Posted on 05/14/2011 3:25:20 PM PDT by yoe
"It's true that allowing America to default would be irresponsible," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told the New York Economic Club this week. "But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without simultaneously taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process." Could it be that Boehner has drawn a line in the sand over increasing the debt limit and that Republicans will rally to the cause? Yeah, it'd be nice, but we're not betting on it.
The speaker certainly appeared to be serious. "To increase the debt limit without simultaneously addressing the drivers of our debt ... would be monumentally arrogant and massively irresponsible," he warned. "It would send a signal to investors and entrepreneurs everywhere that America still is not serious about dealing with our spending addiction. It would erode confidence in our economy and reduce certainty for small businesses, and this would destroy even more American jobs."
He became more specific when he 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." To cut that much, reforming Medicare, Medicaid and even Social Security would be unavoidable. The last debt ceiling increase was $1.9 trillion, and the administration is asking for another $2 trillion increase to the current $14.294 trillion limit. The administration, of course, wants no conditions attached.
Some Republicans are proposing smaller, incremental increases if the administration or the Senate blocks such dramatic cuts (recall the bitter histrionics over that paltry $38 billion in budget "cuts" last month -- cuts that ultimately ended up being closer to $352 million). Numerous votes on the debt ceiling would probably cause heartburn for many Tea Party congressmen and in reality, such a plan won't work with the weak-kneed general Republican caucus. On the other hand, keeping the issue in front of voters should hurt Democrats even more. If Barack Obama chooses to stake his 2012 campaign on continuing the spending binge, he's welcome to it.
Obama will continue to push for tax increases -- or as he euphemistically put it, "spending reductions in the tax code." However, Boehner is having none of it: "If we're serious about balancing the budget and getting our economy back to creating jobs," he said, "tax hikes should be off the table." Should? As we've said before, our nation has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
At present, there are outstanding plans on the table to fix the budget, including the (RSC Budget for FY 2012) and Heritage Foundation's comprehensive plan to (Saving the American Dream:)
See ?? Obama is for spending cuts too. Just in the tax code.
You got to give it to Democrats, since Clinton called taxes 'contributions' they know how to re-write the dictionary.
Boehner is a typical Republican limp-wrist, more concerned with not offending the NY Times than in preserving the US and the liberty of the American citizens.
I am guessing that we have almost filled in the deep dark black hole created by the millions of totally fraudulent home loans, so if we don't turn off the money spigot pretty quickly, we are going to start producing the raging inflation that many predicted would be here by now.
All this “let’s get behind Boehner on the debt ceiling” crap makes me puke! He knows full well what the voters wanted when they provided his sorry tearful a$$ with a majority in the House. A strong individual knows what he has to do when presented with irrefutable facts. It doesn’t take additional “support” to get him to perform. Unfortunately the RATS have many people in the Congress who fit this description, the Pubbies have very few at best, and none of them are in the so called “leadership.” At this juncture, whether you write his office and call him an SOB for his ways, or you cajole him one more time to grow a pair and lead, doesn’t mean anything. I will kiss his A$$ in public and give him a half hour to draw a crowd if he doe not fold, but I feel my lips are safe.
last time there was an engine competition, the fed saved big bucks. There is an argument that we can’t afford to save that money, but staking the AF and Navy on a single engine line seems to me to be a bad bet.
Boehner had the perfect chance to force these people to stop spending and he blew it, frankly. He now has no weapon; his quiver is empty. His only similarity to Braveheart is the last scene where he is pulled apart by four horses - the Administration, the Senate, the Judiciary, and the Unions.
We are left with a man more enamored with his own posturing speaking voice than a real abiding love and commitment to this country. He is nothing but a RINO. I am truly ashamed that the Republicans in Congress voted for him to be Speaker, I thought they are better than this.
Is Boehner a Braveheart? Only if gutless, clueless, spineless, and brainless RINOs inspire people. Otherwise, that would be a “NO”.
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