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Republican “Austerity”

By: hogan (Diary)  |  April 8th, 2011 at 11:32 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

So, let me get this straight…

After all the back and forth, pledges, promises, tough fiscal talk and discussions of shutdown… Republicans have agreed to pass another short term CR with a few billion dollars in cuts – all being jammed through tonight by voice vote and basically sight-unseen (classic Washington transparency). This to get us to next week.

Then, Republicans are likely going to cut a deal for something around $40 billion max (likely upper-30′s) of cuts, and not uphold their own pledge to cut $100 billion (much less the smaller amount of $61 billion originally offered), and then fail to draw even the faintest line in the sand on policies (so-called “riders”) of any significance, such as federal funding of Planned Parenthood (i.e. tax dollars used to support the death of hundreds of thousands of babies annually) or Obamacare.

Oh sure, Republican leadership will hide behind some symbolic votes in the Senate (which can easily be gained through any real effort anyway) and behind supposedly “significant” cuts of $39 billion, or some such.

Keep in mind that our national deficit – not debt, mind you, but annual deficit – this year alone will surpass $1.5 Trillion, and thus, the $39 billion in cuts represents well less than 3% of the hole we are digging…

Meanwhile, Paul Ryan is praised as the Second Coming for writing a budget that adds $6-9 trillion in debt, fails to touch social security, and is still well out of balance and hemorrhaging hundreds of billions of dollars in 10 years… and more importantly, the Ryan budget won’t even ever be implemented – at least not until 2013, that is if Republicans can find a candidate worth running, much less capable of winning.

So now we move to raising the federal debt ceiling for the umpteenth time without any significant structural change toward fiscal responsibility. Should we expect anything other than cutting a “deal” for a vote on the BBA or some other gesture as opposed to passage of the BBA (with a spending limit)?

Republicans clearly run scared from the 1995 Government shutdown despite the fact 1) Republicans gained 2 Senate seats and lost only 9 (if memory serves) House seats in a year when Bob Dole was acting as dead weight, 2) a shutdown only shuts down a portion of the federal government, 3) any shutdown saves at least some money and means less Washington interference in our lives, and 4) polls today indicate Americans would generally not be terribly bothered by such a shut down.

So instead of pushing hard for any real policy changes or truly significant, game-changing spending cuts – Republicans cut a deal for fear of being seen as obstructionist.

Leadership and fiscal austerity, Republican-style.

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COMMENTS

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  • proudgop

    is reporting

    Harry Reid had to agree to bring both Planned Parenthood funding and an Obamacare repeal to a vote.

    • Xasteius

      Boehner’s getting ripped on his facebook page.

    • nancylee

      So they hold a vote about PP funding and Obamacare on the Senate floor and it goes down to defeat, and the GOP claims that it has kept its agreement with the voters.

      I guess they really do think we’re idiots.

      • sowa1

        The House and Boehner did a great job. If you did not know it they only have the House. Senate and Obama can stop whatever they want. Unless people stand with the Republicans we will never get anything done until the Dems are voted out. The main stream media never tells the truth to the people that are dumb enough to watch them

      • ihateliberals

        have no idea how to run the government. they think they are the only ones capable of doing this job when in reality they aren’t doing the ob at all. Boehner is a RINO and doesn’t have a conservative bone in his body. He might as well go ahead across the isle and pick out a seat. Nancy Pelosi has more balls than he does.

    • runner12

      Now they can’t hide from their votes and will have to defend their votes for supporting a baby-killing machine and the fiscal nightmare known as Obamacare.

      • runner12

        Might I just add that the fact that we are even discussing defunding PP and that it has gained traction is in itself a miracle. Not even previous Repub. administrations did that. The fact that it passed the House is a huge victory.

        Instead of wailing and bemoaning we need to gear up for this vote in the Senate. PP is organized and they will lobby hard. We need to start the discussions on why they should be defunded with our neighbors, friends, and relatives. Even If they are not pro-life, there are good arguments against funding PP.

        We need to send out talking points, memos, and the like. No sense wailing about what we don’t like. We have another battle to fight.

        • Xasteius
          • runner12

            We only control half of the legislature and none of the White House. What we must do is force each and every Senator to defend their vote for not repealing OCare and for supporting PP.

            Not only that, but we must roast O over the coals on it as well. Dare him to double down. Why do u think Reid has refused to hold a vote on OCare repeal?

            Besides on FY 2012, WE control the purse strings.

          • powertothepeople

            People keep demanding miracles that can not happen until we own both chambers and the presidential office. The key right now is not to expect much change, but for the republicans to keep chipping at the chunk, force votes that define peoples positions, and stay in the front of the cameras exposing who votes for what and who blocks votes.

            I think the repubs should have been more honest in their claims since their promise of 100 billion will come back to haunt them. Everyone from the politicians to the voters should have know it would not happen with a democratic controlled senate and the veto pen of the president. The promise should have been along the lines of we will keep sending massive budget cuts to the floor so you can see who us interested in getting rid of the debt. This was an attainable promise and would have exposed the players in Congress for who they were, debt lovers or debt cutters.

          • runner12

            They should not have gone on record as saying they would cut 100 billion. Perhaps it was simply na

          • usmcconservative

            Remember this Ladies and Gentlemen, whatever the final package looks like, say 38.5 billion in cuts since thats the latest number I’ve heard, you also get to add the cuts from the CRs to it as well.

          • walter_hanson

            That’s what people are forgetting. We need to be sit up for those fights. And with the 2012 budget and the debt ceiling everything is now on the table. Those will be knock out drag fights.

            Walter Hanson
            Minneapolis, MN

          • renny

            and I fear most people still ragging that they are not enough (they aren’t), but it is LAST YEAR’s budget, and the House is now in a much strongre position vis a vis the 2012 budget are not seeing the forest for the trees.

            Has anyone here been a pol, on any level? In budget matters, for the most part, you just don’t cut to slash and burn. In school budgets, the biggest fixed cost is staff salaries, and they are contracted. Next comes, mortgages, utilities, and maintenance–buses have to be able to run and lights need to turn on. Then, what gets dumped is capital expenses (the way roads are neglected in NJ because potholes do not have a powerful lobby) and small discretionary claims that can be pasted over or pushed aside. But the big gorillas in the room get their major shares.

            I realize even 100 billion in a budget of many trillions is still a tiny percentage, but for Congress on the whole, it is a BIG deal, and that this new House got half of what it wanted and the cuts make the glass half full and not just half empty.

            Ryan has interesting proposals, and if only a couple survive, like the state grants for Medicaid (a major destroyer of state budgets in NY, NJ, and CA), we will be much closer on our way to fiscal sanity than we were before Nov., 2010.

          • carolina

            They are not added on top. (I read this somewhere) Maybe this is discussed below…..

          • usmcconservative

            Interesting, I had read otherwise…I’ll be honest I hope you are wrong on that.

          • carolina

            They are not added on top. (I read this somewhere) Maybe this is discussed below…..

          • walter_hanson

            Power in the process we got the Democrats (especially a bnuch of Senators up for reelection and the President) that it was more important to fund planned parenthood than to support the members of the military.

            Walter Hanson
            Minneapolis, MN

          • streiff

            Ironically, the same people ripping them now is the same bunch that insisted on the utterly stupid and incomprehensible $100B number.

            The fact is that the fiscal year only had 9 months remaining when we took the house. There are barely 5 months remaining now. $39B out of less than a half year’s budget is significant.

          • paramedichess

            I would have loved to have seen a budget pass last night that cut 4-5 hundred billion off domestic spending, ended ALL funding for PP, Obamacare, NPR, the dept of energy, the dept of education, the national endowment for the arts, stopped the EPA from regulating carbon, stopped the FCC from regulating the internet, etc. The reality is, Boehner just got a democrat senate and a socialist president to give us a more responsible budget than the Bush administration gave us with a republican senate and a republican house. We started some good discussions, and started the long process of turning a gigantic ship around. The next step is the dept ceiling debate, and then next year’s budget. We need to gain momentum there, but again we cannot expect a miracle. Our focus must be on 2012, and taking back the senate (with conservative senators) and continuing to weed out RINOs in both chambers. Most importantly, we need to elect the most conservative, most electable presidential candidate with the most courage to do what has to be done in the next administration. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Boehner and company are not perfect, but they are fighting in a nearly impossible environment. Let’s not throw them under the bus too quickly.

          • nmcowboy

            The trump card was a shutdown: the GOP folded. Even assuming that there were a GOP Congress and President in 2012, how do the necessary cuts become any easier?

            Whatever blame/arguments Democrats would have made with a shutdown will be made every time steps are taken to reduce spending.

            Bottom line: The GOP does not have a spine. It did control the White House and the Congress for two years during the Bush administration. What was the result?–government continued to grow as did spending together with the inexorable march toward globalism.

            Up until the Obama administration, 7 of 9 Supreme Court Justices were GOP nominees as are 5 of the Court’s present members. Result?–a disaster. Who wrote the opinion in Roe v. Wade?–Harry Blackmun, a Nixon nominee.

            The issue is the debt here and now–borrowing 40 cents on every dollar spent–and not a future hope of controlling Congress and the White House. Even a $100 billion cut in the face of a $1.5 trillion deficit is meaningless. How long can this continue?

            We are bankrupt now. The footnotes in Treasury’s annual congressional report disclose some $60 trillion in accrued liabilities–primarily social security, medicare, medicaid, etc. Will the GOP touch that?

            Kicking the can down the road with the hope of control in 2012, especially in light of the GOP’s track record when in control, merely exacerbates the problem. Like a cancer, government continues to grow as does the budget deficit.

            The House, Constitutionally, holds all the cards as the originator of all revenue bills. It chose to play a cute game of strategy rather than make a gallant charge to win the war. In so doing, it lost a nation.

        • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine
      • proudgop

        with taxpayer funded money too

        via national review on highlights

        THE LARGEST SPENDING CUT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. The agreement will immediately cut $38.5 billion in federal spending

        • runner12

          only half the legislature. Thanks for the info and facts.

        • Cheryl

          what am I missing? The real fight comes with Ryan’s Path and this paves the way.

          Those supposedly pro life senators who are up for re-election will be in the political spotlight with their views and vote. Lets call em out.

          • runner12

            Listen, we have to find a good balance between keeping up the pressure and never being satisfied. If we do nothing but complain, we lose our credibility and they stop listening to us.

            What we need to do I say “thank you for pushing for these cuts” and then ask them what they are going to do next to undo Obama and the Left’s agenda. It is polite, but sends a clear message of what we expect from them.

          • orlgal

            I am not sure how you win a war when you run away from all of the skirmishes or run up the white flag when things get tough. The Dems play hardball and they play to win. Why does anyone think the Repubs will really, truly, pinky swear fight for the FY12 budget when they always provide evidence to the contrary?

            I also truly doubt there are any of the so called pro-life Senators that are not already on record with a number of votes supporting pro-abort positions. I don’t see how that is a win or makes a difference.

          • walter_hanson

            You think the Democrats won. In the process of their trying to protect planned parenthood they:

            * The president said the members of the military don’t deserve to be paid under some circumstances (and unlike 1995 when the government is shut down we’re in war in three places)

            * Senators said that planned parenthood is more importan than the military and they still have to vote for abortion restrictions in Washington D.C.

            * And we got spending cuts which just weeks earlier that were called extreme.

            If that’s a victory I wouldn’t want a defeat.

            Walter Hanson

        • rightwingmom52

          on Reid and the Dems keeping their word to Boehner? What makes anyone think they will? They’re good at coming up with reasons not to.

        • proudgop

          also reinstates school voucher program in DC

        • renny

          I’ll say again, sometimes you get what you need.

        • SayNoToRINO

          The legislation isn’t even written yet. Just a “Deal”. RINOs have been down this road before and the Dems have failed to do as promised once they “win” and get what they want. Can you point me to actual legislation in the House or Senate? Something that can be read? .0325% of the budget is a win? Funding these corrupt child killing liberal organizations is a win? Funding the liberal biased lying NPR & PBS is a win? Allowing EPA to continue destroying American energy production and forcing energy prices higher is a win? Please …

          Promises by Dems mean absolutely nothing. As far as I’m concerned, the RINOs got rolled and it continues a pattern of being rolled by DEMS that will continue with the upcoming battles.

          Absolutely pathetic. Now the RINOs & RINO orgs will tell us all how great this deal was and how it was the best they could get while the DEMS take credit for what was done supported by the Lamestream Media. Absolutely pathetic.

          I can only hope true conservatives with true conservative track records will run against RINOs everywhere so I can donate directly to their campaigns starting with the best conservative that will primary Boehner, Cantor and crowd.

        • bs61

          That if that is a historic cut, DC should be ashamed!

  • phoenix0401

    This was a betrayal of every person who joined the tea party and gave money and time to elect Republicans. At the very least Boehner needs to be primaried out next fall and it may well be time for a full fledged third party. It’s clear the Republican leadership could care less about their base.

    • http://redmerrimack.blogspot.com/ charliebravoNH
      • phoenix0401

        If there’s a third party the RINOs that remain will go running pell mell to the left. They’ll wind up taking more votes from the Democrats than from a conservative 3rd party. It’ll be the Whigs all over again — the Republicans are a party without a purpose at the moment.

        • powertothepeople

          and that is just advice from a fellow member before staff explains it to you in a much sterner way. There are few things that can cause a person to lose an account fast and promoting third parties or the democrats is one of them. It is a rule that Moe and Neil take very seriously and start reaching under the couch for the famous stick.

          • usmcconservative

            I disagree phoenix, as a tea partier, as I’m sure most here are, I don’t see it as a betrayal but as a inevitable consequence of only holding the House and not the Senate and the WH. So many of us have been frothing at the mouth over this and I just don’t see how they could have done much better. I mean the other option was go into a shutdown where polls indicated the country was divided on who would take the blame for it, so it would have been six-five and pick ‘em whether or not it helped or hurt our cause, especially when the message wasn’t it would be a shutdown over cuts, but over Planned Parenthood. Also, when adding up the cuts, don’t forget to include the cuts in all the CRs that came before this when you look at the total. Is it ideal? Of course not, we all want more slashing, but in the end I don’t think the game was worth the candle here folks. The real fight is the 2012 budget, thats where we’ll see who’s serious and who’s not.

          • SayNoToRINO

            So when do you think the RINOs in charge should take a stand regardless of the consequences (shutdown, lamestream media lies, Dems demagogue of anything done [women killers, senior citizens dying, don't care about women's health ....])? At what point does it finally take place?

            If the RINOs can’t take a stand on the “little” insignificant stuff, what makes you think it’ll be any different in the future? What are they waiting for? Control of the House, Senate & WH? You think that’s going to happen when these spineless pols can’t take a stand and fold like a cheap suit at the first sign of a shutdown & the lamestream media cranking up the “horrible Republican” stories?

            You think the DEM & MEDIA volume won’t increase for the next battle?

          • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

            I’ll also like to note that I’m not feeling particularly betrayed at the moment – but then, being able to shove DC school choice back down Dick Durbin’s racist throat is possibly doing wonders for my mood.

          • Cheryl

            didn’t know it was included, so it was a nice surprise.

            I won’t hold my breath that we’ll get credit for it from citizens on DC!

        • walter_hanson

          Phoenix just remember every time you make this silly claim that’s why Al Franken is the US Senate!!!

          Walter Hanson
          Minneapolis, MN

    • Xasteius

      And if the Democrats gain in the next election, this country is finished.

    • http://whattoreadtoday.blogspot.com/ Paula

      The Ohio GOP has a policy of endorsing, supporting, and funding candidates before the primary, making it virtually impossible for a non-establishment candidate to win a primary. Once they pick a candidate they send out weekly mailings and make sure they get the best seats at all the dinners and get to speak at all the best events. Somehow, their candidates also manage to be the sole recipients of the Ohio Right to Life endorsements – again, before the primary. Many of the county GOP’s also do the same. Good luck trying to compete with that.

      • congressworksforus

        By systematically replacing the RINOs on the county central committees.

        Btw, am I the only one who though “Central Committees” were something the communists ruled by ?

    • walter_hanson

      In 2008 people said they couldn’t support Norm Coleman because he was for immigration, increased spending, etc.

      They either didn’t vote for Senate, voted for the independent candidate, or even Al Franken.

      The result Al Franken is a US Senator to the year2015 and he cast the 60th vote to give us Obamacare.

      So Phoenix what else do you want your Senator Al Franken to support for you?

      Walter Hanson
      Mnneapolis, MN

  • runner12

    I am glad that we got the 40 billion and that we will be able to pay our military, but I am disappointed about PP and OCare being removed.

    But the Dems do control the WH and the Senate, which makes it hard to be successful at reversing policy.

    The budget wars are not over yet and I expect the Repubs to continue to fight for cuts. If they do not, they are toast.

    This is just a thought, but do you think the Repubs agreed to a short term to pay the military so that they can negotiate more cuts next week? This would remove that argument by the Dems altogether that this would hurt military families. Just a thought.

  • quill67

    Demand 1: I expect defunding of ObamaCare.

    Demand 2: I expect EPA and FCC to be under control of congress/president not the other way around.

    Demand 3: I expect a stop to special favors for the politically connected and wavers from laws that the rest of us must follow.

    Demand 4: I expect a stop to the CRAZY spending. NOW! Not later. NOW!

    • renny

      Politics is the art of the possible. The Reps. just made possible the idea that the budget CAN BE cut, and those will produce bigger savings over a longer period of time than just now, and the 2012 budget will have a better chance of reducing more and getting passed.

      Reid is not bringing up numerous bills because he is afraid of the votes and precarious Dem. senators do not want a history of those votes. Possner won in the most progrerssive state in the union, which now also has a Rep. gov. and leg., so you cannot undo the basically 80 years Dems. have held Congress in one fell swoop. But history seems to be turning, and we are her for it.

  • DGaines

    When the kids over at Dailykos are reasonably happy about the deal that says it all.

    • crusty

      They are happy at the Daily because their handlers told them they won, not because they did win. The art of negotiation is that you ask for more than you think you will get. You then push for it knowing you will at some point settle for less. Had the government shut down the D’s would have had a hammer. You must recall the majority out there has no idea of what is going on beyond what the drive by media tells them. Shutting down the government over PP and then defined by the media would be a loser for the Republicans. When Dingy Harry said no cuts and the R’s managed to secure about 70 billion that is a win. He also managed to get PP and Obama Care to a Senate vote. For those 23 D’s up for re-election that is a dicey vote and a weapon to be used against them. With only one third of the clout (House) and the D’s having two thirds, (Senate + WH ) the leader made pretty good gains. You use this to win the Senate and the WH in 2012. Then and only then can you get serious gains. Until then you chip away. The odds on Ryan’s budget going anywhere are slim and none.

      • DGaines

        Furthermore I realize that this helps Boehner and the leadership pass themselves off as the adults in the room who both gained billions in cuts and also avoided shutting down the government.
        If you ascribe to the perspective that chipping away will get the job done then you are probably reasonably happy with this result.
        My perspective is different: First we failed the public messaging war when we couldn

  • junkbondtrader41

    To roughly nine of every ten commenters here, what did you do as kids when you woke up to about $500 worth of presents under the tree on Christmas morning, curse your parents out because it wasn’t $1000?

    Good grief! Anyone who ever expected to get everything in our package was either delusional or implacable. Even if you don’t want to use the $40 billion increase in Obama’s budget as the benchmark and insist on $0, we still forced them more than halfway to our number. And what is more than a Senate vote on the riders? Unless you hold the House leadership responsible not only for what Harry Reid votes on, but also for whether it can pass, what is your beef?

    Switch to decaf, people!

    • quill67

      I believe we are at a crossroads. This is not a budget battle. This is a battle whether the government can control every aspect of our lives. I say NO.

      Pass the basic spending of the government. If they Democrats refuse to cooperate, then it is time for this government to fail. The states can create a new government to take its place.

      • slimmu

        mixed with political theater from both sides.

        No one should be surprised that the promises made to them by politicians during their campaign are not being kept. Is everyone that naive? Nor should we be that delusional to think cutting $100B would solve the problem or even Ryan’s plan which only reduces the National Debt by 15% over a decade, at which point it’ll still be $16T instead of $19T. Its laughable.

    • walter_hanson

      I guess I’m part of the minority Wow. Thanks for the support.

      Walter Hanson
      Minneapolis, MN

  • popdaddy

    Forget about 1995.

    In 1995 the state controlled network TV and print media managed the message for the socialist democrats.

    Guess what. Today Americans have access to the truth through the Internet. Network news and deadtree media are in the middle of slow whining death.

    The GOP needs leaders who will support the truth their voters are aware of instead of continued surender to the socialists.

    Elections are supposed to matter. The silent majority spoke 11/2010. It’s time to get “leaders” who will listen.

    • phoenix0401

      All we heard for months is how wildly unpopular Scott Walker’s bill is. The Supreme Court election is a clear referendum on the bill. The unions spend $3.5 million to win. And the Republican still won. Courage wins these things, and the Republicans showed none today.

      • powertothepeople

        forget that the Senate is still controlled by the dems, the dreams of many would not pass that chamber, and if by some miracle it did, Obama holds a pen that would veto it immediately without fear of an override. All that can be done now is chipping at the chunk until we own all three branches. At that point if they fail, there is no excuse.

        The only thing the repubs should have done different is not make promises that were impossible to keep. No way the democratic controlled senate would allow PP funding to be cut much less Obama, nor would either have allowed 100 billion in cuts up front or maybe even over the course of two budgets. Was not going to happen. Futile efforts to prove some point do nothing, they simply need to keep cutting as much as possible and show the voters that it is the dems and Obama who have no interest in doing the right thing.

        • avgjo

          At the end of the day, if they play the hand right, they win.

          They didn’t. They lose.

          • usmcconservative

            No, what they hold is the power to INITIATE appropriations legislation, it still has to pass a DEMOCRAT controlled senate and a DEMOCRATIC White House.

            So many people here are and were gung ho for a shutdown, but there was no guarantee that it would work to our advantage, and with the debt ceiling debate and the FY 2012 debate coming up I personally say our political capital is more valuable spent there, not on a budget that is already 6 months over with. Yes we should hammer Dems with the fact that we had to do their jobs for them but this wasn’t the place to play Boehner’s Last Stand.

          • avgjo

            That’s exactly the point. Their initiation of the approprations legislation limits the options of the dimocrats with respect to what they can vote on, if they (the house) hold strong. Sure, the dems can refuse to vote for it, but in the end, if the GOP holds fast, they will have to vote on something put together by the GOP.

            Regarding a shutdown, a little history. The GOP held on to the house and gained seats in the Senate after the last shutdown. The only reason they lost to Clinton later was because they ran the worst candidate possible, old Bob Dole. Oh yeah, and they didn’t have FOX news, or a fraction of the conservative media they have now.

            Boehner and the Republicans did what they always do and caved. And when people on our side, like a lot right here on RedState right now, defend them, it only encourages their foolish, destructive behavior.

          • snowshooze

            I was considering the same thing, let the government shut down if the Democrats want to play that game. And just keep leaving it shut down. Never bother trying to negotiate… sooner or later.. something would have to break don’t you think? My biggest concern with the strategy is that they might post military guards to keep me out of the park.

          • avgjo

            The way the GOP could have gotten EVERYTHING THEY WANTED was to do the following:

            1. Make it clear from the start they wouldn’t bend.
            2. Beat the dims over the head with everything stupid they did and said, for example: Schumer calling tea party a ‘flea’, being willing to shut the government down rather than end taxpayer dollars for the murder of babies and wanting to continue to fund an unconstitutional, unwanted bill like obamacare.
            3. Make real cuts.

            They didn’t do any of these. Boehner was probably crying a lot and Cantor was too busy doing his hair for the cover photo shoot of ‘young guns ii’. And we got the shaft.

            We got nothing last night. In fact, worse than nothing. Now the dims know that to get whatever they want, they just have to threaten a shutdown. Think of how perverse that is. The shutdown threat is supposed to come from our side. The dims have taken the only weapon our side had and beat them with it.

          • walter_hanson

            What peole don’t understand the case is being made that we have to cut our spending. Democrats are on board now! And now we can put eveything on the table. And we got the Democrats saying that planned parenthood is more important than the military.

            Walter Hanson
            Minneapolis, MN

          • avgjo

            The democrats are not on board. Their rhetoric this whole week has been about how they will not budge on PP. And they didn’t. Nothing happened to Obamacare. They will gladly trade a few billion (peanuts in this context) to keep those things going. And now, the GOP has made it clear that they don’t consider federally funded murder of babies or a government takeover of our health care system worth the (supposed) political price they’d pay for a shutdown. So why should we expect any different next year?

        • crusty

          There are a couple ways of looking at this notion of promises. Leadership said 100 billion. That got Dingy Harry’s attention and his back up as he said no cuts. Anyone will tell you when side A says 100 and side B says none and side B has the veto pen Side A has little navigation room. Side A also knows it has little chance of getting their stated target. So they throw out some raw meat (PP) That allows Dingy Harry the ability to throw something overboard, give a little and save face. I doubt the leader ever intended to fall on his sword over PP. You can pull an Obama if you control the white house and both sides of the congress. Owning only the house does not give you the ability to say my way or the highway. Boehner schooled these fools not only did he get more than half the stated price he conned Reid into putting his members on the spot (their vote) for O care and PP just before an election.

          • crusty

            Manchin of West Virginia said he had 14 dem senators on board to defund the EPA, this in National Review. He also said his group was against Obama Care. Yeah I know he is a Dem, however he is up for re-election in a state that hates the epa and Obama Care.

          • izoneguy

            The dems always rush back towards the middle when they see an advantage to do so. Time to stop listening to the democratic lies. I know there are 20-25% hard core libs that really believe they are right. They also need to destroyed.
            The right needs to slash & burn.
            No quarter.

          • america1st

            “The right needs to slash & burn.
            No quarter.”

            Exactly. None.
            Nor any compromise.

            Do unto the left as Rome did to Carthage: grind them into the ground and salt the land to preclude any regrowth.

            Figuratively, at least.

      • runner12

        But in WI, the governor is a Repub and the legislature has a Repub majority. Very different story in DC.

  • http://whattoreadtoday.blogspot.com/ Paula

    All this hand-wringing by Boehner et al was just for show. The American people and unborn babies got PWNED in this deal.

    Really, what did Boehner have to lose in holding out? This has just set the stage for every future battle – the debt ceiling, the budget – Obama now knows Boehner will blink.

    • izoneguy

      We need to bomb his runway before he can take off and do his final bombing run on America.

      Boehner will need some slapping around and briefed who the enemy is and what the mission entails. I know hundreds of other conservative congress people are ready for the mission.

      We may have to leave the squadron behind locked up in the brig.

  • post4u

    @junkbondtrader41
    You are absolutely right! Boehner and the House Republicans are approximately 1/6 of the power needed to bring legislation to pass. Boehner kept on keeping on, even when he was standing alone in the White House meetings. At one point, Rep Hal Rogers, Chm of the Appropriations Cmte, was ready to give in. But Boehner hung in there and brought about the highest spending-cut bill in the history of Congress.

    He also got the Democrat Senate off their duffs to debate and vote on issues about which they are not pleased. He got audits of the Dodd-Frank Act, etc etc etc.

    If you vote for a third party, you vote Democrat.

    • orlgal

      ObamaCare, Planned Parenthood and NPR are still funded. The Senate will veto both attempts to defund PP and OC. All meaningless window dressing. Democrats support abortion and government healthcare. Wow that will really shock voters.

      The cuts are a rounding error. $800B over ten years? Big deal when we are running trillion plus deficits as far as the eye can see.

      Boehner and the Republican leadership telegraphed early and often that they would not shut down the government, ergo why would the Dems compromise? Just watch the spin that will come from Obama, the DNC and the media (but I repeat myself) tomorrow.

      For once we held the right cards. Unfortunately we are stuck with players who really don’t know how to play the game.

      • walter_hanson

        Origal:

        There are three ways Obamacare is no longer law

        One, if the courts rule it unconstitutional which is in progress.

        Two, for the new President in 2013 to sign.

        Or three, put it in a bill that Obama has to sign. That’s the debt ceiling bill or the 2012 budget bills.

        Besides your attitude of not want to support Boehner is how Al Franken became a US Senator and cast the 60th vote for Obamacare which you didn’t like.

        Walter Hanson
        Minneapolis, MN

        • america1st

          To a point, I agree. The place to bring down RINOs is in the primaries. Once the candidates are selected, we really have no viable alternative but to swallow anti-nausea drugs and vote for the likes of McCain & Coleman, no matter how little they deserve support of any kind except in comparison to the utterly vile alternative.

          Here, however, we have “leadership” which had a strong position on the moral high ground, an overwhelming mandate of the electorate, raised by the blood, sweat, tears and money of productive Americans. Yet these “leaders” voluntarily spiked the guns we gave them and waved a white flag to appease the thieving, lying, babbling buffoons of the dim-rat party, the irrelevant yammering yellow mongrel Pomeranians of the lamestream press and the utterly pornographic leftist constituencies which continue to gorge themselves on monies stolen from true Americans.

          Am I going to initiate a recall campaign for Boehner, Cantor, et. al., in 2011? No. But you better believe I will do all I can to put true conservatives in charge next year, fire-breathers who take no prisoners, rather than these shamefully milquetoast midgets with their spinally-challenged deference to the enemy.

        • realskinny

          Walter Hanson, there is no bill BHO has to sign. Bo can veto any bill, no matter how necessary. The Reps have shown they have no stomach for facing the consequences. They will simply pass whatever Bo WILL sign. If they would not stand firm last night when they had the people behind them (57% according to Rasmussen), they will not stand firm any time.

          $39 billion is only 2.5 % of this years deficit—-a meaningless number. It’s historic only in the context that there has been no cut in spending since WWII.

          If the Reps will not use the only weapon they have—-the power to cut off funding—- and we know now they won’t—–the most we can expect is nibbling around the edges of an exististential crisis. Boehner had it exactly right when he said they would not roll over and betray the American people. Except he then went and did exactly that.

          The Reps are like the parent who knows it’s wrong to keep bailing out their wastrel offspring but can’t bear seeing them go to jail and so keep supporting their self-destructive spiral.

    • rightwingmom52
  • http://whattoreadtoday.blogspot.com/ Paula

    “I don’t think the president is going to lose his healthcare bill and I don’t think we’re going to defund Planned Parenthood in the long run. It was a good way for Boehner to get out from under the problem he had with his new members.” Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA).

    We also discovered that English is apparently not the first language of Fox News’s Kirstin Powers:

    “We learned tonight that Boehner is an excellent negotiator and the Democrats got rolled.”

    • orlgal

      still have to vote to approve this capitulation, er compromise.

    • Adjoran

      I suppose he will tell the truth about something sooner or later, if only by accident.

  • Adjoran

    Democrats have the Senate and the White House. Boehner was not in a position of overwhelming strength.

    This settles this leftover Pelosi-Reid unfinished business so we can get to the real task at hand with the FY 2012 budget.

    Congratulations to the many commenters on this thread who understand what is going on and that this is a step in the right direction.

    To those who scream “Betrayal!” every time they don’t get instant gratification of 100% of their demands, I wish peace to you all.

    • orlgal

      I’d just wish for once they would actually follow through with what they promised they would do. $39B does not equal $100B or even $61B. That’s not compromise, that’s capitulation. For what? A couple of bogus votes that will give a few endangered Dems cover to vote in favor of?

    • APA Guy

      $100 billion in cuts would have shaved 6.25% FROM THE DEFICIT. It would have amounted to a 2.6% cut of the overall budget…2.6%!!!

      As it stands, we got a whopping $38 billion (Oh, excuse me…$38.5 billion…can’t forget that .5 when we’re staring down a $1.6 trillion deficit…)…roughly the equivalent of a bankrupt household cutting the morning $1 coffee from the Circle K to save money.

      Man, it’s no wonder the Republican Party keeps getting its lunch money taken. When asking for a 2.6% budget cut is “100% gratification”, the battle is lost before it begins.

      • congressworksforus

        We need to get the 2012 budget on a roll.

        The House has a plan; the Dems will do everything they can to stop it, including, I suspect, a government shutdown; but that would be a major mistake when even the LSM is saying things like ‘at least the Republicans have a plan’.

        Get this one out of the way, and get to work on the real cuts.

  • jstjoan

    The concessions he got will help form the foundation for the 2012 elections of 23 senate Democrats in the PP and the OCare votes.

    The deal to undo the funding of 16k new IRS agents to impose Ocare will save untold amounts in new federal employee wages, benefits, and retirements.

    The audits that will be mandated now thanks to Boehner of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be paramount in repealing Dodd-Frank. This new agency’s headed up by radical leftist Elizabeth Warren with ties to Stephen Lerner, the high ranking SEIU guy that was recently exposed as plotting another financial collapse.

    Do I wish the cuts were larger? Of course. Do I have confidence they can make it happen in the debt ceiling and 2012 budget negotiations? Yes.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • gracepmc

      Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • APA Guy

      …who is hiding behind the “We only control the House” assertion of something:

      In controlling the House, we hold the keys to the budget locker.

      I don’t give a rat’s behind what the senate SAYS it will do or what this weak-willed president THINKS he will do. NO federal budget passes the federal government unless the House approves it…NONE.

      This was our opportunity to force serious changes to how this government spends our tax money. Now, when we talk 2012 budget, our threats to shut down the government will be laughed at by Senate Dems and the White House. They know we’ll accept less…they have just struck a “deal” that allows continued funding of their pet items while we get a buffalo nickel in return.

      This wasn’t a “long-term strategy”. It was Boehner sitting at the table being stared down by Obama…then blinking. Dems were feeling the heat regarding spending and deficits and we just handed them a glass of lemonade…pure and simple.

      • d_lamar

        The republicans held all the cards until he folded last night. Republican leadership should have made it crystal clear that the GOP would not fund Planned Parenthood and NPR. He could have put the onus on the Democrat Senate and Obama for shutting down the government over these two issues.

        The American people would not support the dems for shutting down the government to protect taxpayer funding of abortion.

      • streiff

        though completely wrong.

        Yes, all revenue bills originate in the House. They also have to pass the Senate and be signed by the president. So you’d damn well better care about what they do.

      • kcdude

        I am not sure that we could have called this part of this overall process a move in the right direction if the focus remained on a shutdown with our troops not being paid for their valiant work.

        If the House leadership picks up the ’12 budget and includes the effort to halt funding to pp, npr, to neuter/repeal Obamacare and the EPA and truly change the spending culture then I think the effort over the last few days should be considered successful – but not final. It is not really a war victory but it is definitely not a loss.

        We need to continue to move toward our goals and I think the up /down pp and npr votes will help. It should allow the focus to be on certain members refusal to assist in fixing the budget crisis we are in. It has a potential for giving conservatism a voice it has not had for many decades. I do not think we will truly change our ways in government absent a change in the people who are elected. There was not a complete turnover in Nov. 2010 to support a culture change but we are moving in the right direction.

        We got to this point because the dems were very good at accepting incremental battle wins and then continuing the fight they believe in. We must be ready to do the same. I think we did gain some ground but this is a long war that we need to keep fighting.

  • izoneguy

    Really need to be used over & over during the 2012 elections.

    The problem is not our side (OK a little) –

    The REAL problem are the socialist democrats.

    We need to pour most of our energy into getting rid of them.

    Until we control everything again then all the talk is just that.

  • quill67

    The Republican leadership was not prepared to fight. They obviously had no plan to win over the public so regrettably getting something is probably best, but we need new leadership. We must be prepared in 6 months when this comes up again.

  • gracepmc

    Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

  • gracepmc

    Boehnner did a good job with what he had. And the Democrats and the President are now on notice that the upcoming battles will be hard fought. And the Democrats and the President’s policies and spending is what it is all about. And it is just plain sweet that there will be a vote on Obamacare.

    • basokla

      He had no “strategy”.

      Good grief Charlie Brown.

    • APA Guy

      the same statement?

  • basokla

    Slap in the face. And some of you policy wonks think this is a victory. That cry baby from Ohio caved. Period.

    Please grow a pair and grow up.

    Jeez. This country disintegrates in front of my eyes. Sad and sickening. And that is being kind.

    • america1st

      .

    • runner12

      I am a tea party conservative and a social conservative to boot. I would like nothing more than to slash the budget, get rid of the EPA and Dept of Ed. So I am no RINO supporter. But I do believe that when someone does the best with what they have, I need to give them a break.

      We did not get to this place overnight. This is the first of many battles and while this one was not a complete victory, it was not an abject defeat either.

      As I said, time to stop hand-wringing and get ready for the next battle!

      • Xasteius
      • avgjo

        Gingrich, for all the flak he catches on this site, got welfare reform after the shutdown in 1995. He played his hand. Boehner didn’t.

        I keep seeing people here say that the GOP couldn’t do more. They initiate the appropriations bills. They set the parameters for what the Senate can vote on and what BO can sign. If they are iron willed, they win. They weren’t. They lost.

        And with regards to this now mantra that I keep seeing here that this set us up for ’12: how on earth can we trust the GOP to fight hard in ’12 when they folded like a cheap suit last night? Today, babies are being murdered on the taxpayer’s dime, Obamacare is still being implemented (read: death panels on taxpayer’s dime) and the EPA can run roughshod over the people.

        Yeah, last night was a real victory.

  • victrola

    There are all sorts of fiscal battles on the horizon, and at the end of the day, the Democrats control the Senate and White House.

    The fact that Obama and the Democrat leadership seemed downright giddy at the prospect of a government shut down should tell you we should be very careful about rushing into what our enemies were convinced was a deadly trap. Maybe they were completely wrong, but a prudent opponent should proceed with caution.

    Obama and the Democrats are on the ropes as far as I’m concerned for 2012, but I could see a showdown like this breaking against us and rejuvenating Obama’s Presidency. We can’t ignore history, the last time this happened it didn’t go our way.

    At the end of the day, elections have consequences and until we’re put back in charge, we can’t get everything we want. I’d like the cuts to be MUCH larger, but this is only the prelude to the real upcoming battle, and compared to what was being proposed in 2010′s budget, this is certainly a big step forward.

    On to round 2.

  • rayfinkle

    Let’s be very clear about this. There are no winners in this situation, except possibly–

  • hunter

    If we had run a few more viable Senate candidates, we would be having a different conversation.
    This is a learning curve that Conservatives never seem to quite finish climbing.
    Democrats are more than willing to continue this as long as they can.
    If Conservatives get all huffy now and quit and pout because they make fun of tea party backed people and tea party members, we will never win.
    The future of our nation is at stake. If you thought it would be easy and that just because we are right on the issues the democrats and their sycophantic lazy friends in the press would ‘get it’, then you don’t get it.
    We DID NOT HAVE THE VOTES TO WIN THIS ROUND. QUITTING NOW IS EXACTLY WHAT OBAMA IS COUNTING ON CONSERVATIVES TO DO.
    This is why viable candidates count.
    We could have won the Senate.
    So we need to make up our minds: Do we quit after one battle, like Obama wants, or do we dig in and fight and win even more seats in 2012?
    If we form the standard Conservative circular firing squad, the answer is, “Yes, we quit and do what Obama wants.”

    • runner12
    • america1st

      The “good old boy” GOP elitists had actually *supported* Buck, Angle, Miller and others, rather than: (1) throwing money at Orange Charlie Tuna, “magic bullet” Specter and other RINOs in advance of primaries; (2) going “all in” on Fiorina who represented but a single seat and otherwise focusing on maintaining the facade of “bipartisanship” which is naught but the pusillanimous chicanery of “business as usual.”

      No, no way we quit. But next time, we come back even more vocally and aggressively, tolerating no squishy compromisers, taking no prisoners. Boehner, et. al., must either actually LEAD, pledge absolute loyalty to those who have not allowed themselves to join the ranks of the eunuchs or get the bleep outa da way. There is no more room for compromise with or tolerance of this leftist Fifth Column. They must be destroyed if our Republic is to survive.

      • hunter

        Candidates who have to explain away their witch craft are not very inspirational, for example.

        • america1st

          (a) I didn’t refer to Ms. O’Donnell although she sealed her fate by having the audacity to defeat the pre-primary NRSC – anointed choice, “Republican” Castle who was & remains 99% dim-rat.

          (b) Who among us did not commit some silly act as a teen which could be twisted into a tar baby campaign issue by the rabid propagandists of the left? Who knows how much better she would have handled these attacks with the assistance of more experienced staff possible with support from those who spent far more promoting Orange Charlie of the infamous obamacare photo op? Granted, a state content to be represented for decades by the likes of Babbling Joey Hair Plugs isn’t going to embrace anyone remotely representing Republican, much less conservative, values and this was the longest of shots from the beginning . . . see (a) above.

          • hunter

            You missed the point.
            Good candidates would overcome those youthful indiscretions.
            None of our candidates who lost could overcome anything.
            We need our own Bidens, who can literally be as stupid venal and goofy as he is and still win.
            Winning is what matters.
            We did not pick enough winners as evidenced by the votes.

          • america1st

            However, it is all but impossible for an individual in the sights of the yipping curs of the dim-rat propaganda department (a.k.a. “the traditional American media”) to defeat the vitriolic lies, especially in the compressed time frame of a general election, and particularly so when all but abandoned by those who should be working on the candidate’s behalf. Even with some – albeit grudging – support in responding to entirely spurious attacks, Sarah Palin was viciously portrayed in 2008. Today’s press are little more than two-legged piranha.

  • silentcal2012

    Sometimes people act like we only have one shot at this. We will have the House again next year, at least two more budgets, and we can do this all over and make more strategic cuts. We could do more with a GOP senate and a GOP president. We just have to keep hacking away. Boehner only has so much leverage and a lot of cats to herd. I think he is doing a good job.

    I cant believe people are criticizing Paul Ryan, when no one else has offered anything else rooted in policy substance that could work. Rhetoric about principle isnt going to cut it.

    • SayNoToRINO

      You’re assuming we have the time to wait & also hope we maintain control of the House & gain control of the Senate & WH. We would need 60 in the Senate (otherwise it’ll be blocked by DEMS). Do we have until 2013? on a hope that it works out that way?

      What makes you think every single upcoming budget battle won’t end exactly the same. The RINO leadership has shown once again they will not stand on principle and can be rolled by DEM & Media scare tactics.

      Personally, I don’t think the USA has the time to wait. The socialist, marxist, communist crowd will have until the end of 2012 to continue to damage this country.

      This must be stopped but it isn’t going to happen with RINOs being rolled over and over again by demagogue DEMS and LAMESTREAM MEDIA types.

  • boonerdan

    Those of you dreaming about Paul Ryan’s budget are kidding yourselves. The Dems just learned what it will take to roll Boehner and the GOP Establishment. If you think the whining and the lies were outrageous this week, wait until they start debating the 2012 budget and the debt ceiling increase.

    Let me be clear: I am not criticizing Ryan’s budget. I think it is a good “start”. I am just being realistic. The Dems will simply threaten more “shutdowns” and the GOP will once again hide behind “we only have 1/2 of 1/3 of the government”.

    Don’t get discouraged! Get angry and start organizing primary challengers for 2012!

  • eddiethegeek

    First, Shumer and the other thugs have vowed to filibuster any defunding of Planned Parenthood. That “promise” is a non-starter – there is zero chance that 60+ senators will vote to defund. Nice work, Boehner.

    Second, I am convinced that there is ZERO chance that Washington is going to fix the mess they’ve created. Boehner is ball-less. What is going to fix the mess is the inevitable downgrading of our bonds and the equally inevitable increase in interest rates that will be forced upon us by the Chinese. Austerity is coming; only it would be less painful if Congress and the President addressed it NOW rather than when it is forced upon us.

    Greece, Portugal, Ireland, the USA. Maybe we can apply to the EU for a bailout.

    • congressworksforus

      The way I read this, Reid’s guaranteeing a vote. If 41 members of his caucus go against him and filibuster it, they just cut him off at the knees in any further negotiations.

      If that happens, I believe we’ll be seeing the Senate dems in full scale civil war (good!) as Schumer makes his powerplay for the leadership.

  • melbedewy

    Where were our heroes Rand Paul and Mike Lee who could have stopped this dead with a single NO on the Senate floor?
    We didn’t elect a Republican 50 seat majority to keep funneling money to baby killers, NPR marxists and the like.
    Keep it up DC Republicans and you’ll be back in the minority in less than 19 months.
    Another BIG sellout next month on the debt limit.

    • streiff

      were you one of the ones who wanted to “teach the Republicans a lesson” back in 2006?

      • APA Guy

        We were put in power in the House for a number of reasons – not the least of which was to get insane federal spending under control. Cutting $38.5 billion from a budget that adds $1.6 trillion to an already $14.3 trillion national debt is a slap in the face to those who bought the campaign promises.

        It won’t take any motivation for the public to be sold on the Republican Party failing to keep its word. The public will see that for itself every time its dollar pays for less and less because we print money and pay interest to the Chinese to finance our own stinking debt.

  • KC

    This wasn’t about $61B vs. $38B. Both numbers are so small they are insignificant in the context of a $3.7 trillion budget.

    It was about PRINCIPLE. It was about Republicans refusing to be steamrolled by Reid. It was about the GOP demonstrating courage, conviction, and an unwavering determination to save this country from fiscal Armageddon.

    And most of all, it’s about setting the tone for the big spending battles coming and delivering a message to Dems that they refuse to be pushed around.

    The only way PP could continue to get Federal funding was if Republicans agreed to it.

    And they did.

    This is a major setback for the GOP.

    • melbedewy

      With a 50 seat majority we need to say NO PP and NO NPR or NO budget and NO Debt increase. Let the progressives shut down government to protect their scummy babykillers and NPR marxists. Then let the chips fall where they may.
      All it took was ONE Senator to object last night and there would have been a shutdow.
      Lee, Rubio, Paul-you are looking like scumbags to me right now.

  • conservativecurmudgeon

    To Hell with all the Bismarkian “art of the possible” crap. At some point, if Conservative principles actually have any meaning, and if we expect to accomplish anything in the next twenty months, the Federal Government WILL HAVE TO BE SHUTTERED.

    And who gives a crap? The places that will be closed are ALL entombed Democrat constituencies. Normal Americans won’t be affected in the least. Shut Washington Down and watch the rest of America rebound!

    Grow a Pair! Good Lord!

    • izoneguy

      Don’t forget – congress has to vote on raising the debt ceiling in a few weeks.

      Call your congress person now and say HELL NO…..

      • APA Guy

        We just handed the National Debt another large wad of deficit with this “deal”. How can Republicans embrace a deficit-laden deal, then cry foul when raising the debt ceiling is the only way to accommodate the “deal” that was struck?

        Man, the GOP has really painted itself into a corner with this nonsense. Any attempt to stick to principle at this point makes it look like they’re reneging on their own policy.

        Either Obama is really smart or the Republicans are really, really dumb in all this. My quarter buys the latter.

        • izoneguy

          Yup APA Guy –
          At some point the Republicans NEED TO SHUT IT DOWN….
          But this time they need to first – protect the troops & their families.
          If the Republicans don’t fight harder they will see a real insurgent
          conservative movement in America – Tea Party on steroids.
          Harry Reid’s worst nightmare.

          The rest of the government can go away as far as I am concerned.
          Maybe a Cowboy Poet can write a poem about how the Republicans
          are killing women?
          Pretty interesting statements from the democrats this week.
          The party that has enabled the slaughter of 40 million innocents
          does not have any room to talk.

          Debt Ceiling Looms as Next Big Battle
          Worries Mount That Divisive Struggle Over Current Budget Will Make It Tougher to Reach Agreement on Borrowing Limit

          http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704843404576251213484999994.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

    • APA Guy

      …was so afraid to shut the government down. Aren’t the vast majority of federal workers Dem supporters anyway? How could we think it would result in a terrible backlash against US, the less government party? There simply is no reason in the deal that was struck.

      Sticking to their fat-spending principles while the government shut down would have made Democrats look HORRIBLE. They would have caved the moment their supporters couldn’t receive their EIC/Child Tax Credit-infested tax “refunds”. Instead, the GOP gave them an out…just as they always do.

      • quill67

        Debt Ceiling vote is key. The government will be forced to cut spending if there is no agreement. So now is the time to specify what gets paid first (slip the exact order bills are to be paid by treasury in this budget bill)

        If Congress does not approve increase in debt ceiling, the Dems will not be able to hold cutting off funds for our troops or shutting down the government over our heads. Government spending will continue but only at a reduced level until THEY make an agreement with the House.

        • congressworksforus

          Without a raise in the debt ceiling, cuts will be forced.

  • hunter

    Is one of our least attractive characteristics.
    The democrats will simply take advantage of us more if we decline to stop our culture of infighting.
    We have the House. Period.
    We do not have the Senate, or the WH. And the Courts are basically run by lefty lawyers.
    Take what you can get, and work like crazy to get more and to win the Senate in the next election, along with the WH.
    We rolled Obama earlier this year on taxes.
    Cap-n-Trade is dead.
    Obamacare is on the ropes.
    We lost no ground on NPR and PP.
    Snap out of this self destructive funk and battle on.
    Whoever thinks moving a culture and country as big as the US to where it needs to be is going to be done in a one hour episode is smoking crack.
    It took decades to get us where we are.
    Real reform and progress are not going to happen over night.
    If we form our circular firing squad, it may well happen never.

    • conservativecurmudgeon

      Surrender now on the eensy-weensy battles, and that makes surrender on the BIG battles that much easier.

      Cap and Tax is not dead. It is being administered bureaucratically through the EPA, which, thanks to this deal, will lumber on. Obamacare is hardly on the ropes: The last Continuing Resolution contained over $100 billion for its implementation in perpetuity. The votes on NPR and Planned Parenthood were designed as political theater, and every sentient being knows this.

      This vote may well mark the beginning of this generation’s “Bleeding Kansas”. Maybe this is only rhetorical flourish, but the Republicans just came off as suckers, and everyone who voted and worked and campaigned for them like dupes.

      America is on the precipice, LITERALLY and finding the balls to cut FIVE DAYS of spending is hailed as a breakthough? WASHINGTON, sir, is the place “on crack”, not normal, patriotic Americans that are fighting like hell to save this place.

      • avgjo
      • hunter

        then you can sit in your splendid room of defeat, sipping mint juleps and talk about what could have been.
        If you think the answer is to quit now because we got our noses bloodied, then go ahead. Quit.
        The people who saved Kansas from going slave did not let a little frustration get in their way.
        For me? I am giong to pour in more money on viable candidates, support Republicans leadership.
        Who is going to lead instead? Ron Paul? Michael Savage?
        You go to war- and this is a political war- with the army you have, not the army you wish you had in your dreams.

    • carolina
  • steveprost

    Both sides of the debate are right; its a win, but without reason to celebrate.

    True: This is the best deal on cuts the GOP could expect from
    a) THIS President and Senate, and
    b) without burning up needed political capital for future political fights from THIS uninformed US voting public

    AND

    True: hogan is absolutely right in this celebratory balloon popping post concerning the broader perspective of assessing ‘failure’ as over making any true progress in solving our nation’s looming disatrous fiscal nightmare as a party, which some around here would have us think. This ‘victory’ exposes the hypocrisy game-playing even our conservative leaders are (by necessity?) communicating in pretending we are beginning to turn the Titanic away from the iceburg with these, at best, token attempts. Anyone that says otherwise is too narrowly partisanly and optimistically focused. Such optimism with this trajectory of building on these pragmatic-practical small ‘victories’ (as the NRO lead article right now suggests suggest along with many around here who like to consider themselves higher thinker political sophisticates) are contributors to the problem.

  • Wayne

    but necessary comments and my contribution is tepid compared to many. The talk of a government shutdown having a negative impact on a fragile recovery made me laugh “what recovery?”

    It’s clear to me at least that we are in real fiscal trouble and for some unknown reason, we seem to be viewed by our representatives as little children incapable of understanding the complexities of running a large government. Let’s assume for a moment that is true, then, we really “need” a smaller government that is truly a representative democracy, not whatever form of we currently have.

    I will be attending my first Republican Party Precinct Committee conference soon and if possible apply for and secure a position to make a difference there. Though I know it is too late to impact the immediate future, it’s now a matter of long range planning if we are going to save this republic.

    Individual rights are more important now than ever. We need representatives that understand the evils of big government and big business and the politicians that stand at the intersection between them (Red and Blue) for profit. Representatives with backbone, conviction to founding principles.

    My two cents..

  • caboose

    capitulated, surrendered and it is as simple as that. As for creatin another entitlement for the “Poor and Minority’ in DC, well, that sucks! If we don’t fit into the protected class, ie, Poor and Minority, we are stuck with paying for our kids education and for those who are in capable of being educated.

  • veritaseequitas

    astounding. Considering the fact that Republicans/Conservatives DO NOT control the Senate or the White House, I think we did remarkably well yesterday. Some of the posters here sound as bad as the Liberal Left Wing Loonies that are currently in power (Reid, Schumer, Durbin & Pelosi are several that immediately come to mind). We have lived to fight another day, and we will have to fight this fight over and over again until we regain the White House and the Senate in 2012. And then we will still have to fight. I hope people remember this come the primaries, and instead of voting for some idiot Perot-like figure they think is a viable alternative, they vote for someone who will actually get in and continue to break down the walls of bloated government that are being erected around the American people.

    • hunter

      After a tough battle that you gain advantage in, you do not talk about how horrible the troops and their officers are.
      You redouble your support and pour in more resurces. Like viable Senate candidates.
      You get your leadership to talk about the chaos left by democrat unseriousness from the last two years.
      you take whatver you can get, whether it is an inch a foot a yard or a mile.
      But you take and take and take advantage and push your message until you win.
      this worked well for the dems who got us into this mess.
      it will work for us.
      What will not work is cutting down our leadership.
      What will not work is going home mad.
      That is what Obamna is counting on from Conservatives.

      • Wayne

        analogy but this is not a military exercise. And being of more or less of a “Marshall” mentality myself, I’m sympathetic to it. However, the fact is that we can and should hold our leaders accountable to us. In a representative democracy, our they are there at our pleasure, not the other way around. I agree we should not go away from this angry with our leaders, but objectively recognized who did what and why. Without an objective analytical appraisal of who is in agreement with Constitutional principles and actively engaged in the battle, rather than, political positioning themselves, we will not win the war.

        They have to know we will hold them accountable.

        My two cents…

        • hunter

          Do you recognize that we control one of two Houses in the legislative branch and that the democrats control the White House?

          • Wayne

            My response was to the idea put forward in your analogy that we shouldn’t criticize our leadership. I stayed away from the issue of “troops” since I don’t see that as a subject worth debating. My opinion is the same as yours with the exception of the analogy of “troops and officers”. By officers I presume you are referring to our leadership and unlike the military where one merely accepts orders or pay the price for disobeying, our republic allows us as individual citizens to hold our leaders accountable for their actions. Yes, in the military officers are held accountable for their actions, but in those quarters lives are at steak. In this instance the future of our country and the republic as we know it is at stake. It’s a small point to spent so much time debating with you and probably not worth bickering about so I’ll end this with:

            In the spirit of your analogy: We hold the high ground in this battle in an easily defendable position, we can take some chances to gain further advantage without exposing our flanks.. and in doing so, deliver a blow to the enemy’s troops that can be capitalized on by reducing their ability to do harm. We shouldn’t be regrouping when we have the enemy on the run…;-)

            my two cents….

          • hunter

            We have the House.
            Period.
            We do not have the Senate.
            We do not have the WH.
            We sure as heck do not have the messaging.
            We have done well.
            We can do much better.

          • Wayne

            has lost all of it’s credibility on the right, much of it’s credibility on the left, it is back stepping and regrouping constantly (the most recent example is Eric Holder’s turning over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to a military tribunal at Guantanamo of all places) and much to his displeasure (a pleasure to watch). All in a fruitless effort to convince the American people that they are not in fact “stupid” (Libya = Waterloo for Obama just another example). We have the White House and Senate scared, ineffective and confused (from the fear of what has happened in the House. Period! Democrats in the Senate and those remaining in the house are running scared of the potential collapse of their “gains” in the face of a waking American majority.

            The Tea Party is actively engaging in the same activist activities that sweep Obama into power. And, all reporting indicates much more successfully. Even the median is confused about how to report the Tea Party from a propaganda POV because it infiltrates every denomination of political and social circles. If you haven’t already, then go to a Tea Party meeting near you and you will see what I am talking about.

            The myopic paradigm you have expressed is a weakness we cannot afford. We have the high ground! Now we pursue the enemy until we utterly destroy their chances to reduce the quality of life that is our right to pursue unfettered by government interference. A quality of life that has been lost for most average Americans (and may not be possible to regain in face of the federal debt). It’s really our children and grandchildren’s future we are fighting for. We created this problem, and now it’s time to face it. Unflinchingly, with dignity and resolve.

            The political “pragmatism” you are encouraging is wise council, but unnecessary in light of the grassroots uprising sweeping the nation. Even the Unions, State and Federal employees are not immune from the influences of the Tea Party. I have first hand knowledge and experience in meetings where many have been present. I have spoken to many of them myself and found them to be as concerned about the direction our republic is shifting as we are. They are Republicans, Democrats and Independents. But they are too scared of reprisals to “come out”. They are sympathetic, encouraged and engaged in reversing our course even if it means being silent supporters.

            None of this doesn’t mean that we can’t conduct ourselves in a civil and respectful way. It does however, mean that we do not have to be afraid to take advantage of our gains. Socialist and marxist infiltrating our government can not do so with impunity. And, that large corporations influencing policy for profit should be held accountable to the American people for their crimes of fraud and collusion to rob the treasury. Bringing them to trial and prison must be as much a part of our move to regain the Republic as capturing the Senate and White House. Not by “Republicans” alone, but by truly patriotic Americans that are living the consequences of generations of progressive policies and thinking. If there is such a thing as Conservative Democrats, they will be the one’s to remain. Remember that the Republican party today looks very much as the Democratic Party did in the 50′s.

            Make no mistake, this is something big! Sides are being chosen and it will be important to know which side one stands as the economy and our position as the world’s only true free democratic super power are undermined from the top down! More Americans are learning the truth about what is going on in this country and the world economically every day. And, as that knowledge grows so does our ability to wrench control of our destiny from the Statist progressives that threaten the most successful social experiment in human history. If we don’t act as one powerful and united force, we will all be subjects of the state rather than individual citizens in a free nation.

            It’s the Constitution we at the Tea Party are “preaching”, not radical Islam, or revolution, but pure, simply, time tested rules for government by and for the people. We are educating those that have been living the American dream to learn the principles that created it for them and appreciate the lives sacrificed to protect it. Everyday citizens that have been too preoccupied with making a living as “independent citizens” to see the forces at work against them. Forces driven by self-service and greed. Distorted class nepotism insidiously eating away at the Constitutional protections afforded us by the founding fathers. John Adams said that Democracy is destined to commit suicide from within. That is why we are a Republic first and a Democracy second. Or, more accurately “Democratic Republic”.

            All this is why we do not need to be afraid to let those “leaders” know we are watching. It should instill fear in them and insure continuing down the path we are turning this behemoth. Though it is too late for many, they will still join the fight!

            I apologize for this passionate rant, but your post, stirred something deep in me!

            My two cents…

          • audax
  • minncon

    Yep, just what I thought would happen is playing out. You can’t win a public perception war with a un-natural leader in charge. Anything goodnthat’s happened so far has been in spite of Republican leadership.

  • hunter

    For this, when the problem is in the White House and the Senate.
    Why is this happening?
    When we take the Senate, keep the House and toss out the incumbant, then we can start blaming Republican leadership.
    If you think we can fix this charlie foxtrot government spending problem by eviscerating the Republicans in the House and diminsihing the tea party backed candidates who got as much as they could, you are smoking crack.

  • liedtwo

    Out of control

  • silentcal2012

    The headline is WIINNING.

    • proudgop

      There are a lot things we won on here and some we lost ( not having WH nor Senate I never sadly expected them). I am glad there will be votes on ObamaCare ( Tester, Nelson(s), Manchin, Pryor, etc will have written votes but this happened already) and same with PP ( sadly people like Snowe, Collins, Brown, Murkowski, Kirk, and probably even Lugar will side with Dems so we never had shot here ( Planned Parenthood is out in NYC all week on sidewalks asking for money)

      My negative is I do think House Republicans did very well but I fear the public will also give boost to Obama. I doubt many know what is package or true debt we are facing they will just read headlines and Obama might be helped.

  • coinguy1945

    I want cuts deep enough to make the illegals, blacks and other undesirables leave America when their welfare and food stamps are cut off. Why was there no end of FEDERAL unions like in Wisconsin? I am ashamed that Boener betrayed us and the lives of innocent babys. He will pay heavily.

    • avgjo
    • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

      Now.

      [*Yes, it's actually Eagle Publishing's nice, clean website. The larger point stands.]

  • traversecityconservative

    We need MORE tea party members in Congress – people that might actually do what’s best for the country. When can we have a re-vote on Speaker of the House? In 2012? We need more newbies. Republicans don’t know how to play the game even when they hold the cards, have the public on their side and the momentum. I don’t care if we only hold the House. We should ONLY send out bills that are Conservative and good for the country. Let the Dems and Obama stop them. So nothing gets done…Too bad. It should be our way or the highway now. Dumb idiots.

  • Michael Dugas

    We’d have to come up with 1.42 trillion in cuts just to be able to stop borrowing 4 billion a day as a government to survive. Not counting what we owe. Extremely depressing

    • kowalski

      As bizarre as this sounds, the Democrats have to have a political reason to accomplish the entitlement program cuts they know have to be made. They’re not leaders, they’re leaving the leadership to us so that they can alternately blame or celebrate us.

      But the entitlement programs are now recognized as a real problem, even among the cartoonists of the Washington Post. Even Tom Toles is starting to get the message.

      http://www.gocomics.com/tomtoles/2011/02/15

      By the way, in all the years I’ve read Tom Toles cartoons that’s the first that I’ve seen portraying bloated entitlements that way. It’s about time.

      The entitlement programs are going to bankrupt this country if they haven’t already. Everyone knows it. But the *political* game about who gets to take the credit for reforming that problem hasn’t even begun. The Democrats are starting to do the math and realize that too. But it’s not going to be a straightforward contest.

    • kowalski

      They’re willfully blind and there’s no stopping them. They’re going to sink this counry for good.

  • snowshooze

    No, it was a spending deal.
    There were no cuts.
    I had hoped for more.
    Around here, a budget is a plan to direct our spending over a period of time to sustain, support and expand operations. Yep, we are going to pay the light bill, go to the grocery store and our capital investment is additional insulation to the attic., thusly lowering future O&M monies.
    t wasn’t. There were no cuts as compared to the previous budget, it was still an expansion. We are still in reverse, China is buying foreclosed properties with dollars.
    Granted, there was a bit of a fray, but I want to see red blood. I think it was a show, and we were thrown a bone.
    What’s it gonna take??? Let the Democrats shut it down. Then keep it that way until they accept reality.

    • hunter

      There is no budget.
      This was a continuing resolution.
      That was always very clear.
      There will be no budget until October at the earliest.
      The democrats do not want a budget as you describe it.
      They want to continue to hold America hostage to their extremism and irresponsibility.

  • Marcus_Traianus

    but I have to say this is a pretty good start.

    A party never gets everything they want in a negotiation. In fact, some points exist simply to be used as a throw-away. On the key points, we did pretty good, considering we only control one-third of the government.

    Now let’s finish the job.

  • http://www.timelyrenewed.com timelyrenewed

    it is not enough to reduce spending in one year or session of Congress. That is a retail solution when the problem is wholesale. We need to redress the underlying distortions of the Constitution which have allowed the federal government to expand far beyond its original constitutional powers, not nitpick at separate individual usurpations. We need to amend the Constitution to restore the original constitutional structure which limited the federal government’s ability to expand to such a ridiculous size and power.

    However, this is difficult to achieve when Congress holds a monopoly on initiating constitutional amendments. The solution is an “amendment amendment” which gives the States the ability to initiate constitutional amendments without a convention. This will allow grassroots constitutionalists to press a program of amendments carefully drafted to achieve the restoration of the original constitutional structure as well as such useful improvements as a balanced budget amendment without having to go through Washington at all. Only this will permanently constrain federal overreach of the sort rejected by the people last November. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

  • tedglover

    (I kind of mentioned this on antoher post, but I feel strongly about this, lol).

    And that was the fact that American troops in harm’s way would not receive a paycheck. I don’t care whether or not it could’ve been ‘spun’ to place the onus on Democrats that the shutdown was their fault or not, it is unacceptable in a time of war that those that defend us don’t get paid.

    That said, this was a good start. Folks, we have shifted the battle to the point that the Democrats are now fighting on our ground. The debate isn’t wheter we should cut or not, it’s how much we should cut.

    Yes, in many ways, this was somewhat symbolic, but there a re real cuts in here…not reductions in projected spending increases, but By God cuts.

    It is a paradigm shift in politics, and Boehner was able to keep most of his powder dry for the Ryan budget fight, and that is the hill where we need to make our stand on, not this one.

  • Dr. Botkin

    The government media is fawning over the orange one’s “one heck of a spending deal.”

    Apparently Obummer spiked Boehner’s cigarettes with some of the Kenyan pot his brother sends him from home.

    • Doc Holliday
      • Dr. Botkin

        but if it works for you, go for it.

        • Doc Holliday

          I think the site is getting attacked by Moby’s. Sure some of us are unhappy, but this is not the time to start acting like crazy liberal haters. We have seen Democrat leaders make the most absurd attacks in recent days, which is why we should separate ourselves from them so all can see the difference. We don’t need people from our own side using the same inflammatory rhetoric. Also, I am tiring of the people that can never accept a win for their own side.

          • powertothepeople

            Lightening that is, I agree 100% again. The silly attempt at humor above, if you want to call it that, was a failure, it does get old that people refuse to see progress for what it is, and it grows even older that people demand things that can not be accomplished until we own more than just the house. We could pass anything in the house and until we do not have an automatic failure to pass in Senate, and if by some chance it did pass, a veto pen in the white house, it just does not matter. We have to win completely in 2012 in order to get these lofty goals accomplished. If they fail then, then the pissing and moaning will have value.

          • Doc Holliday

            Boehner has certainly taken flak from all sides, his job is quite thankless. Conservatives I know think it was an accomplishment for our side, considering the circumstances. Some have no real skin in the game so they can set impossible, moving standards. I think our side has made up some ground since 2008. You would think this, plus Wisconsin would at least make people content for a day or so.

            I have seen a lot of new posters here recently, which at first blush seems like a good thing. It is on thing to be on the leading edge, and another to marginalize yourself. I hope we don’t marginalize ourselves.

          • aesthete

            Maybe I just have low expectations as a result of the absolutely disgraceful leadership in both parties for the last 10 years, but I’m pretty happy that we have scared the same crew that gave us Medicare Pt D into at least giving a decent shot at reducing the deficit. Would I like a bigger cut? Of course, but I also don’t believe in biting off more than we can chew. Social Security will be incredibly easy to reform, when it comes down to it; Ryan’s plan reduces projected government spending as a measure of GDP from 24% to ~20%; it balances the budget as time progresses. Considering that we only have the House, and that the Dems still have the Senate and the Presidency, that’s quite bold! I’d like to see even more if we get control of either (or both!) in 2012, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, this is excellent — especially considering the bunch of frauds still up there.

          • runner12

            It just struck me as odd that all of these comments suddenly appeared from people who I have rarely and/or never seen comment.m
            N
            I could be wrong, but some of the statements seem a little out there.

  • sowa1

    I am so sick of hearing all of you bash Republicans. You want to help them????? the vote for them for the Senate and White House. Obama is only saying the right things now because he is running again. If, God forbid) he gets four more years, nothing will stop him from going as far left as he really is. His Health Care bill has tons of money for the Unions. We are paying for it. All of that money will go right back to him for his Campaign. A billion dollare campaign??? Talk about buying an office.

  • ashland_avenue

    Particularly in light of a live program Muslims in Michigan, a Community Conversation co sponsored by Calvin College and Michigan Radio for Wednesday in Grand Rapids.

    Why are we spending public funds to sponsor what appears to be a conversion solicitation program?

    The announcement is here http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=1b2ad5753753f210VgnVCM100000a3b1d38dRCRD&vgnextchannel=f03c045d0e572110VgnVCM1000004b01010aRCRD

    I just can’t wait for public discussion by recent converts just how wonderful it is becoming Muslim. Especially since in small part I am paying for the program.

    • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

      I don’t see where that says it’s getting CPB funding.

      • ashland_avenue

        Here is a snapshot of where Michigan Public Radio funding comes from and goes to:

        Operating revenues:

        1,433 Underwriting ie advertising

        528 Corporation for Public Broadcasting

        160 Federal and non government sponsored programs

        226 Trade

        198 Other

        2,545 Total operating revenues

        Operating expenses

        3,678 Programming and production

        490 Engineering

        1,507 Development

        820 Management and general

        6,595

        Indirect expenses

        214 Programming and production

        36 Engineering

        88 Development

        53 Management and general

        391

        6,986 Total operating expenses

        4,440 Operating Loss

        3,434 Listener gifts

        695 Univ Appropriations

        391 Administrative support

        16 Net investment income

        4,536 Non operating income

        95 Net income before other revs

        In answer to your question, Neil, it is true that there is no line item available which ties directly to sponsorship of the even in Grand Rapids.

        However, Michigan Radio does support three radio stations playing to a highly defined niche audience. When the full force of those stations gets behind an event such as the Grand Rapids Community Conversation, it is not a trivial endorsement.

        Imagine, for example, trying to promote Prairie Home Companion concerts without NPR affilliates to support ticket sales. As the above data suggests, about ten cents of every dollar spent by Michigan Radio originate with either the federal government or the CPB.

        Imagine, if you dare, the outcry which would emerge if there were a Community Conversation around a Catholic program, one including testimonials of people who had recently converted to that denomination. All hell would break lose, so to speak.

        Financials are here http://www.michiganradio.org/media/docs/MPMRadioFY10.pdf

        • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

          If the station is sponsoring the show, and the station itself is getting direct funding, then CPB is helping sponsor the show.

  • ihateliberals

    the message the Tea Party sent to it. They can’t wrap their little RINO minds around the fact that conservatives are on the way back. we don’t want weak kneed RINO’s like Boehner compromising and giving into the Democrats. Boehner thinks he is fulfilling his promise to the Tea party about Obamacare and Spending. He has done nothing to defund Obamacare and the Spending cuts he has agreed to are token at best. The Tea Party really ins’t a Party. It is a movement within the Republican party to bring it back in li9ne with Conservative Values again.

    When are the Republicans going to stop being drawn into this Krap about compromise. the only time compromise is brought up is when the liberals are losing. There was no compromise when they passed Obamacare. we should not compromise with them at all. This “can’t we all just get along” bull needs to stop.

  • whatwillyoudowithoutfreedom

    This guy is one of those college idiots that has probably never had a real job dealing with the problems that he writes about. He’s almost assuredly one of the same know it alls that got blind sided by the last major down fall. Yet they and others like him want to sit there and tell the rest of the world what went wrong and what to do about it and he expects the sheep to follow his advise.

    Here’s a heads up, listen to the people that told you the last crisis was coming before you lost it all and this guy is not one of them. I don’t know why these idiots think that running a Gov is any different that your own home or business. Only Gov. thinks that spending more will get you out of debt. The only thing it does is prolong the pain and make it twice as bad. Contrary to what the author of this article would like for you to believe the great depression was a perfect example of that. Just think about it out of all the graduates from our best college’s who got it right? Answer none of them. Look at what the college’s did with their own money. They where all wrong and this is suppose to be our best and brightest.