Last Friday, ten House Republican leaders sent a letter to President Barack Obama. In it, they offered to work across party lines and Congressional divisions with the new president to achieve the latter’s stated commitment “to fiscal transparency and accountability and ensuring that [all] spending commitments are paid for without burdening our children and grandchildren with excessive debt,” and to “slash[ing] earmarks to no greater than 1994 levels and ensur[ing] all spending decisions are open to the public.”
The Republican leaders wrote:
In keeping with these pledges to the American people, we urge you to veto the so-called “omnibus” spending bill passed this week if the Senate fails to reject it.
Like the trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill that was rushed through Congress without any Member having read it, the $410 billion legislation passed this week openly defies your commendable objectives of fiscal transparency and accountability. It contains nearly 9,000 “airdropped” earmarks, most of which were not even considered in committee let alone on the House floor as is routine — compared to roughly 4,000 in 1994. …
Most Americans would agree this is not fiscal transparency or fiscal accountability. Rather, it is business-as-usual in Washington spending: fiscal negligence. And it comes at the worst possible moment for financially-strapped American families who are struggling to make ends meet and are incensed at Washington’s penchant for waste and fiscal excess.
This is a wonderful opportunity for bipartisanship and strong leadership. Republicans want to work with you to bring spending-as-usual to a halt in Washington and to impose a new standard of bipartisan fiscal discipline that reflects the sacrifices being made by families and small businesses across America. We stand ready to work with you to produce a better bill.
Kudos to Reps. Blunt, Boehner, Cantor, Carter, Dreier, McCarthy, McCotter, Pence, Rodgers, and Sessions for giving The Great Uniter, President Obama, an opportunity to put his money where his mouth is in more ways than one.
First, in reaching out to him, they are giving him the opportunity to show that he really can, contra his entire past record, work across the aisle and find areas of agreement across party lines (and heck, in exchange for an actual act of compromise and responsibility, House Republicans would probably even agree to let Obama take credit for taking the initiative on the bipartisanship!).
Second, the House Republicans really are throwing down the gauntlet on the “change” President Obama promised to “bring” to Washington when he relocated to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue from his previous position, way down the street on Capitol Hill. To date, Obama has been able to get by with cachphrases and slogans, all of which provide lip service to the “change,” “responbsibility,” and “new politics” the former Chicago Democrat claimed would accompany him to the White House, without actually acting in any differentiable way from the politics-as-usual of time immemorial within the Washington Beltway.
Personally, my money is on President Obama outright rejecting this offer of bipartisan cooperation, despite the fact that it is nothing more than an offer to help him accomplish exactly that which he stated was his goal as president: changing Washington politics and bringing transparency and responsibility back to the spending process.
After all, he’s been able to get away with saying one thing and doing something else entirely thus far; why would he suddenly assume the American people will call him out on doing the same now?
Sounds like surrender
unfatmatt Friday, March 6th at 2:26PM EST (link)Sad. This isn’t the end I’d like to see. So let’s say President Obama agrees to cut spending and get rid of earmarks. Couldn’t he still push socialized healthcare, gun control, release terrorists, FOCA, fairness doctrine (by any other name) higher taxes, etc.? How is that winning? How is that good?
Republicans need to STOP REQUESTING EARMARKS altogether. Let the Democrats load up on all the earmarks they want, but the Republicans need to practice restraint and have their own anti-earmark pact. Nobody is making them request earmarks.
Did you even read the post at all?
Jeff Emanuel Friday, March 6th at 2:30PM EST (link)JE
That was my initial response also.
Praying Friday, March 6th at 2:34PM EST (link)But I don’t think he’ll agree to cut spending and get rid of earmarks. Nothing he has done in the past 45 days would give any indication that he gives a rats a$$ about actually keeping his campaign promises - at least not the more “moderate” promises. He’s moved so completely left that sometimes I wonder if he or Pelosi will fall off the edge of the earth first.
Join the RedState Strike Force
Yes I did
unfatmatt Friday, March 6th at 2:54PM EST (link)Does this earmark proposition only include wasteful spending, or does it also include a ban on those little non-spending extras like another step toward amnesty or higher minimum wage?
So the answer is "denser than an iron brick"
Jeff Emanuel Friday, March 6th at 5:51PM EST (link)Got it; thanks
JE
Initially it sounded smart to me.
paulincolo Friday, March 6th at 2:54PM EST (link)However, with Obama, any and all deals can change at any time. Although, I don’t think he will take them up on this with the “last year’s business” and all, if he does he is going to extract something much bigger and call it bipartisan or outright blame the Repubs. It is much better to just stand firm and oppose Obama’s socialist policies at every turn than attempt any deal.
[Robot Devil appears]
Bender: What up?
Beelzebot, The Robot Devil: Oh. Well it so happens that I’m in the mood to make a deal with you.
Bender: Forget it. You can’t tempt me.
Beelzebot, The Robot Devil: Really? There’s nothing you want?
Bender: Hmm. I forgot you could tempt me with things I want.
From Futurama episode
The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings
Oh, he'll make some lofty speech about uniting
Steph C Friday, March 6th at 3:31PM EST (link)in the spirit of bipartisanship and then go ahead and do whatever it is he feels like doing, while waving that letter as his carte blanche to do it.
“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” –Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772
Hillbilly Politics
Nice try...
franklinslocke Friday, March 6th at 3:47PM EST (link)The political strategy was sound, because it makes Obama look worse. It will put pressure on Obama at a critical time when he is already looking bad in the media. Problem. Every time you reach across the aisle the Dems break you arms. In other words, they will make you look bad or make it not politically advantageous. Be careful where you step, especially when Obama is cornered and floundering.
http://franklinslocke.blogspot.com/
I agree, Jeff. We all know where this will end up to.
Rod_Patrick Friday, March 6th at 3:48PM EST (link)NOTHING… NADA… A VAIN EFFORT.
On a second thought, why not give it a try?
But….. I will be he first one to laugh if this one fails.
"slash[ing] earmarks to no greater than 1994 levels"
bk Friday, March 6th at 4:05PM EST (link)So if the Dems drop all the earmarks that GOP people put in, leave all the Dem pork, and that gets them to Porkulus Lite/BAU/1994, then the GOP would support it?
C'mon people, get a grip
bs Friday, March 6th at 4:38PM EST (link)There is no way that Boehner, et. al. thought for one minute that Obama would do this. No way. For him to do what they propose would mean he would have to spit directly into Pelosi’s face. If he doesn’t do it, then he proves that he has no intent to fulfill his promises. This is a win/win for the GOP. It’s like the old “have you stopped beating your wife?” conundrum.
This is a great strategy. It’s much better than simply voting against the bill - this way we provide an alternative and the American people see that we made an effort to cooperate.
Decorum is fo’ suckas
More like a non-loss than a win/win.
paulincolo Friday, March 6th at 7:12PM EST (link)The American people will see nothing. The MSM won’t report it, it hasn’t even hit Drudge or Insty, and the RNC is in a communication incommunicado.
Oh, ok, so let's sit on our butts and do nothing then
bs Friday, March 6th at 11:33PM EST (link)That’ll go far
:rolls eyes:
Decorum is fo’ suckas
who said anything about doing nothing?
paulincolo Saturday, March 7th at 1:48AM EST (link)is this effective strategy? me: no you: yes
:get glasses:
What about their own earmarks?
weave Friday, March 6th at 5:19PM EST (link)I think this is a positive step that I hope Obama takes them up on, but some of them have earmarks in there as well. Admittedly low compared to many of the other reps, and I have no data on whether their’s were the ones snuck in or done in the open.
Blunt, 19 earmarks, $8.6 million
Boehner, 0 earmarks, $0
Cantor, 0 earmarks, $0
Carter, 10 earmarks, $7.4 million
Dreier, 14 earmarks, $17.2 million
McCarthy, 0 earmarks, $0
McCotter, 0 earmarks, $0
Pence, 0 earmarks, $0
Rodgers, 0 earmarks, $0
Sessions, 7 earmarks, $15.7 million
Source: http://www.taxpayer.net/resources.php?type=Project&proj_id=1961
I must say that I think it is shame that the puny issue of earmarks has been so elevated
Mike gamecock DeVine Friday, March 6th at 7:21PM EST (link)The real danger is from the non-earmark, non-pork permanent growth of government aspects of the stimulus, budget and the omnibus bill.
more later
Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson
I Actually Agree With You
IJB Friday, March 6th at 7:52PM EST (link)It’s not that earmarks aren’t important on both a symbolic and a practical/operational level.
It’s that, as of right now, they are so far *down* the list of things to worry about that it’s not even funny.
Don’t get me wrong - if played right, our side can get some rhetorical advantage out of the thing.
But it should be looked at for that, and not a whole lot much else.
thanks and agreed - nt
Mike gamecock DeVine Friday, March 6th at 8:00PM EST (link)Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson
Yes and no, earmarks are just the tip of the iceberg, but
6eorge Jetson Friday, March 6th at 7:57PM EST (link)if our representatives are that cavalier about what stands out, you know they’re not going to be prudent with our money in regards to the larger mass under the surface.
Indeed.
bs Friday, March 6th at 11:32PM EST (link)Earmarks are a minuscule percentage of the astronomical deficit spending that is being proposed.
Decorum is fo’ suckas
Setup for a Sellout
JLenardDetroit Friday, March 6th at 5:46PM EST (link)More squishy Republicans on the horizon…. seems they are succumbing to the “Bi-Partisanship Disease” AGAIN….. seems they are worried about the LEFT rhetoric on the “Obama To Fail” (which I was more than happy to be on record embracing the appropriate term, language, and argument since before inauguration [welcome aboard others now the bandwagon is built and rolling]) message they never wanted to HONESTLY DISCUSS, or even to nuance - they see the Bandwagon coming and are performing a preemptive jump from the ship before the message accidentally (as they see it) may work!
WE ARE WATCHING… AND WE WILL TARGET YOU SELLOUTS!!
Settling for LESS EARMARKS rather than ZERO is NOT ACCEPTABLE! If any one item is so important, let each and every one of them be introduced as a stand alone Bill and be voted by the whole body UP OR DOWN. I will respect some of them passing that way, if they can be adequately argued - no more of this hiding them knowing they can’t stand on their own!
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (Reco) (Quotes) (removeRINOs.com) (Merry RSmas)
+ 0bama Lies & your Bank acct will Die! (4/15 Truthers)
+ Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
+ I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” - a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Kowalski: I spoke with several offices about "Bi-Partisanship"...
JLenardDetroit Friday, March 6th at 6:06PM EST (link)Sorry, previous title should have ended with a “?”….
I POSITIVELY AGREE WITH PURSUING THIS APPROACH as I’ve gone on and on all over RS and in discussions with Republican Representative offices about how the great unwashed across America are indeed hung-up on this Bi-Partisanship notion….. this addresses that and works toward the CORRECT angle of Bi-Partisanship is AGAINST the Spending (just one of the reminders)…. BUT THEY MUST STAND FIRM IF SUBSTANTIAL COOPERATION FROM OBAMA ISN’T TO TRULY BE SEEN! otherwise they must continue TO OPPOSE AT EVERY TURN THE SOCIALIST AGENDA! As I said elsewhere here at RS (sorry, no link, it scrolled off my list already) WHERE ARE THE FILIBUSTERS? I want to see Republicans taking any and every legal approach to stall, delay, kill, etc, this rush to Bankrupt the country… I want to see Republicans in the Senate to Filibuster to the point where they are all hospitalized for exhaustion and therefore unable to Filibuster anymore!!!! It is ONLY that way that people will start to take notice, the MSM cannot cover forever, and our message to finally start to sink in that this is NOT the way to come out of this Recession and that Obama’s method might indeed bring a Depression not avoid one!
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (Reco) (Quotes) (removeRINOs.com) (Merry RSmas)
+ 0bama Lies & your Bank acct will Die! (4/15 Truthers)
+ Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
+ I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” - a Rush caller (other Quotes)
There are no "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" filibusters any more
bk Friday, March 6th at 9:52PM EST (link)You either have 60 votes or you don’t. Of course if you’re in the majority and you’re a D, you just delay the vote until you get enough Rs to go along. It’s a given that some will cave eventually 99% of the time. And sometimes the R leader will chicken out and agreed to limit debate in advance.
which is really
Caleb Howe Friday, March 6th at 9:54PM EST (link)the fundamental flaw.
- c
Caleb Howe (formerly known as absentee)
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