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GOP YOUCUT Offers Hollow, Lame $6 Billion in Total Phantom ‘Cuts’

By: Ron Robinson (Diary)  |  May 12th, 2010 at 03:31 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor released a new web app called YOUCUT in which he commits the GOP in the house to enact budget cuts that citizens select and vote for.

It’s a total of less than $6 billion in possible cuts against an annual budget that is over $1.6 trillion in the red.  The total cuts offered amount to less than 1/2 of 1 percent if the budget.  This at a time when we should be looking at serious annual budget cuts on the order of 25-30%.

Plus, any budget cuts proposed by the GOP at this time will instantly be shot down by the House majority.  So it’s an exercise that really does nothing and waste congressional GOP leaders’ time.  It’s a PR gimmick.  How stupid do they think we are?

Nice try Eric, but we don’t find parlour tricks entertaining right now.

If congressional GOP leadership is serious about helping the country, they should be calling on the grassroots to ensure that every vacant central committee seat and precinct chairmanship is filled by November (where administratively possible) and alternates are appointed to every seat.  They would be calling on a major grassroots initiative to get wavering Democrats re-registered as Republicans (after the majority of the primaries).

But they would rather play the same lame game.  Alert voters will be looking for opportunities to replace them.

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    Another gimmick to divert the people from participation in the Republican Party itself.

    “Come to our web site and ‘vote.’ You will be ‘participating’ in politics.”

    The sad part is that most Republicans will fall for it.

    The real ball game of politics is played by precinct committeemen (and the leaders they elect) inside the Party. That’s where to participate and vote.

    The grass roots conservatives in Utah exercised their political muscle Saturday when they denied Sen. Bennett a spot on the primary ballot. The demonstrated for all of the rest of us where real political power lies.

    Cantor doesn’t want the “unwashed masses” to figure this out. So he conjures up diversions. Like YOUCUT. Notice how he said not one word in the video about the fact that half the precinct committeeman slots in the Party were vacant in the 2008 election cycle. Not one word to conservatives that if they’d fill up all those empty seats they’d enjoy a 75-25 majority INSIDE the Party itself, rather than the 50-50 split in the party now between conservatives and moderates in the half of the slots that are filled.

    Cantor knows that conservative Virginia Republicans flocked into the Party in his district, he, too, could end up like Bennett on primary election day.

    For Liberty,
    ColdWarrior, PC (that

    • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

      …obviously, it’s not a substitute for hand’s-on involvement. But as a bell and whistle it amuses, and might get a couple of people thinking of government in terms of stuff we could cut.

      • IJB
      • http://www.redstate.com/biggator5/ BigGator5

        I agree with you Moe. It’s a way to get people involved. I wish they offer more stuff we could cut, but I approve.

    • http://www.downstateiladvocate.com anacreon

      by playing the home version of American Idol. Great.

      $6 billion represents almost 7.3% of the $82.3 billion April deficit, but they will only be introducing one cut per week. What if the $1 million for HUD subsidies for doctoral dissertations wins? The mainstream media would have a good laugh at the GOP touting budget deficit reduction by cutting $1 million out of the budget deficit. and even then, then HUD program is only $200,000 per year.

      • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

        I criticized Dick Morris’s most recent book on the grounds that it advocated “mouse” political activism (his term — he used it tonight on Hannity) — in our new, digital age we can just all sit at home in front of our keyboards and effect political change.

        YOUCUT is an example of this. Just sit at home and click a mouse a few times and — viola — you’ll “make a difference.” Feel good? Good. Hope you won’t do anything to upset our apple cart. Like maybe getting INSIDE the Republican Party.

        The people who made a difference in Utah last Saturday were not the people who were at home at their keyboards — they were the people who went to the Utah Republican Party caucuses and got elected to the nominating convention and then showed up at the convention and voted.

        I would be less harsh on the Republican “conservative” incumbents if I could find on YouTube or the net generally examples of them exhorting conservatives to become actual, live, breathing, voting members of the Republican Party — precinct committeemen. Funny, I can’t find any examples of that (other than Sen. Russell Pearce, which I’ve posted in other entries here on Redstate).

        I would have been more impressed with Rep. Cantor’s video and YOUCUT web site if he had given a short dissertation on Art. I, Section 8 of the Constitution. If he had urged the visitors to the site to read, read, read the Constitution and The Federalist Papers.

        If he had urged the visitors to become Republican Party precinct committeemen.

        But, no, he just urged the visitors to execute a few mouse clicks.

        If we conservatives don’t stop clicking our mouses for a few hours a month, and start getting to our respective local GOP committee meetings, we will lose this country.

        We have only so much time. Only so many resources. We must prioritize.

        YOUCUT is not a good use of resources, in my humble opinion, when Rep. Cantor (the House Whip, for crying out loud), could have done so much more.

        Let me issue this challenge: find me an example, in print or on video, of Rep. Cantor or any other incumbent Republican Representative or Senator exhorting the members of a conservative audience to come into the Party to fill up the 50 per cent of the precinct committeeman slots currently vacant.

        I haven’t been able to find that evidence. I don’t think it exists.

        Please prove me wrong.

        For Liberty,
        ColdWarrior, PC (that

        • lineholder

          not all of us are actually fortunate enough to be in a position to become actively involved the way you are. I make 12K a year. I don’t have a car. I’m attending school full-time online hoping to overcome some of the obstacles I’m facing. If it wasn’t for the generosity of family members I wouldn’t have a roof over my head or food to eat so I do have things to be thankful for. I live in a liberal county in NC where there are tons of “closet conservatives”, especially among African Americans, so there’s an untapped potential in this area where no strong conservative groups exist. I’ve never been actively involved in politics before until the past year or so. I’ve been reading sites like RS, biggovernment, townhall, etc., trying to become as educated as I can. I just finished doing 99 pages of research earlier tonight on the Obama/Gore/Soros/Strong/Rothschild/Rockefeller/UN/IMF/Club of Rome connection. I do have a job. I pay for my own health care insurance. I work with the public. I have an opportunity to talk to people one-on-one. But if I don’t know the facts, I can’t discuss the issues, much less ever consider taking on a the role of a committee.
          I don’t have a lot of options. There could be plenty of people coming to this site looking for a way to learn and looking for a part to play in the battle our country is facing who are just limited in their options, sir. If all we have is being a “mouse activist” at this point, that’s all we have.
          Grant us the right to play what part we can, please.

          • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

            All I’m saying is that for those who CAN get to their local GOP committee meeting, they ought to make that their TOP priority.

            Just before I saw your post I spent over an hour on the phone with an earnest young man who formed a tea party organization here in my city. He wants to “do something.” He can’t seem to get beyond creating a social network. I tried to explain to him that a social network organizational framework already exists — it’s called the Republican Party. And THAT organization actually wields political power. And is the BEST place for an individual to effect political change. That is, have an impact on how the elections (especially the primary elections) turn out. So, I suggested he use his tea party “social network” to steer conservatives who want to “do something” into their precincts that already exist to gather signatures for themselves to qualify to get onto the primary ballot so they can actually wield political power WITHIN the Republican Party as precinct committeemen. Average expenditure of time: two hours. Period.

            Under our system, one doesn’t even have to attend party meetings. But, once a PC, who wouldn’t want to? It’s where one “learns the ropes” and meets the candidates. If one can’t attend the meetings when the Party leadership elections take place, a proxy ballot can be sent to the meeting by another precinct committeeman from the precinct.

            Keep doing what you’re doing. Catch a ride if you can. Take the bus. But try, try, try to get to your local GOP meeting.

            If that’s impossible for you now, that’s your reality. No problem. I accept that.

            I’m not judging you, or anyone else.

            We all have unique circumstances. In my case, I have children. I will not allow them to live under socialism. I don’t want this to happen to me.

            Apparently, you’re young. I’m in my fifties. I lived through the Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan years while in the military. I saw first hand what a difference a president makes. And I’ve seen what a difference a Republican House and Senate CAN make if each has enough principled conservatives within it.

            And, I’ve learned how the BEST way an individual can have an effect on who gets to lord it over us is by becoming a member of a political party.

            So if you can, do.

            If you can’t, prepare for the time you can.

            That’s all.

            And thanks for what you are doing under your circumstances.

            The real question is, for those who DO have the time, why on earth wouldn’t they want to become a “player” inside the Republican Party?

            Thought experiment: with your computer, can you figure out what precinct you are in? And who your county GOP officers are? And when and where your local GOP committee meets?

            For Liberty,
            ColdWarrior, PC (that

          • mriggio

            is exactly where I started. Found the precinct data, meeting data, contact data, etc. BUT THEN it took several phone calls and a face-to-face with the County Chair to get the ball rolling on the election process to become PC. Pointing-and-clicking will only get you part way there, but it’s painless and your voice and service ARE NEEDED! Go for it, now!

    • floydbayne

      I am running against Cantor this year as a conservative independent. Check out my website at – www.floydbayne.com

  • Common_Cents

    “NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The government posted only its third April deficit in the past 30 years, according to data released Wednesday by the Treasury Department.

    The $82.7 billion shortfall, the most ever run in the month when Americans file their tax returns, brought the deficit for the first seven months of the fiscal year to $799.7 billion. ”

    When we run out of foreign crisis fueled flight to treasurys and have scared every last investor out of the equity market by pulling the market liquidity plug, there will be trouble. The maturity of US debt gets shorter and shorter, increasing funding risk.

  • tngal

    (unless its changed since earlier)

    Its email or text based. Which means we can all vote multiple times from our home, work, phone, etc. it allows you to participate but ‘votes ‘ can be skewed. Not that it matters. And when I first read the six of them , the thought was why not cut all of them out. We need to tighten our belt. Or how about cutting each of them in half and then cut about 50 more programs in half

    Also, consider when you vote they ask for your email address. Which would probably put you on a nifty database of “activist” righties, who they could solicit for donations later. (conspiracy theorist :) )

    • http://www.800cart.com Ron Robinson

      If you want to vote twice, you have to give your email address twice… how is that for a godd user interface?

  • http://www.barrypopik.com barrypopik

    The transcript of “On the Record” is here.

    I haven’t reached an opinion on this yet. I’ll give it time.

  • Common_Cents

    And be required to be on a webcam while conducting taxpayer bizness

  • lukematthews

    When someone has to think about balancing their own budget, it is sometimes the little things that get the ball rolling. While foregoing that latte every morning isn’t going to get you out of serious credit card debt, it is the beginning of serious thinking about balancing your priorities. Once you begin the realize you can live without the frills and extras that are just extras, the cutting becomes easier. Also, until we actually start thinking about cutting the discretionary and entitlement spending, it won’t be possible.

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  • JadedByPolitics

    then they can move on over to the EPA and then they can move on over to defunding all the Czars and they can then do small items like defund NPR & Arts because that CRAP is not to come from tax dollars that is enjoyment for lefties who can darn well pay for it themselves if they so choose. This of course is just a start there are way too many government agencies that are NOT needed to keep a bunch of Democrat voting lefties working making 100K or more per year off the American tax payer to do all at once but those above would make for a good first couple of months out of the Conservative House!

  • shadowtax

    It is an obvious gimmick, but a very good idea. It gets people thinking, “Hey, this isn’t so hard. Let’s start cutting. Wait, why do I need to pick just one?” Citizens realize how easy it is to make spending cut decisions, and feel more justified in demanding cuts.

    Gimmicks like these are the pebbles that can start an avalanche. We must build a culture of limited government. A game like this one has a place in that culture.