Posted on 07/06/2008 9:02:55 PM PDT by Reagan Man
Senator John McCain plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico.
The vow to take on Social Security puts McCain in a political danger zone that thwarted President Bush after he named it the top domestic priority of his second term.
McCain is making the pledge at the beginning of a week when both presidential candidates plan to devote their events to the economy, the top issue in poll after poll as voters struggle to keep their jobs and fill their gas tanks.
“In the long-term, the only way to keep the budget balanced is successful reform of the large spending pressures in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” the McCain campaign says in a policy paper to be released Monday.
“The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction.”
The pledge is a return to an earlier position he'd later backed away from. On April 15, McCain backed off a February pledge to balance the budget in his first term when asked about it by Michael Cooper of The New York Times, who reported that McCain said “at a news conference … that ‘economic conditions are reversed’ and that he would have a balanced budget within eight years.”
McCain advisers admit that the document is a repackaging of previous policies, without dramatic new initiatives. Some Democratic officials had thought McCain might try to make a splash by proposing a bold middle-class tax cut.
It isn’t worth very much.
That’s insane to make a promise like that, especially considering the large rodent majorities he’s likely to be dealing with come next year. They could care less about reigning in spending.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
BTT
It's late and the end of a long Holiday weekend, but I have no idea what the hell that means!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I'm sorry, that would not be bipartisan nor would it entail the obligatory reaching across the aisle.
You would more likely see a McCain/Kennedy budget "solution".
While the GOP was in power, it had countless opportunities to (1) balance the Federal budget and,(2) forward a Constitutional Amendment to the states to require a balanced budget. It did neither. And now that the GOP is out of power, balancing the budget is suddenly a priority?
Sen. McCain’s promise to balance the budget would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Even if we were to give Sen. McCain the benefit of the doubt and view his promise as sincere, he has absolutely zero power to deliver on the pledge, as Congress has shown no inclination to balance the budget. Does he honestly think that Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid are going to make balancing the Federal budget part of their agenda?
Not really...it puts pressure on them to explain why they can’t join him in doing something that Billy boy did...i think it’s great strategy...he’s being aggressive and logical in beating his opponent to the punch...
He’ll have no choice but to veto practically every spending bill. Maybe it’ll shut down the government... of course, remember what happened the last time that happened.
“You would more likely see a McCain/Kennedy budget “solution”.
Good point. The Democrats might agree to a balanced budget. But only if it raises taxes and social spending by 25-50%.
No, I understand what you’re saying, but given that the likely target of spending cuts (at least from the rodent side) would be defense, this has the potential to blow up in his face.
You would more likely see a McCain/Kennedy budget “solution”.
Except that it’s unlikely Kennedy’s going to be around much longer. Brain cancer is almost always terminal.
even so if they propose that what an easy push back on the safety of our country and do they want to put us in a bad spot...
Although the only problem is that right now, national security seems a secondary issue to at least a substantial plurality of voters... if it wasn’t, Obama wouldn’t be leading in EC votes. I guess 9/11 wasn’t enough for some to “get it.”
What a crock of sh*t. Anyone who would promise this doesn’t have either the character (they are lying), the intelligence(they don’t know they won’t be able to do this) or both unless you know how to and have the ability to massively grow the US economy and control run away spending as well as being able to bring entitlements under control.
The MSM will have a field day with this assuming he’s fool enough to say this.
Where’s he gonna get the Congress to do that? He might as well claim he’ll solve global warming and cure cancer.
Oh good! Tax increases.
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