The end of the line for continuing resolutions?
By JR Hoeft | Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 | Policy54 Republicans jumped-off the “continuing resolution” train last night as another stopgap budget measure passed-through Congress 271-158.
While the focus might be on these so-called “defections”, interesting to note that 19 less Democrats supported this CR because it cut “too much.”
$4 billion was cut from the previous CR and $6 billion was cut in this CR, but defunding ObamaCare and Planned Parenthood has not occurred. For each CR, this has amounted to about $2 billion per week.
“I think this is tremendous leverage for leadership,” said conservative Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who voted against the measure. “Now, the [majority] leader and the Speaker have said we have taken this as far as we can go, and our members are not going to take it further unless we can get something.”
Most conservatives would like to cut at least $100 billion from the budget; Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has revised down his budget cut proposal from $500 billion to $200 billion.
Democrats have only proposed cutting $10 billion.
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Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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11 Responses to "The end of the line for continuing resolutions?"
I’m pleased the CR passed, and I find it unfortunate that there are 54 Republicans out there who don’t understand the Constitution and would rather see nothing cut rather than less than what we all want.
Brian S….you and the rest of the Republicans need to grow a pair…you’re being bullied by a bunch of idiots.
As the Republicans stay in their corner and allow Alinksilites to run rampant. I guess the Tea Party will need to take out a few more Republicans this round also.
As they should, the Republicans should just develop a budget with some balls and submit it. Let them veto or decline and then point to the Senate or President for vetoing it. If your waiting on the Dems to play ball by the rules. It’s not going to happen.
Besides the media just helps the Dems too. So, even though I understand your situation…at some point you need to stand up to the bully. Or they’ll continue to beat you up.
Why do you think Sarah Palin and Chris Christie are so popular? Along with Rand Paul… because they don’t take the left’s crap and they say it the way it should be. The silent majority is really getting tired of this BS…
Does anyone know if Harry Reid’s Cowboy Poetry got funded? I’m sure it did. I’m sure Barney Frank will love that.
Brian, …” would rather see nothing cut rather than less than what we all want.”
You are implying that the Repubs control of the budget means nothing since they could attach specific (popular or highly defensible) cuts to the budget and force the Dems to defend them. (Under Reagan didn’t House Dems force all kinds of spending increases unwanted by Reagan?) Even the 105 billion hidden Obamacare item could be validly argued as an invalid attempt to constrain a different Congress on a budget item and thrown out on that basis. Why wouldn’t the Dems cave on anything? They caved whenever Bush pressured them on the war. They cave whenever the NRA glowers in their direction. It seems that the Repubs are cutting nothing that unduly disturbs the Dems and Obama. You may be right that that is a great strategy but I feel you need to explain your reasoning more fully.
V, That’s the problem, as the Dems and media control the agenda, it’s time the Republicans stood up for something. They’ve been playing second fiddle even when the Dems didn’t have the majority.
As for positioning, it’s because of PR… Republicans are afraid that they will receive bad coverage even though they look like cowards while we have a $1.6T deficit.
Our DEFICIT ranks 9th in the world of economies! That means that we owe more than the whole country of Canada, Russia and India (less than $1.6T) can produce. Now, that’s just pathetic.
Brian S., I wish to apologize for the low blow in my previous comments, I personally did not intend to attack you. But I find it difficult to hear that my beliefs/ideals are understood as ignorant or just don’t understand. I understand completely.
We are in different times and as for years we would hear the Democrat propaganda about the cost of the Iraq War. Once they assume office, they spend like drunken sailor. People see that and they’re tired of politics as usual, this is why you have the Tea Party movement, Chris Christie and Sarah Palin. And there will be more to come. Instead of embracing this movement and understanding the aggravation, you label it as ignorant.
If you feel it isn’t understood than explain it rather than ridicule our position as ignorant.
In addition, it’s tough to watch as the Democrat Party acts like a bunch of bullies. And the Republicans are practicing appeasement. As I have never been in politics…it does not mean I was born yesterday. As these thugery and Alinski tactics clearly being practiced, it’s hard to watch while you’re getting your ass kicked by the bully.
John, you don’t need to apologize.
Here’s the issue – as I understand it, the Tea Party candidates went to Washington to cut spending. They didn’t go to Washington to play political games, to defund Planned Parenthood or NPR, or to try and force the Democrats to shut the government down.
I want cuts in government spending. You want cuts in government spending. We both want the same thing. The question is simple: how do we get there?
I’ll tell you one way we don’t get there – putting in cuts that we know full well Obama will veto and the Senate Democrats will never pass.
Is $4 billion in cuts enough? No. Is the additional $6 billion we just got enough? No. But that’s $10 billion in real cuts we just got passed.
HR 1 may have $60+ billion in cuts in it, but it will never be enacted into law. If everything we have been saying is true – that we can’t afford any more politics as usual and we can’t afford to not make these cuts – then we all need to recognize that playing chicken with the Democrats or posturing for the next election isn’t the point of what we’re doing here.
This isn’t campaigning anymore. Campaigning is over. It’s time to govern. And that means recognizing that while we only control one of the three bodies that need to sign off on legislation we need to be working in the realm of the possible, not the ideal. I will take $10 billion in real cuts that actually happen any day of the week over $100 billion in cuts that will never actually happen.
The House Republicans shouldn’t be attacked for getting “only” $10 billion in cuts. They should be praised for finding a way to back the Democrats in the corner and get $10 billion out of them.
If anybody got their ass kicked, it was the Democrats. They wanted nothing – they don’t want ANY cuts. We forced them into $10 billion worth over the last two CRs. It’s not good enough, but it’s a start.
Brian,
I disagree that the Dems are upset with the 10 billion in cuts. I think they are ecstatic. They spend 5 trillion and the Repubs cut 10 billion. Wouldn’t it be great to cut the 5 trillion and have the Dems put back 10 billion? Wouldn’t it be great to defund Obamacare 100% and have the Dems put back 2%? You also didn’t address the issue that Dems cave on all kinds of things. Why wouldn’t they cave on some properly justified cuts? (I do agree that NPR is not significant enough no matter how unjustified.)
I guess I might be more prepared to accept your logic if I saw a full court press against the Dems by the Congressional Repubs which constantly forced them on the defensive. Then at least if the Repubs win in 2012 they have public support for doing what must be done. At this point why wouldn’t the Dems just filibuster in the minority in 2013 and threaten the racist heartless Repubs with a govt shutdown unless they continue spending? To save the children of course.
I have to assume that your views are congruent with Boehner et al. The question I would ask is what exactly do you and they feel is an urgent issue worth fighting with the same intensity that Pelosi and Reid have to bankrupt the country and impose machine political control?
If the Republicans truly believe that the CR process is the best they can do then they need to make sure that certain specifics are in every CR. Tort Reform, Specific Bozobamacare program cuts, Restrictions and Reductions on the Department of Energy – Education – EPA – DHS – HHS – FCC – Interior – State Department – Funding for the UN – and decreases in federal pay and benefits – etc., etc.
Let the Democrats and President vote no or veto – Let the record reflect that these people want nothing more than for America to be a third world country. Every time the democrats delay or dither then cut more from programs that have already been cut.
Frankly, we the people, want to hear the pig squeal and we will vote out Republicans that are not up to the responsible task of making the future better for the next generation.
Brian,
To get to the point, the Republican’s message sucks! Obama started his campaign for 2012 a couple of months ago so the Republicans better get on board because he has. The Tea Party candidates were sent to DC to be fiscally responsible and a $1.6T deficit just doesn’t cut it. I own a business and cannot operate that way. It has been proven that the average government income equates to about 19% of GDP and current spending is around 26%. You just can’t operate that way.
As Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says, “Speaker Boehner should abandon the Tea Party and work to forge a bipartisan consensus. It’s the only way out of this bind.” That sounds exactly like DJ Spiker and he claims to be a conservative. As the Democrats veto or vote against the bill to defund NPR or Planned Parenthood, the Democrats actions show they are not willing to balance the budget. Obama’s budget has deficits for the remainder of the decade and a $21T debt so let’s just say that balancing a budget is not an objective. And the Democrats have said so…many times. So, why does the Republicans wish to live in this fantasy land?
This is why liberals attack talk radio and liberal stations need public funding? As WAVY TV-10 tests toothbrush for bacteria and Hollywood provides the latest Charlie Sheen clips, it’s time to have the right conversations.
And this Libya NO-FLY zone is about the dumbest thing I have ever seen…it is 31 days too late to help the rebels. The window has passed and proceeding with the resolution will get us in a third war.
What about Japan? The media coverage of Japan is a joke. While the media is concentrating on how the nuclear plants are going to destroy California and kill 100 people. The actual disaster, the tsunami, killed tens of thousands of people. To meet the liberal agenda, the media concentrates on the nuclear reactors.
I’m just saying…there’s a niche to fill. The problem is that we get crickets from Walker in Wisconsin when it comes to defending his position against the unions. You get crickets about defining the deficit debate while Democrats define the debate as a spending issue while they wish to spend galore.
The Republicans attempted to fix the housing debacle back in ’05 but you would never know that.
So, with that conclusion, liberal media exercises Alinski tactics through censor and intimidation…at some point you will need to stand up to the bully. Why not now because after 2012 this is it? European appeasement, here we come now they are held hostage.
Valentinus, as I said before, we aren’t campaigning anymore. The Tea Party guys (and that’s not just freshman) were sent here to cut the budget and create jobs. Defunding planned parenthood? Defunding NPR? Will that save any real money? No – the amounts there are miniscule at best and they are sacred cows to the Democrats that will kill any kind of chance for a bill that includes them to pass.
Yes, the Dems cave on things – but not on those kinds of things. You start larding up a budget cutting bill with abortion and other social issues and you will ensure that Democrats (and their interest groups) grow the backbone they need to fight and not get rolled.
That’s why what Boehner did was genius. We pass a bill that will never go anywhere. Democrats say they’re for cuts, just not these cuts. So Boehner gives them two CRs full of cuts proposed by the President himself – how can they argue against that? How can they shut the government down for that? They can’t. So we won.
And we got $10 billion in real cuts. Yes, it’s small. No, it’s not good enough. But they’re real. And I will take $10 billion in real cuts any day, especially if the alternative is nothing.
And that is the alternative. Even if we rolled the Senate, Obama would veto HR 1 and we couldn’t override it. Boehner is doing what he has to do to win this fight and he deserves credit, not derision for it.
Brian,
We have a CR that eliminates $10B every three weeks with a $1.6T deficit. At this rate, we will balance the budget in nine years. What type of patience do we need? Usually at the beginning of budgeting is the easiest time to find fat. Wait until we get to Democrats true sacred cows, Social Security and Medicare. …and even paying people not to work/unemployment payment.
Posturing for 2012 elections is the only way we’re going to get out of this but we need to hear some explanations from the Republicans.
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