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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

The Absolution I Cannot Give

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  July 25th, 2011 at 11:29 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

In the past 48 hours I have had call after call after call from members of the United States Congress. They’ve read what I’ve written. They agree. But they feel the hour is short and the end is nigh.

So some are calling looking for alternatives. Some are calling looking for energy. Many are calling looking for absolution.

And so I address them and put it here so you can see my advice.

I can give no absolution for what you may be about to do. I can offer no alternatives.

For thirty years and seventeen debt commissions we have raised the national debt $13 trillion, seen taxes rise and fall and rise again, uncertainty come and go, and Washington remain unchanged. And now some of you want to seek cover by having yet another commission — but this time it will be different! Sure.

You went to Washington to change Washington. You went to Washington because you said it was broken and you worried about the future for your children and grandchildren.

And now, at the moment of crisis you are worried and second guessing yourself and looking for alternatives, ways out, and most of all a clear conscience. Cut, Cap, and Balance is the only plan that can save our credit rating and our financial integrity. I can offer you nothing else, nor should you waver from fighting for it alone. You should, however tired you may be of hearing me say it, hold the line.

But what you think will give you a clear conscience — the alternative you seek — is what has been done before. You punt. You kick the can down the road. You take the chimera and convince yourself it is real and you have done good.

It is your choice to take, not mine.

I give you no absolution. It is not even mine to give. I’m not a proxy for your children and grandchildren. It is their lives and their future you will affect.

A generation before you, men and women went to Washington saying they were going to turn the tide, stop the out of control spending, and stop the growth of Washington into our lives. They were going to do it for their children and grandchildren.

Now you sit where they sat. Now you do what they did.

And after you do what they did — punt, set up a commission, raise taxes, use accounting gimmicks to resolve your conscience — others will come and replace you. But they will have less and their children even less. Because doing what those who came before you did expecting a different result from what they got is not just crazy, it is failure. There are no new ideas under the sun and they have all, but one, been tried in Washington. The only one that has not been tried is holding firm and saying no more.

Here and now at the moment to turn the tide you gave a fancy speech, furrowed your brow, and then decided the fight was too risky and boldness too bold.

In 1856, Abraham Lincoln said that the reason this country was great was because in this country unlike any other “every man can make himself.” When you cut your deal and clear you conscience, the American Republic is not going to die, but the ability of men to make themselves will.

Here and now, this fight — this is the last best hope to turn back. The choice is yours. There is no absolution.

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COMMENTS

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  • crimsonandclover

    Haven’t you heard? Cut, Cap and Balance is dead. It was voted down in the Senate, and is a non-starter. It’s not going to get re-introduced in the House, and isn’t even being discussed as a solution.

  • http://www.FranBaker.com frankieb

    And well-said. It’s discouraging that none of them can stand up and articulate the problem to the American public in terms they will understand and support.

  • bigredone

    CCB is the only credible solution.

  • wbb1950

    And, as Kissinger once said–it has the added advantage of being true. There is no absolution in surrender and no solace for those who do. Not from us, and not from a posterity which has not vote.

  • http://jhpruitt.blogtownhall.com/ kipling

    The CCB was tabled and there is a big difference between the two. If Reid thought he could defeat it by a vote, he would have but he tabled it so his guys would not have to take a vote on it. It would be quite easy to revive.

    So please continue to beat the drum.

  • avgjo

    time to call for Boehner’s displacement from office in ’12 if he caves. Doing so after (if indeed anyone will) will do us little good. He is a ‘fraidy cat. We must make him and the other sell outs fear us more than the MSM, the dims or anyone else.

    Until we do so, we’ll get more of the same.

  • bigredone

    nt

  • http://www.sheetanchor.org Sheet Anchor

    to save our great Republic from ruin.

    Call and e-mail your representatives folks, and in Erick’s words, tell them to “hold the line” at all costs, as it may be now or never. Let history never record that some of us failed to do everything possible to save the Republic.

  • sarg01

    And I’d agree with that. Our system isn’t designed so that one wave election in the House can roll back a scheme cooked over multiple generations.

    You can’t Balance without 67 Senators. That means 20 Dems. Does anyone really believe there’s more than a handful of Senate Dems that wouldn’t rather see the Constitution repealed entirely than a Balanced Budget Amendment?

    The modern Democrat party is about government power, period. A BBA strikes directly and permanently at the heart of government power. Most Dems would vote to outlaw abortion, eliminate all gun control, and build the Ayn Rand National Monument in DC before they’d consider a BBA.

    There may be a few on the margin from states in which its good to be seen as opposed to government power – Nebraska Nelson, Manchin, etc. However, even these folks don’t really want a BBA to pass, they want to be able to say they voted for it … and it fell short. Even if they could be trusted, there’s not more than 6 or 7 of these. Where do you get the other 13+ votes?

    CCB can not work without the Balance, and the Balance can not work with this Senate.

  • http://barnettlaw.org Frozen_Man

    1) CCB is not dead and was not voted down in the Senate it was tabled and can be revived, very different.

    2) The real dead horse, as Erick eloquently pointed out, is 30 years of 17 debt commissions. That is what has been proven over and over to be a dead horse.

    3) If we think it is what is right and best for our country it is our duty to continue to argue for it. Just because it is not in the foreground today doesn’t me it won’t be again tomorrow. Just look at how quickly this discussion keeps morphing.

  • Whacker77

    I’m constantly amazed at how Republicans can turn a strong position into a weak one. Can someone please tell me why they haven’t just passed a $2.5 trillion cut and put the pressure on Obama. They continue to dither and have lost the PR war. We may get something we like, but because Boehner is a dope and McConnell just wants any deal, we’ve already lost the PR war.

  • sarg01

    Why don’t we just pass some darn cuts?

  • joecollins

    Congress . . . . Here it is: By the end of 2011, the Credit Agencies will downgrade the US bonds NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.

    Accept that, and then do what is right. Accept that the bonds will be downgraded regardless. By doing what is right, we start out on a better path to repairing those same ratings.

  • bricklavin

    Not call you for advice. The people have spoken. Obama got his tax increase and spending through Obamacare. No more. WE ARE DONE.

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

    things won’t change unless there’s more change where each one of us live. If we don’t get to our local committee meetings and fill up the vacancies with conservative bodies, our Party will not change.

    Each one of us has to look at ourselves and ask what have we actually done to move the ball in the real ball game of politics: party politics.

    The reason our Republican Party is not conservative enough is because not enough of those who complain about it not being conservative enough are not IN it.

    You are not IN it until you are a voting member of it.

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior

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

    That’s the advice I would give.

    Be Firm but not Brittle: Allow some movement towards compromise on details, but hold firm on the basic principles and framework. In this battle, that means the solution has to answer the question “Does it address our debt crisis? Does it cut spending? Does it avoid enabling Big Government (eg via tax hikes)?” CCB is that framework.

    Hold the line, together:
    If ‘hold the line’ works for 200 Reps but 50 weak GOP Reps join Democrats, then ‘hold the line’ will fail and be a division-point. Unity is strength.

    You cannot each the Le Grande enchilada all in one bite:
    So, the challenge is huge. The gap is large. The politics is daunting. So what. Take one bite, walk one step. Rome wasnt built in a day, but the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Just be sure YOU ARE WALKING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND KEEP GOING! What are you doing today to reduce Big Government? A bite a day, keeps Big Government at bay.

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

    Boehner, et al. need to do exactly what you have suggested: take to the airwaves and set this up as an “us vs. them” contest: it’s “we the people,” 70+ percent who want CC&B, vs. the Inside the Beltway Insiders and their lobbyists and special interests, all of who have the Dem Senators in their pockets.

    But, in the end, it’s “we the people’s” fault. Only 41 % of eligible voters bothered to vote in the 2010 elections.

    53 per cent in 2008 voted for “Hope & Change.”

    Our country is sick. Will we get better? Maybe not.

    Pray. Recruit. Repeat.

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior

  • drothgery

    It’s insane that he’s unwilling to cut what really needs to be cut, or even sign a short-term deal. But the negative consequences of default are much, much to great. Do enough Democrats understand the real consequences to pass a short-term team over Obama’s veto (it’s clear there’s no chance of a real long-term solution until after the elections)? We may find out soon.

  • steve010

    2.5 in cuts and 2.5 in borrowing authority, why not? I was told to watch the House Rules Committee web site. Any leg has to be posted here first.

    http://rules.house.gov

  • smitch61

    their collective minds. This is not rocket science, nothing that the rest of us could not fix with a few pots of coffee. It should be run as a business.. period. When you have your own company or corporation, you do not employ individuals that only agree with your line of thinking. You do not as a CEO call individuals into the board room that only agree with you when you are seeking to move your company forward. Washington is purely a game, a game in which the deck is stacked against the rest of us. Spineless human beings that play the political game.

  • swami7774

    …Obama is voted out next year. The House GOP should be credited for trying to get the best possible deal from a roomful of bad choices.
    They can’t govern while controlling just one house. Can’t be done.

  • acat

    The alternative is continuing the direction that we’re going. I reject that utterly.

    If we can peel off enough Dem “up for re-election” Senators to pass CCB – and I believe we can – then Little O can sign it or not, but will own the results.

    Mew

  • kenc

    Caving in now is really stupid. They said the markets would collapse i you didn’t act by today. They didn’t. They say the bond market will collapse if you don’t change your mind. It won’t. The fact is that even if we don’t get a debt deal by August 2, bonds won’t collapse. If the U.S losses is AAA bond rating, all that will happen is that some bond holders will be asked to meet their committments. That will mean they will sell some of their portfolio. They will sell their riskiest stuff….i.e. junk bonds.

    What is really risky is to agree to a deal that doesn’t really put us on a path to seriously cut government spending. If that happens, we will still lose our AAA rating but the President will be free to keep on spending money we don’t have.

    PLEASE, DON’T GIVE IN. THE POLLS ARE RIGGED. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT CUTS. PLEASE BELIEVE THAT.

    KenC

  • JSobieski

    The job description for the 2010 Congress was not to win the war, it was to turn the tide. They have done so. The discussion in DC is all about cuts, not further stimulus packages. They have held the line on taxes.

    You fight wars with the army you have, and determine strategy/tactics accordingly. The goal on D-Day was to take the beaches, not to induce Hitler’s surrender.

    To demand total victory now is the equivalent to relying on paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to kill Hitler on June 6, 1944. Was such a thing possible? Maybe, but failure to succeed would have pushed back our efforts to win by years.

    We need to keep our eyes on the prize.

    Stop the bleeding. Check.

    Gain positive momentum. Check

    Take next steps for further strategic victories. Check

    Its easy to say that the Republican leadership should have done better. Just as it is easy for some to say that conservative bloggers should do a better job defeating the liberal memes of the MSM.

    The deal as I perceive is a win. Lets take it, and proceed to the next game. The fact that the democrats in the Senate have fractured from their President is a HUGE tactical victory. Substantively we have cuts and no tax increases.

    This is not a scenario for a circular firing squad.

  • snowshooze

    2.5 Trillion in ceiling raises = 25 trillion over ten years
    2.5 trillion in cuts comes off that.. for a net of 22.5 trillion in additional spending over the period. Plus interest.
    I have no idea what the amortized value of the loan is if it is ever paid off as I can’t get through all the 2.5 tril bumps and how the interest is applied, and a what rate.
    It doesn’t matter, we cannot afford it.

  • Matt In The Hook

    I really fail to understand why in God’s name Erick thinks you can effectively govern with control of one chamber of the legislature and nothing else. So what that Obama and the Senate Ds haven’t put forth a plan? They don’t have to. They just have to vote down or veto what the House Rs pass. That’s why we’ve basically seen nothing substantial on Obamacare or any other contentious issue.

    But, we have indeed limited the damage and halted the advance of The One’s seemingly inexorable march into the abyss. Incremental progress and small-ball wins are OK when you control but one of the three levers of power. You have to make sure that the wins are indeed wins (like getting REAL cuts in the $2.5-3T deal, not accounting gimmicks) but if they are then take them! Plant the flag of victory and trumpet even the smallest real accomplishments; they stand in stark contrast to Obama’s policies which have been proven to be total failures.

  • Matt In The Hook

    I really fail to understand why in God’s name Erick thinks you can effectively govern with control of one chamber of the legislature and nothing else. So what that Obama and the Senate Ds haven’t put forth a plan? They don’t have to. They just have to vote down or veto what the House Rs pass. That’s why we’ve basically seen nothing substantial on Obamacare or any other contentious issue.

    But, we have indeed limited the damage and halted the advance of The One’s seemingly inexorable march into the abyss. Incremental progress and small-ball wins are OK when you control but one of the three levers of power. You have to make sure that the wins are indeed wins (like getting REAL cuts in the $2.5-3T deal, not accounting gimmicks) but if they are then take them! Plant the flag of victory and trumpet even the smallest real accomplishments; they stand in stark contrast to Obama’s policies which have been proven to be total failures.

  • JSobieski

    Here is the correct math.

    A $2.5 Trillion increase in the debt ceiling allows for the US debt to increase by $2.5 Trillion.

  • sarg01

    It’s not a yearly license. All raises are one-time. Once the debt grows 2.5 T they’ll need another raise – unless the budget is balanced before then.

  • taxpayer1234

    There have been at least 5 drop dead dates this year:

    “These ever-rolling ?drop dead? dates prove (at least) one additional thing: conservative Republican leverage for a deal to their liking indubitably increases every day after the date passes ? else Geithner would not be so keen on repeatedly moving it.”

    http://biggovernment.com/smotley/2011/07/25/a-clean-debt-ceiling-raise-and-net-neutrality-two-more-things-americans-dont-want/

    Hold the line, GOP!

  • cordpt

    Especially when they have such an attractive alternative like the CCB – pleases the “base” while allowing them to not cut any real spending – available.

  • silentcal2012

    Its the new headlines right now, and has a picture of Reid and Boehner implying that Reid caved to Boehner.

  • fpete13527

    nt

  • sarg01

    The tide is turned. If we pour this vigor into winning 2012, it’s game over for Big Government.

    Getting so upset with the good guys for “failing” to win the war after a single battle, particularly a battle they won, threatens to dampen our volunteerism and donations in the general election.

    That’s how Big Government lives to fight another day.

  • snowshooze

    You think they wouldn’t push up to the ceiling every year?
    If you lift that ceiling 2.5 trillion…x ten years..less the 2.5 trillion cut..
    it is a shell game.
    Now, if they offered 2.5 trillion cuts for 2012 with a one year debt ceiling hike of 2.5 trillion… it would be a wask… except we would have authorized another 2.5 trillion in debt spending. Which means negative cash flow.
    Try this at home.
    Really.

  • snowshooze

    And would still be resultant in an extra 2.5 tril in NEWspending

  • sarg01

    But you’re wrong.

    The entire projected deficit this fiscal is 1.4T – not that I’m saying that’s not a huge number, but this argument isn’t about increasing the deficit. The 2.5T increase is in the maximum amount of debt the US is allowed to carry.

    The reason Obama is now demanding a 3+ T deal is because he wants to carry the 1.4T deficit through past the elections. That means it has to cover the remainder of the 1.4T from this year, all the 1.4T for next year, and about half of that to get from October 2012 to Feb 2013.

  • drivlikejehu

    Erick is absolutely right. The simple fact is that the United States is already broke- sustained only by the role of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The Fed can keep the stagnant economy stumbling along for now, but growth is impossible without real change.

    At some point, there is just nowhere left to retreat. Republicans have already given up everything- the US has a monster federal government with regulations and taxes that put many “socialist” countries to shame. If they can’t even protect our debt rating then their very presence in DC is a farce.

    Topping it all off of course is the fact that Obama will give in if Republicans show some spine. Their own weakness has made a deal much more difficult to achieve.

  • cordpt

    There is no “x ten years”. It’s just a 2.5 trillion raise, not an annual one.

    And this isn’t an “authorization for spending” – this is an authorization to pay the bill. It wouldn’t result in “an extra 2.5 tril in NEWspending”.

  • cwilson

    Now, maybe this is too ambitious to get done before Aug 2 (or 10, or whatever). Or ever. But Obama, the Dems, and the Media (BIRM) want to “increase revenue” (e.g. raise taxes) by eliminating “loopholes” in the tax code. They’re floating “loopholes” like: the mortgage interest deduction (on the rich, of course, not YOUR house), the charitable giving deduction (on the rich, of course, not YOUR tithe to YOUR church).

    What’s the biggest complaint about the Fair Tax?

    “But what about the home mortgage deduction? What about the charitable giving deduction?”

    So, you see where I’m going with this: ok, Dems, you want to eliminate these deductions — “raise revenue”, we’ll go along with that. The price: passage of a constitutional amendment that (1) Repeals the 16th amendment and eliminates the federal income tax AND the SS/Medicare taxes (2) folds SS/Medicare expenditures into the general budget, just like they /really/ are, once you cut thru all the accounting gimmicks, and (3) establishes a federal consumption tax, along the lines of the Fair Tax.

    See? Both sides are just as unhappy: the Reps are sad to see the deductions go, and will probably face punishment at the polls for “raising taxes”. The Dems will see their ability to manipulate the income tax to reward friends and punish enemies reduced; since this is the only way they win elections (by robbing enemy Peter to buy friend Paul’s vote) they’ll ALSO be impacted at the polls. It’s a lose-lose.

    Except for the American people, who (eventually) win by (a) a vast broadening of the tax base, everybody has skin in the game, No more 51% voting to rob 49%. This will eventually force both the tax /RATE/, and spending, down. (b) A much reduced IRS no longer needs to collect (and abuse; ask Joe the Plumber) information about everybody’s private financial details, and (c) no more April 15 paperwork panic, which annually costs 6Billion hours for compliance by businesses and individuals (that’s a cost of $265B in lost productivity, or about 22% of what the income tax system actually collects), and (d) no more interest-free loans to the govt in the form of withholding. The gov’t gets its money on an as-collected basis, at point-of-sale throughout the year, so there’s no need for withholding, even from merchants.

    Couple all that with Cut Cap and Balance, and you’ve got a formula for supercharging the American Economy.

  • drothgery

    Really fixing things is going to be up to the next president (and new Senate), unfortunately.

  • snowshooze

    If my credit ( Debt ceiling ) is a buck, and I maintain payments and keep my balance at a buck for ten years…
    That is ten bucks, plus interest.
    If I my credit is two bucks, all else being the same… ten years later…
    Twenty bucks, agreed?
    So, I want my credit to go up to two bucks, so I offer to cut a buck out of the spending I want…
    I take that 2 buck credit to the limit over the perion, and true to my word, I reduce my spending by a buck.
    That gets us to the 20 bucks, minus the buck I cut…=19 bucks for the grand total of we being another 9 bucks in the hole.
    That, my friends, is a cut.
    This is DC math. Watch the bouncing ball.

  • westbrook348

    Stop talking as if CCB is our one & only hope. Sure, the Republicans haven’t offered any better plans in the House. But that doesn’t mean we have to settle for something as bad as CCB.

    The thing you all need to realize is that you’re all being fooled by the ten year deficit cutting numbers. These are cuts pushed back to the 9th and 10th years of the deal, and they will never materialize once future congresses get their hands on the gavel. Furthermore, they are only cuts from the viewpoint of future spending increases. The national debt is still going to go up. And stopping the upward trajectory of our federal debt is the only way to avoid default & restore fiscal responsibility.

    Erick you think that even if Obama signs the CCB, that we avoid default & save our country? WRONG. It makes default MORE likely because it increases our national debt by trillions of dollars, without forcing any real cuts in government spending.

    No one should be interested in hearing the 10-year numbers of $2 trillion or $3 trillion or $4 trillion. The only thing you should be interested in is: WHAT ARE THE CUTS FOR NEXT YEAR?? And CCB only cuts about $100 billion from next year’s deficit. That means that with the Republicans’ BEST plan, you’re still looking at at least a $1.5 trillion deficit. Next thing you know, our national debt will be $17 trillion. And you are sitting there trying to tell ME that CCB actually saves us from default & restore fiscal sanity? No way.

    The REAL only way to save us from default & restore fiscal sanity is to STOP BORROWING MORE MONEY. An increase in the debt limit doesn’t do that. Tiny reductions in next year’s deficit don’t do that. A balanced budget amendment WOULD do that, but that’s years away & I’ll believe it when I see it. We need to fix this problem NOW, and the only way to do that is to just say NO to all these stupid plans coming out of congress. Service the debt with already existing tax revenue, & make serious cuts in spending now. Doing anything else is the surest way to guarantee that the USA defaults.

  • wbb1950

    I am not so sure that voting for cut cap and balance, and then turning around and voting for a smoke and mirrors deal which repudiates ccb gives them much cover with the base. And when they say give us a Republican House Senate and White House and we will live up to it, the base will say we did that before and you failed to act. You have forgotten your constituents and what they sent you to Washington to do. You have failed in your essential mission. I think if they blink the voters will not take them seriously.

  • Waderic

    While blatant capitulation makes me feel as fuzzy and warm inside as the next guy, I prefer to win, especially when I’ve got a winning hand.

    The house controls the purse. We’ve got 46 votes in the Senate and a president that is scared out of his mind by the prospect of default, as well as by the demands of his own base. The Dems have the white house, so they the ones that need to do the pleading for the increase in the debt ceiling.

    Quit letting them win the blame game by sitting on the sideline throwing sticks and stones. Pass some more bills. Dare them to actually get in the game.

    1. CCB (already passed)
    2. A short term bill that is a 1 year bill enacting the proposed spending cap of the CCB for the year. Include a trigger for accrued debt higher than the limit that enacts cuts 3x the amount over the spending cap.
    3. A 2 year debt limit increase that makes modifications to entitlements and cuts taxes.
    4. A “default” prioritization payment plan. Take the “default” threat off the table.

    Give them choices… just limit their choices. Its the way they play the game. Now learn the game and play it better.

  • Matt In The Hook

    Failing to be OK with the 80-85% of getting what we want for that last 15%. It’s childish and counterproductive.

  • Flagstaff

    This is perhaps the best article you have written in a long time, and that isn’t damning with faint praise. It is that good.

    In fact, it’s probably the best that’s been written about this particular issue.

    Two really smart members of Congress would ask permission to borrow it, expand it enough to get attention, and deliver it on the floor of both the House and the Senate.

    Looks like we’re going to get another committee, but at least it will be elected congresscritters, not retirees.

  • cordpt

    Good point. Yes, the CCB is nothing but politics. Gets very little done in terms of actual cuts and provides political coverage for republican politicians who like to present themselves as staunch true conservatives but don’t want to pay the political price for actually cutting spending.

    The reason why the CCB is popular is because it speaks about cuts in abstract, as a generality and doesn’t name any specific cuts – the ones that are unpopular.

  • acat

    Or, they will, once the insurance companies fail.

    Let the history of flood insurance be your guide.

    Mew

  • JSobieski

    We can argue about how long until the next increase, whether such a deal represents progress, etc. but a debt ceiling increase is still a debt ceiling increase.

    The analogous transaction is an increase in your credit card limit of X. You can burn through X either quickly or slowly, but it is still X.

    I agree with you about “baseline budgeting” but baseline budgeting doesn’t change the math on what a debt limit increase is.

  • acat

    It would instantly make him into a one-term lame-duck president, and he’d go down in history as “The President who defaulted”.

    Yes, *fixing* this requires winning in 2012.

    We can, *right now*, hold the line and not make the fix harder than it has to be.

    Mew

  • snowshooze

    We maintain the ceiling. We maintain it at a higher level.
    Means we spend 22.5 trillion more.
    Really, you have to look at it. This is exactly why it is presented over ten years.

  • JSobieski

    Sometimes a contest is impacted by external events, meaning that external events can alter what would otherwise happen in a competition/war/game/etc.

    If I play my younger brother in a game of basketball, I want to play indoors, with regulation baskets, etc. because I am the better player.

    In contrast, if I play Michale Jordan in a game of basketball, I want to play him outside during a hurricane, tornado, or with some other form of “weather equalizer”.

    Obama loses in a straight up competition at this point. He could potentially opt for hurricane conditions to be an equalizer.

  • drothgery

    He is (probably) wrong about this, but that’s what he apparently thinks. And since he’s president, we have to deal with his delusions.

  • JSobieski

    Annual borrowing costs are a mere fraction of what is borrowed, not a multiplier of what is borrowed.

    If I borrow $1,000, my annual payments on that amount are far less than than $1,000. I MAY make more than $1,000 in total payments over a 10 year period (depends on the interest rate, and whether or not I am just paying interest or interest and principal), but the increase in the debt is still only $1,000.

    Debt has a specific meaning. Increasing the debt limit impacts the debt limit.

    If you are going to play loosely goosey with specific budgetary terms, it isn’t really possible to have a good discussion.

  • acat

    The “Michael Jordan in a hurricane” scenario….

    The thing about opening the door to a chaotic event is that the results can’t be predicted. i.e. if you and Jordan play in a hurricane, your skills and his no longer matter… and there’s very little way for either of you to change the outcome. Especially once the backboards tear loose and go flying.

    The same applies to Obama…. is he willing to bet – and it is a bet – that the hurricane favors him?

    Mew

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    and demanding loudly to see his.

  • JSobieski

    If you know you are going to lose under normal conditions, then the incentive to change the conditions is pretty high.

    A hurricane favors Obama if he can’t win any other way. His arrogance hopefully prevent such a conclusion. Hopefully some sense of decency would also prevent acting on such a conclusion.

    My point is targetted to people who think that Obama is so weak in these negotiations that the R’s can get what they want if they just hold the line. If Obama is truly that weak, I think he opts for the hurricane.

    All of that being said, I don’t think Obama is that weak but I do think that we are winning.

  • silentcal2012

    Obama still has the press on his side and he will be more successful at blaming Congress and blaming the GOP than vice versa.

    Second, Obama and his team purvey in the art of never letting a “crisis go to waste”. Obama can dance with that devil because he has little concern with our economy other than how it can be manipulated to help get him re-elected. They think in layers and end goals.

    Also, conservatives shouldn’t play so loose and fast with a default scenario. We actually care about our country and our countrymen. People are not pawns for the grandiose schemes of armchair analysts and negotiators. The all or nothing proposition, CCB or nothing, is immature and sells out the country in an attempt to gain short term political points.

  • johnt

    It is only because of the habit, the reflex of losing and caving, or whatever comes first, that we are in this position. There have been polls that show The O losing approval and receiving lower support in this battle, the Republican weakness here is at best inexplicable. other then my first sentence.
    As the old irony goes,”snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”.

  • dajeeps

    “For thirty years and seventeen debt commissions we have raised the national debt $13 trillion and Washington remain unchanged. You went to Washington to change Washington. And now, you are looking for… ways out… Because doing what those who came before you did expecting a different result… is not just crazy, it is failure. ”

    For 30 years (and more) WE have listened to this line of bull and thought maybe this time would be different. We keep dumping our money and time into getting these guys elected, thinking they are a different breed only to find out we’ve been had. We are like the abused wife who never leaves – suffering abuses while they are sufferable – thinking Washington critters can reform themselves, and give up power. Maybe one chance in a million it can happen, but likely not in this lifetime. We’ve tried what seemed like the easy way and found that it really is rather impossible.

    And so how many times do we have to be flat out LIED to before we start taking back our own individual soverignty – and start electing state legislators who will stand up for us and help us stand up for ourselves? Federal politicians will not change until they are forced and I do not know how many more posts like this one have to go up before people start catching on.

    States do not need permission of congress to amend the Constitution.

  • silentcal2012

    The equalizer is that both sides will bear responsibility for the economic woes.

    Right now, all they can do is blame Bush and even Dems concede that is a lame tactic. Obama alone on an island with this economy is a killer. He is dead in 2012 as it stands right now. But if he can drag others into the mud with him, everyone is tainted and he can play the “well people like me and the devil you know is better than the devil you dont know” card.

    Some people insist on making the GOP responsible for the default mess, and it will be a mess. Its not all about actuarial tables and bottom line numbers. The market and the economy is not an exact science. Somethings will not be paid. Come Labor Day weekend, and families are watching their portfolios plummet and their family vacations to the national park canceled becaused they are closed, they wont look back at redstate.com. They will just say screw them all, Republicans and Tea Partiers included. Obama wouldn’t mind that at all.

  • snowshooze

    If you increase the ceiling a dollar higher than it was…
    Over ten years, that is ten bucks in additional spending. More than today.
    Assuming we make the payments and maintain the level.
    If we do not authorize a dollar debt ceiling we save the ten bucks.
    But, if we reduce the spending by a hard buck, in return for the one dollar increase…we will have spent nine dollars more than we would have.
    The plug in numbers front load the ceiling and pull the cut out over ten years. This means reverse.
    It is quite simple.

  • acat

    of “Michael Jordan and a hurricane” …

    I don’t recall Sun speaking to the hopeless scenario, but I haven’t re-read him in a while. Likely too long. From what I recall, though, Sun Tzu’s advice was about controlling the scenario, playing for time, husbanding limited resources, not introducing random factors.

    Obama has been, naturally, trying to pick a battlefield that favors him. As long as he thinks he can maneuver, he’s likely to not opt to bring in the hurricane.

    While it is a possible move, it is a desparation play – one that effectively says “I cannot win, so I will attempt to change factors so my opponent also cannot win”.

    I don’t put much faith in his sense of decency, but I will bet on his self-importance … No matter who comes up with the plan, history will record that it was passed on his watch – just as the CwA turned Clinton into a two-termer.

    Mew

  • cordpt

    The CCB is their excuse to not cut spending – the CCB is nothing more than a pledge to cut spending in the next 10 years that doesn’t even specifies what spending would be cut (which is the really hard part of cutting spending – everybody likes spending cuts in abstract but there’s not much support for concrete cuts). Plus, just to be on the safe side, the chances of the CCB passing the Senate or being ratified are basically nonexistent. So, they can pose as big spending cutters – “I voted for the CCB!” – without being forced to cut any spending or even to come public with detailed proposals of spending cuts (like, say, the Ryan budget does).

  • sarg01

    It’s the dollar + 10 years of interest on the dollar.

    Unless you’ve got a 100% interest rate, you don’t have to keep re-paying the dollar each year.

  • runner12

    The reality is that we are at a point where difficult decisions must be made. We have run out the clock on playing the same old Washington games that got us in this mess to begin with.

    I would say to the new House members that you were not sent there to do “politics as usual.” You were sent to make a difference, that requires making difficult decisions. Your ONLY option is to hold the line if you want to fulfill your promise to change Washington.

    Do not give in.

  • http://www.AmericanThinker.com Hammer2008

    I for one am looking forward to following ColdWarriors lead ASAP: http://www.redstate.com/coldwarrior/2011/07/23/who-is-in-charge-in-a-republic-our-republic/

    That said, there had better be a majority of NO votes when these horrendous same-as-it-ever-was bills are brought to the House floor. Let the House Dems and the GOP “leadership” fall on their sword for this president, in order to help him win reelection in 2012.

  • bigredone

    Positive Mental Attitude.

    We can win this IF we are willing to stand firm.

  • bigredone

    http://thehill.com/polls/173173-the-hill-poll-most-voters-see-media-as-biased-unethical-and-cozy

    Copy and paste.

    Media now seen as ‘biased and unethical’.

    Neutralizer!

  • sarg01

    If he believes the biased polls, he could easily conclude Rs will get the blame. Whether this assessment is correct or not isn’t really the point.

    Personally, I suspect any default will be bad for both sides, and would certainly be bad for the country. It might be catastrophic for Obama, but if it causes our margin in the House to decrease that’s still probably worse than what we’re headed for now. Obama should lose regardless, it doesn’t really matter how badly he loses. We should gain the Senate regardless. If our margin in the House goes down by more than 4-5 seats, that’d hurt. It’d also allow establishment republicans to control the agenda.

  • mjdzfun

    I have a 5 year old grandson who is just now learning his ABC’s. I know you’re feeling unbelievable pressure. The pressure on him is unbelievable, too and he doesn’t even know it yet.
    Please.
    Hold. The. Line.

    A Grandmother

  • funwithknives

    reading your posts makes altogether too much sense, so I am tempted to jump in. Coupla’ questions if you can be so kind to answer: 1) Do I have to be a declared GOP-er/Republican? 2) Any outline of responsibilities you can provide or link to? 3) Who determines my geographic area or member totals? 4) Have you done this before and is it worth it, in your estimation?
    Some of these Questions might make me look like a fence straddler, but backround is always a nice thing to have. So is Advice and you seem to have a surplus. TKS MUCH, FWK
    “The Fight for Liberty is never-ending, and we are always One Generation Away, from losing it forever” Don’t you just love quote-mixing?

  • snowshooze

    Yeah I see that.
    But, say I could run to my max of 11 trill over ten years.
    As opposed to 10 tril over ten years.
    The difference is both, 1 tril, and 10 tril.
    It is in the potential. You pull out the 1 tril for raising the limit…
    the potential is 9 tril. out the door.
    The best case scenario is we use up the elevated credit immediately and pull the like amount out on the ten year plan.
    At the end of ten years, our minimum exposure will amount to 1 trillion in additional debt.
    But, if we make payments, any payments at all…those aren’t calculated in.
    At face value, 1 tril in cuts equals potentially 9 tril in new spending.

  • JSobieski

    Your math simply does not add up. Your contention is that ever dollar in debt limit adds up to $10 dollars of spending. If that was true, our debt would be over $100T today.

    Who pays 100% interest on a loan each year without paying interest?

  • funwithknives

    is ever easy or happens in an instant. The Malise we all see in voter turnout ,is in large part due to the impression so many Citizens have that it (Politics) is just too dirty to mess with, so why care? “They’re All Crooks” has become The Mantra when we all know this not to be the case.
    So take the advice offered by a Gent, whose Name is renowned in history. Waves eventually work their magic and wash away the Nasties. Our’s has just started and we and those like us, provide the needed momentum. Erick’s got the right idea. Advertise the hell out of The Fact that Democrats never did come up with a plan , so how was ComPromise supposed to be achieved? When will the GOP learn to be Street Fightin’ Men?

  • littlehouse18

    Why don’t we raise it just enough for the cash flow purposes plus a little extra leeway?

    Why raise it 2.5 T (other than so Obama can buy his votes)?

    I’m trying to follow the logic:

    1) Raising 2.5 T gives them permission to borrow 2.5T more.

    2) Therefore I expect they fully intend to borrow that much more.

    3) If they borrow 2.5T, then they will spend 2.5T.

    4) If they spend 2.5T, we’re in even deeper trouble.

    5) Even if they simultaneously cut 2.5 T immediately (they won’t), are we not right back at the untenable 14.3T total debt level?

    What am I missing?

    Also, it seems they already spent the 2.5 without provision for it, assuming there would be a routine debt ceiling increase with no accountability. Ooops, America, we already spent more of your money than we promised, so now we have to make you take out another loan to cover for our mismanagement.

  • littlehouse18

    There is plenty of pent-up potential for growth if companies were freed of the Obama strangulation.

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

    You might find the answers to all of your questions at my little blog, www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com or at precinctproject.us or party.procinct.net. I, American Majority Action and Ron Robinson have all tried to find online “how to become a voting member of the Party” guides for all states but in some cases they do not exist. You would think that the RNC would have compiled these for all 50 states and the territories, but then you’d have to check your premise. The premise is the current Party elected leadership wants more Republicans to come into the Party as PCs. That premise is wrong. Go to GOP.com and see what you can find there about how to become a precinct committeeman. You won’t find a thing.

    So, please go to the three sites I’ve listed above and see what’s there for your state.

    If there isn’t anything, then you need to contact your local, county and state Republican Party committees and try to get the answers to the questions. You may live in an area that has a RINO-controlled committee, and they really don’t want any “new blood” coming into the Party. Or maybe you live in an area where the committee officers are conservatives; if so, you’ll get a warm reception. Or you might live in an area where there’s no Republican committee at all — in that case, you might be appointed to the chairmans’s slot.

    To answer your specific questions, first, I believe in most states, you have to be a registered Republican to be a Republican Party precinct committeeman. I’ve been told there are exceptions. Keep in mind that every state has its own election statutes and then each state committee has its own bylaws.

    As for responsibilities, again, that varies from state to state. Here in AZ, we have a system where there are NO mandatory duties for PCs, only suggestions. PCs here are elected by their fellow Republicans in the primary election in even-numbered years. Most run unopposed, as, here in Maricopa County, right now, just over 50 % of the 6,754 slots are vacant and about 30 per cent of the precincts have ZERO precinct committeemen. Even though there are no mandatory duties, most precinct committeemen would want to recruit more like-minded Republicans to become PCs, help the candidates they like with Get Out The Vote in the primary election, and then help Get Out The Vote for all Republicans in the general election. I also try to attend all the monthly meetings (I’m also a member of the county executive committee and attend those meetings, too) because the candidates (including the incumbents seeking reelection) come to those meetings and it gives one an opportunity to ask these people hard questions face-to-face.

    Your precinct is defined by your legislature and you might be able to obtain a map online, depending upon where you live. I suggest you locate your state, county and local Republican committee web sites, as well as your county’s elections department web site and your state’s secretary of state web site to see what information they have about precincts, legislative districts, congressional districts, voter registrations, precinct committeeman guides, etc. Again, this varies greatly.

    Yes, I walk the walk. I tell everyone that if I only had two hours of time a month to spend on politics I know exactly how I would spend it. It would not be spent on blogging. It would not be spent on a 501(c)(3)’s web site. I would spend those two hours going to my local Republican Party legislative district committee meetings, because that’s where I can vote for the Party officers as an elected precinct committeeman, where I can get elected to a state committeeman slot , and where I can hear from the candidates and speak to them one-on-one to figure out which ones I want to support in the all-important, traditionally-very-low-turnout primary elections. As for becoming a state committeeman, in AZ, each legislative district gets one state committeeman slot for every three elected precinct committeemen, and the precinct committeemen elect the state committeement. In my legis. dist., we had about 37 state committeeman slots, and about 25 of them were filled by conservative PCs. In another LD, with more Republican PCs, all 67 of their state committeeman slots were filled by conservative PCs. Why is this important? Well, the state committeemen elect the state party officers and the RNC delegates; the more conservative PCs in a party, the more conservative will be the local, county and state officers.

    Is it worth it? Of course.

    Bottom line: we have millions of conservatives who are sitting in the bleachers of politics. There are about 400,000 Republican precinct committeeman slots nationwide. (In AZ, for example, there’s one precinct committeeman for every 125 registered Republican voters in a precinct; my precinct has 8 slots and all 8 are filled). About 200,000 of those slots are vacant. If you and 199,999 other conservative Republicans filled up all of the empty slots across the country, our Party would transform from a half-strength, ideologically-split party into a full-strength, solidly conservative, Get Out The Vote machine for Constitutional conservatives in the all-important primary elections. This strategy is the way to elect more Constitutional conservative Republicans.

    After you’ve attended your first meeting (and don’t procrastinate — the deadlines for becoming a full-fledged, “voting” PC for the upcoming 2012 elections have already passed in some states), I hope you will write a Redstate Diary about your experience.

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior

  • littlehouse18

    that this situation will not change until utter disaster strikes and we have to rebuild this nation from the ground up. Will our legislators ever embrace responsibility and will they be able to maintain it over the long term? Getting out of this mess requires a long-term vision.

  • tea4me

    Or get primaried or worse. (such as long time conservatives voting Democrat just to get you out.)

    If America is going to go down in flames. May as well have it done by those to take glee in it.

  • tea4me

    Don’t even raise the dept ceiling! Just cut, cut, cut! They are our ruin.

  • gpclaw

    The senate voted to table the bill, or more simply, they voted against voting on CCB. The bill can be reintroduced in the senate, with out the house holding another vote.

  • drothgery

    Any GOP plan that 15 Senate Democrats can’t support is pointless except as theater, and we’ve already accomplished all we’re going to there in passing CCB in the House and forcing a party-line vote to table it in the Senate.

    We can (probably) pass a short-term compromise that Obama says he will veto. My view is that Boehner & Reid need to pass one anyway, and if Obama vetoes it, come back with something that can be passed over Obama’s veto (which will probably be a pretty crappy deal, but not as bad as default).

  • Snertly

    I thought Grover Norquist was the secret Lord and Master of the GOP, but apparently there is a contender in the person of Mr Erickson.

    How many tails can wag the GOP at one time?

    How many secret masters can the GOP kowtow to before the constituents realize they’ve been forgotten?

    By the by, any plan that contains the need for a constitutional amendment, should have a lead time of at least a year and a half to be taken seriously.

  • dock3511

    I am leaving the R party and working to Start Over. The system has failed over and over. Due to the impending economic collapse there will be a day soon when we, the People, will arise and the” leadership” that failed over and over again to cut waste and fraud with our taxed money, that allowed themselves to gain campaign money from lobbyists of big business and unions in order to pass laws, that could not find the will to do what all reasonable men know what must be done, that cared more for greed, power and their careers than the health if their country will be swept away in violence. Deems in particular will not be able to safely walk the streets.

    Virtually every western European country is cutting budgets. We talk of bullish!t 10 year “savings.”. We can’t slice a miserable 10 percent from bloated, wasteful budgets. All the Ds can do is raise taxes and spend money we do not have.

    The president is arrogant and out of touch and unable to be a leader. Yet he wants to get re-elected so he can further enjoy the perks. Morons keep voting for Reid and Pelosi and Durbin and Schumer and RINOS in the senate. the country is polarized.

    Fact is, we do not need career Politicians. We have the technology to implement true democracy in place of self-serving bureaucrats. We are adults and we do not need them anymore to get in our way and suck away our dollars into an unresponsive federal morass .

    The People can no longer tolerate this loser/failure of a system. the two party system used social issues like abortion to divide us from fiscal sanity. Social issues are best left to the State level. We do not need and can not afford the federal government as it has been stolen from the People and run by croney capitalists on he R side, and by Ds that seek to redistribute private wealth and borrowed money to perpetuate generations of dependent constituencies.

    A constitutional convention must be called to drastically reduce the Beast of the feds.
    1. Business entities and unions and pacs etc, can not donate money to campaigns.
    2. Term limits
    3. Guard our borders from any illegal entry.
    4. Balanced budget.
    5. Reduce fed gov. To defense, state department , infrastructure and out of areas of traditional state areas of interests as family, police, healthcare.
    6. Flat tax rate for all. No use of tax policy to promote any special interest or goal.
    7. Free markets: Feds out of housing arena and lending. banks do only traditional banking,

    While i insist in the strongest of defenses, I despise that we waste money in the middle east, and have our soldiers die in wars that the commander in chief does not want to win.

    Mark Woodworth,Phd, Geneseo, il.

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    We’ll just tell the 87 new GOP House Members to endorse the Brave Sir Robin plan so that we can all just get along….

    Anyone who thinks putting off the reduction of size of government will avert a collosal economic depression is smoking that I’d like a hit off of.

  • davesinsanantonio

    establishment Republicans! But, if we do it right–hold the line and explain it simply and clearly to the American People–we will gain even more seats (hopefully all truly conservatives).
    We cannot convince the voters we are right if we do not have the courage of our convictions to HOLD THE LINE!!!!!!

  • ag8tor

    but they are NOT going to do the right thing only the politically favorable thing. These members of this congress including the new ones have no soul. They are devoid of conscience. It’s NEVER been about you and me. It’s always about the party and about making sure the other one gets the blame. This is the most worthless congress to ever darken the doors of DC. They have no allegiance to anyone but party bosses, union bosses, lobbyist of all kinds and a Marxist president bent on destryoing this nation to build a nirvana where he can be king. We the people must shoulder a lot of the blame since a portion of us were stupid enough to buy the snake oil that these huicksters have been selling. I pray for these two things. That God will watch over this great nation during this low era in our history and that the American people realize the serious predicamnet this group of self centered do-nothings have put us in. .

  • duanej

    That is the rub, isn’t it? I have argued that the reason CCB did not pass in the senate was because of the constitutional amendment requirement, the “B” in CCB.

    It is entirely the rub that we can’t find enough Democrat votes in the senate to agree to the “B”. That is what makes this problem a Democrat only problem. We have enough Republican votes to pass CCB. We lack 20 DEMOCRAT votes in the senate. It is not Republicans who are intransigent in this fight. It is Democrats who are so and that must be remembered and must be told.

    If we don’t hold the line, that story will not ever be told. If, however, Republicans were to miraculously hold the line, the story would be told that they broke the backs of senators and the President and the proof would be undeniable, for there would be a BBA.

    It is not Democrats, specifically, whose back we want broken, though that is a bonus. We want the back of big government broken. We can do that. It is within reach. Will it mean a technical default? If it does, it would mean Obama chooses to default on our debts and pay his constituents rather than the bills. As Eric said, though, even in the case of a technical default, the financial reality of a credit downgrade is far worse. Without CCB, a credit downgrade won’t be avoided for it is the only plan that cuts 4 trillion, which is the number the ratings houses have determined is necessary to slice out in order to avoid the downgrade. A technical default will not necessarily result in a credit downgrade. If 4 trillion in cuts are reached backed up by the full faith and credit of the USA behind and constitutionally bound to a BBA, no downgrade would occur and, at most we would close the parks and some non-essentials for a few weeks in the process; hardly a disaster. If we miss the mark of 4 trillion, we will suffer the credit downgrade.

    If we were to let Aug 2 come and go with no deal, Obama and Reid would blink. They would crack, crumble, and fold like the cheap empty suits they are. Not only would they fold, but they would be able to bring along with them 10-15 votes apeice, more than enough to carry the day. Why? Well, because as a senator, you just really don’t care that much if your president is re-elected, but you sure don’t want to be remembered a year from now as the senator who stood in the way of the ONLY plan that could have prevent the credit downgrade that awaits us in 90 days if there is no 4 trillion cut in that time span. Once Obama and Reid cave, they all will and CCB will pass almost unanimously.

    If we go with the new plan, we will most certainly receive a downgrade, interest rates will shoot up (for everyone, not just govco). Jobs will be lost, more foreclosures will occur, and there will be no saving the housing market at that time. There will be no more stimulus money. But the one thing there will be plenty of is blame. That blame will land squarely on Republican shoulders and the media will bring out the long knives and carve up the Republican party like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. The Republican brand will be forever tainted and we will live the rest of our lives as 3rd world countries do, ruled by despots who continue to spend worthless money and feast on the bones of freedom’s rotting corps.

    To borrow a worn phrase “HOLD THE FREAKING LINE!!!!”

  • brojohn2

    says that you have to be elected to the position of Precinct Chair, or County Chair. The next primary election (2012) anyone who wants to run for those positions must register to run (no cost) and then get elected. I have 4 precincts in my county, I have been trying to get people to run and become Precinct Chairs. So far I have one, that makes my executive committee, myself and one other. If you want to know how to do anything in the party in Texas, speak to to your County Chair, you can find out who that is by talking to your County Clerk, we all work through that office and she/he knows who we are. In my county (Kinney) there were no Republicans in office, now our County Judge and this year the County Attorney (just switched) are Republicans.
    If you are a conservative and want to have an impact get off your duff and get busy. We need you on our committee’s in our precincts working to get out the vote, and then going to our Precinct Convention after the primary, the County Convention after that, and get elected to be a representative from your county to the State Convention.
    I doubt that there is anyone here from my County, (Kinney) but if you are from Texas and not involved then shame on you. I am involved and working to change our County, get busy people, send conservatives to the State Convention that is where change happens statewide, and then we can get conservatives to the National Convention and change the complexion of the Party nationally. BTW, you don’t register as a Republican or Democrat in Texas, you VOTE!
    If you don’t vote, you are nothing!

  • ltcoldon

    You can not compromise on doing the right thing unless you are a coward.The congress knowns what’s right but will not do it because they are cowards.They wish to seek absolution to feel better about being cowards.Glad they are not in my fox hole

  • mutantone

    That it is obviously political is the problem when they should be considering the Nation and not just party. the Cut Cap and balance is just that a nation saving device. That they do not want to be controlled by it is pure political motivation and not based on what is best for the Nation. It is time to remove the ones that do not care about the Nation and only their parties ability to spend more. Perhaps it is time to to make that a law that they can not avoid to protect the Nation as a whole and not some political ideology that is Marxist-Communism in nature. It is time to return the Republic to it’s true position as leader of the world.

  • funwithknives

    and I Thank You. Been on the outside(LIb.Party) far too long. My last straw was our recent GOP led redistricting, for U S House. My current Rep. is Gary Peters(D.) 9th House. am being moved to US House Dist. #14 with JOHN CONYERS(“Double D, and D S A”) as my “Representative.” GOP is doing same to Pit Peters against Sandy Levin and my area now has to fight like hell to oust Conyers. So now I “Gots Me” Some Incentive. I’m downloading your advice and going from there. “Kicking at The Darkness ,till it Bleeds DayLight”. FWK

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

    going to get into the real ball game of politics. I hope you will update us all on your progress, what you found your local GOP committee to be like, etc.

    Most of what gets written here at Redstate does not actually change our Party or the outcome of any election. As a precinct committeeman you’ll be in a position to actually, demonstrably, both change the make-up of the Party where you live and help GOTV for the candidates you prefer in the primary election. If you are going to be in Conyer’s district, you’ll have your work cut out for you. It could be you might be better served helping other candidates in other races where the Republican has more of a chance. Good luck!

    Thanks again for getting into the game and I hope we’ll hear a report from you soon.

    ColdWarrior

  • cbartlett

    We knew Reid wouldn’t let CCB pass in the Senate (at least this time) BUT we need to get these Senators ON RECORD voting for or against it so we can use it to defeat the stupid ones in 2012. Same goes for Obama – he hasn’t even acknowledged that the Ryan Proposal or CCB exist. We need really blunt (i.e. easy to understand) conservative ads next year stating the obvious – House Republicans put both of these proposals on the table and Obama and the Senate ignored them. The main stream media is NOT getting that message out at all.