|
|
May 16, 2012 · By Robert Romano · 3 Comments
Following a meeting of the House Republican Conference, Speaker Boehner comments on ongoing discussions regarding the president’s request to raise the debt limit. July 12, 2011.
Here we go again.
Speaking to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation 2012 Fiscal Summit on May 15 , House Speaker John Boehner once again called for offsetting spending cuts in return for increasing the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling later this year.
This follows the failed attempt in 2011 to do precisely the same thing.
All the American people got in return for the $2.1 trillion increase in the borrowing limit, the largest such hike in the nation’s history, was a slight reduction in the growth rate of spending via sequestration — which Congress is busy crafting legislation to overturn — and the ill-fated Supercommittee that achieved exactly nothing.
Well, that’s not fair. We did lose our Triple-A credit rating. And the $15.6 trillion debt is now larger than the entire $15.4 trillion economy.
But besides the downsides, last year’s debt deal produced nothing positive whatsoever. No entitlement reform. No tax code simplification. No sizable spending cuts. No balanced budget. No spending cap.
Which, if Republicans never had any intention of achieving real spending cuts and substantially reducing the size of the $3.7 trillion budget, they should have just rejected the concept of using the debt ceiling as leverage in the first place.
Instead, after the 2010 election, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News’ Brett Baier that the debt ceiling “will not be [raised] without some strings attached, if it happens, because they’re going to have to seriously address spending and debt.”
McConnell added, “The American people want it, they expect it. That was a big issue in yesterday’s election.”
Later on, Boehner, this time speaking to the Economic Club of New York, said, “Without significant spending cuts and reforms to reduce our debt, there will be no debt limit increase. And the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in debt authority the president is given. We should be talking about cuts of trillions, not just billions.”
Of course, none of that ever happened.
But now Boehner is at it again. At the May 15 Fiscal Summit he said, “When the time comes, I will again insist on my simple principle of cuts and reforms greater than the debt limit increase. This is the only avenue I see right now to force the elected leadership of this country to solve our structural fiscal imbalance.”
Okay, fine. But this time let’s dispense with the bull.
When the House cedes its constitutional power of the purse to a grand committee with no mandate that then achieves nothing, it makes it look like the GOP was bamboozled.
When House Republicans pretend that mere reductions in the growth rate of spending are “cuts,” they take actual cuts to the budget off of the table. Such proposals only undermine the GOP’s credibility, and limit the range of proposals that might be considered.
And when Republicans of both chambers concede the false talking point that the nation would default on its debts if the debt ceiling were not raised, they take their valuable leverage off of the table.
In fact, so long as the Treasury uses existing revenue to make interest payments on the debt, and refinances existing debt up to the limit, we would never default.
That’s the line Republicans must take in order to keep their credible threat on the table. If Boehner truly wants to achieve significant reforms this time — and restore confidence in the House Republican majority — Obama and Reid have to actually believe that the House will allow the debt ceiling to be reached.
Else, they will just call Boehner’s bluff. And taxpayers will once again be left with the bill.
Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.
Bishop E.W. Jackson is an outspoken black Christian conservative with a law degree from Harvard. He also was just selected as the nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia. He is outspoken about limited government and personal freedom, about the importance of family and traditional marriage, and about doing something about the scourge of abortion. In other words, E.W. Jackson stands for everything that the Republican Party once stood for. He's making the Republicans of inclusion squirm.
“ADHD is a prime example of a fictitious disease.” These were the words of Leon Eisenberg, the “scientific father of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder),” in his last interview before his death. The medical industry is using the guise of helping children to depersonalize and disconnect our children from a healthy, normal upbringing.
Like many conservatives, I once thought Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was a solid, reliable conservative. Then he joined with the so-called "Gang of 8" in crafting a sellout amnesty proposal that Rubio and some others still claim isn't amnesty even though it clearly is. Now his liberal illegal immigration record in the Florida legislature is coming to light, and some things are suddenly becoming more clear.
Dr. Anthony Levantino is a New Mexico doctor who previously performed 1,200 abortions. After his own daughter died in a tragic accident, he began a process of self examination. He now realizes the truth about abortion.
Have you ever wondered why the RINOs--who despise the Tea Party and the icky conservatives who make it up--suddenly care about the fact that the IRS harassed Tea Party and other conservative groups? If you haven't, you should.
|
"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the party over to the so-called moderates wouldn't make any sense at all." - Ronald Reagan, Nov. 10, 1964 |
