From the diaries by Erick
Tuesday’s continuing resolution vote is a snapshot of contradiction. Despite the fears, there’s no need for a government “shutdown”. It’s truthfully unnecessary with “essential services” continuing, nonetheless.
Here’s the problem. Five months ago, a sweeping election occurred in Tennessee and across the nation that elected folks who ran on pledges of repealing or defunding Obamacare, defunding Planned Parenthood, and overall conservative leadership. On Tuesday, there were only 54 conservative members of the US House who voted the same way they campaigned.
The facts are that a democratically controlled US House & Senate abdicated their Constitutional duty to submit a budget for the 2011 calendar year by September 2010. That budget would have easily passed. Because of their failure, continuing resolutions for funding now have to originate in the current U.S. House to keep funding our federal government.
The “conservative” majority has now had the opportunity to present proposals via the continuing resolutions that would not just “cut” spending, but do so specifically in areas, like the expansive health care law, that will add to the federal and states’ deficits. Republicans have squandered their pledge.
Bottom line: Wisconsin Democrats only mimicked the action seen in Washington in fleeing their duties. Republicans hold the reins of leadership but act contrary to their campaign promises. Public distrust of elected officials only grows when actions and words are such a bundle of contradiction. To borrow a line from Wisconsin, “Shame, Shame, Shame!”
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
The GOP House *did* enact sizable cuts and a heapload of policy riders.
juumanistra (Diary) Wednesday, March 16th at 4:31PM EST (link)H.R. 1 did precisely that, making a statement about what the the House was hoping to accomplish. It promptly died a quick death in the Senate. If you have a recipe for making conservative policy riders acceptable to a working majority of the Senate, by God, please let us in on it so that we can put it into effect. Otherwise, it’s just needlessly mau-mauing the 112th House for having the temerity to just want to get through this fiscal year with the budgetary limbo inherited from the 111th.
As I find myself constantly muttering these days, the diaries decrying the “squandering” of the promise of the Tea Party’s are overblown and premature. When there was a failure to pass a budget last year, it was clear this fiscal year was going to be a wash for those looking for good government. One simply does not radically up-end the financing of the federal government when the fiscal year’s halfway done and, for better or worse, the deficits were baked into the cake when the Dems punted on actually doing a budget. That there have been [i]any[/i] cuts is a rather nice surprise, given how legislative inertia can be.
Everyone needs to keep their powder dry until the House GOP rolls out the FY 2012 budget. That is the document which, for better or worse, will provide true indications about their commitment to restoring fiscal sanity and degree of urgency which they ascribe to it.
H.R. 1 needs to go back to the Senate every month!
audax (Diary) Thursday, March 17th at 2:43AM EST (link)The GOP ans Tea Party need to keep reminding voters why we need to win even bigger majorities in 2012!
Audeamus pro audere est facere
Good Company
Robin Smith (Diary) Wednesday, March 16th at 4:55PM EST (link)I’m pretty satisfied to be in the company of the Heritage Foundation, the Club for Growth, the Family Research Council, Let Freedom Ring, etc. The democratically-controlled Congress had their opportunity to fund these programs and agencies fully in September 2010. For the GOP leadership to relinquish leadership & fund these programs with little change is not principled leadership.
We all look forward to the 2012 budget. However, the moment to lead began in January at swearing-in.
Robin Smith (robints)
Well said...
flteng8251 Thursday, March 17th at 7:46AM EST (link)I couldn’t agree more.
US Navy Chief Petty Officer (retired)
Initiated by choice, proud of tradition