barry even said so)

        SO WHY do they now seemingly ignore those who got them in their current positions? Simply because The Lesson is felt to be secondary ,not primary. Time and distance have made mainstream conservatives complacent. They’ve stopped “FEELING THE HEAT”. The Process is and has always been about Possibilities and You ,communicating to your representatives, It is also about What Is Possible given the playing field (or BattleGround, as the case may be) you are on.

        This battle (BHO Must Go!) has only been extant for 2.5 years, in it’s current form. How many years did it take, of synthesis and compromise to get us to this point? SURE, wouldn’t WE ALL just love to think it can be done in a snap or 3, but that just is not realistic and any student of American Political history can clue you that any change comes as A Voting Majority gets comfortable with same. Little else is effective or long lasting. To give an increase in the Ceiling to BARRY just might give us the Maneuver we need, as you have to know real cuts are not in the cards from Progressives. It’s just not in THEM. We give them The Rope(Financial latitude) we then hang them with. The impression (and not undeserved) might be that the middle has been reached. Do I seem Naive? PLEASE: Ask yourself: WHAT IS CURRENTLY POSSIBLE? My question concerning Rope is, given the seeming cluelessness of Prior GOP Leaders , will they Build A Gallows? Will it be long enough,for 2012? BluePrints ,AnyOne? Together, we can do this,and wouldn’t That Be Fine?

        • YnotNOW

          You are right, that the “compromise” that we’re going to be stuck with will not be very good, and that is because there are still too many Dems and weak-R members of Congress (especially the Senate, which changes more slowly). So the key is patience and continued battle, because if we can maintain the Tea Party momentum to change the R party from within, as well as expand the R representation (especially in the White House!!!), then we can build upon the admittedly pathetic victories in 2011 with much more substantive cuts and reforms in 2012 and 2013.

          We can’t just put off ALL reforms to the next election, but we also know that the current victories will be small until we slowly build our ranks with true warriors.

  • jonnymuffin

    By all means, call your congress critters, and call Boehner, put pressure on them, but do it for your own piece of mind because the influence of Wall St and special interests that reap the benifits of the borrowed money have a lot more clout than we do.

    You want serious cuts? You want to balance the budget? Don’t raise the debt ceiling. See, you can get what you want by just doing nothing. So to think you have to make a deal with obama is a fallacy. We hold ALL the cards, obama is drawing dead, we can name the price.

    But if you aren’t serious about real cuts. if you aren’t serious about balancing the budget, you will need to cut a deal. We’ll see what they do, but my money is on them cutting a deal.

    • jonnymuffin

      this was supposed to be a reply to the post above.

    • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

      “You want serious cuts? You want to balance the budget? Don?t raise the debt ceiling”

      That is baloney. Either you are engaged in wishful thinking on how a debt ceiling crisis will play out or you dont understand how budgeting works.

      The budget for FY 2011 is already set, and the Federal Govt has most of that in ‘mandatory programs’; most spending incorporates legal obligations upon the Federal govt. Saying “no” to the debt ceiling increase doesnt change those obligations, it just causes the Federal Govt to default on them. As such , it doesnt balance the budget at all, but creates a bloody mess that will need to be cleaned up.

      I’m sorry you think that 1/2 of 1/3 of Government holds all the cards. Those Reps will all want to be re-elected, and the “social security payments wont go out” card is in Obama’s hands. no debt ceiling increase means millions of social security recipients demanding payments. The smart politicians know this.

      The ONLY way to cut budgets is to pass leaner budgets in law and leaner authorizations. That can be done as the
      price of a debt ceiling increase. Debt Ceiling debate has always been about extracting a price for increasing the debt limit, NOT about forcing change by not increasing it at all. The latter idea is based on ignorance.

      • jonnymuffin

        I did it again, my reply is below.

      • ihateliberals

        than if congress keeps increasing the budgets size requiring us to borrow more money. Right now we are borrowing the money we need to pay the interest on the loans that we have. What a scam that is. we aren’t even paying the principle.

  • jonnymuffin

    I’ve put many together. I also know that you re-forecast throughout the year and when things are coming in under budget, you make adjustments. If you don’t you will rack up tons of unneccessary debt and soon enough you won’t be in business anymore. Obviously this isn’t how the government opperates, but unfortunately the government does have to obey the same laws of economics as everyone else. The one advantage the government does have is they have the authority of the gun to extract their revenue’s, that only makes things less comfortable for us as they ‘pay the bills’, but i digress. The laws of economics tell us that the gov isn’t going to make good on it’s promises. You can either start making neccessary adjustments now, try to do it later when the task is harder, or put it off untill the dollar collapses. The first thing you must do is stop spending more than you are making. What you are suggesting is the equivelant of someone who spends $140K per year, makes $100K per year, has $700K of outstanding debt, and says “whatever, I’ll worry about that when I make more money”. It’s not logical, but for some reason you think because it is the Government, it doesn’t have to play by the rules, and it will never catch up to them. No, I don’t have a “wishful thinking” idea of how this thing will play out, but I also know the alternative, if we keep the status quo, it’s much worse.

    Not raising the debt ceiling does balance the budget. the government would be forced to do what they need too. Yes, all of the obligations it has made would not be met, but it does still have revenue, and doesn’t have to stop paying social security. It will be forced to prioritize… Or it can raise the debt ceiling, “keep” all of its obligations, but just pay you with devalued money ie inflation, but that isn’t really keeping it’s promises as inflation disproportunately hurts the middle class and poor… the ones supposedly being “saved”.

    And if you believe that “We’ll fix everything with “leaner” budgets next year, just let us borrow some more money now” line, then take note and watch how this plays out. It’s an old line, the results are predictable.

  • ag8tor

    McConnell, Boehner et. al. as Republican “Leaders”. Quite the contrary. I have yet to see any true leadership. They have compromised with this Marxist the entire time we have had control of the House. McConnell is obamas lap dog and as a tenured politician is covering his own ass. Hopefully the good people of Kentucky will remember these capitulations and put a true conservative in his place. If we are counting on the American people to remember that these problems are the result of democratic irresponsibility with this much time to go before November 2012 then we need some better strategists. There will be many more political manuvers by “O” as we move towards election day. Most of the things he has rejected in the past will now become good ideas if he thinks he can snow the sheep that might vote for him. The American memory especially in regards to Democrats is very short. Unfortunately we are now living in the great pastureland called the USA . We have become a nation of gullible sheep who will believe anything. For proof I give you the 2008 elelction.

  • ihateliberals

    Repeal Obamacare and we will raise the Debt ceiling. Repealing Obamacare was supposed to be the first and mainly only fight. We the people asked for nothing more. Boehner made one lame attempt and has dropped the ball now.