Unbelievable, right? That the Senate majority leader would continue follow up deception and betrayal with abject, preemptive surrender. That McConnell would give up hard-won spending caps that actually worked for… well, for nothing. Not only is it not unbelievable it is guaranteed.
Senate Majority Leader [mc_name name=’Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000355′ ] (R., Ky.) said Wednesday that Republicans would “inevitably” enter into discussions with the White House later this year over raising federal spending limits, reviving a debate within the GOP.
Those limits, set in a 2011 budget agreement, imposed strict caps on overall spending levels for a decade. They triggered the across-the-board cuts known as the sequester in 2013 and are poised to cap spending for the next fiscal year at levels neither party likes. So far, GOP leaders have said little about how they might reach a longer-term budget agreement with President Barack Obama this winter.
…
“We are inevitably going to end up in negotiations that will crack the Budget Control Act once again,” Mr. McConnell said.
If you want to delve into how McConnell’s thought processes work take a gander at this:
Passing a clean continuing resolution in the next few weeks, which McConnell again emphasized should not include measures favored by conservatives to end funding for Planned Parenthood, “will give time for us to engage with the administration in determining how much we’re going to spend and where we’re going to spend it” later this year, he said.
Though he called it “unfortunate,” McConnell said his warning was born of practicality. Democrats blocked several spending measures earlier this year, telling Republicans that they would not pass any new funding bills unless the majority agreed to turn back sequestration cuts on nondefense programs. And, McConnell said, President Obama is “in a key position” to veto any new spending bills that allow sequestration cuts to go through as planned.
This is just inconceivable. All McConnell has to do is pass continuing resolutions. This would actually shrink the federal budget as a percent of GDP. It would also keep the government running so McConnell doesn’t come down with a case of night terrors worrying about a shutdown (like the one which won the Senate for the GOP in 2014). Why would he even give Obama spending increases as we go into an election year?
But McConnell has come to the conclusion that progress is measured by process not by outcome. He doesn’t care about what happens to the nation, he just cares that there is an orderly process for sending us all to perdition.
By the way, do you know who else was in favor of removing spending caps? [mc_name name=’Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000146′ ].
On the other hand, we at least can say this is not Failure Theater.
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