Jim DeMint, Olympia Snowe: Amend Constitution

Politico ^ | 7/7/11 | Jennifer Epstein

[tips up]

No deal to raise the debt ceiling is complete without an amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget to prevent Congress “from hijacking the promise of American prosperity,” two Senate Republicans are arguing as a bipartisan group of congressional leaders heads to the White House on Thursday.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58472.html#ixzz1RRttF3EL

[tips up]

Wow. Pigs flying. Olympia Snowe dropping the INO from her RINO status on this one.

[Durus]

Agreed, it almost borders on the miraculous.

[ilgipper]

the idea of a balanced budget amendment is great, until we get out taxes jacked up 40% to ‘pay for’ the spending we cannot due without.

[cripplecreek]

Tweaking the constitution isn’t likely to have any good effect.

[Roccus]

Lemme see if I’ve got this right. Congress screws the pooch and wants a Constitutional Amendment to stop itself from doing it again. LOL!!

(never gonna pass)

[cripplecreek]

Constitutional tweaking gave us congressmen that can’t be recalled.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Like anything they do is Constitutional?

If you can't even enforce what you have, what good does amending it do?

[Cowman]

Tweaking the constitution isn’t likely to have any good effect.

What if the tweaking is to remove previous tweaking?

[Maceman]

A balanced budget amendment is NOT a good idea. Once it is passed, the Democrats/RINOs will argue that they are compelled by the Constitution to raise taxes in order to pay for increased government spending.

Sure, conservatives would argue the opposite, but then we would be no better off than we are now, except for the added insult of watching Democrats/RINOs argue that they are just meeting their constitutional obligations by raising taxes.

[DannyTN]

Plus a balance budget amendment doesn't stop borrowing at all.

The following is a balanced budget:
Spending 20 Trillion = 2 Trillion Tax Receipts + 18 Trillion borrowing.

[cripplecreek]

What if the tweaking is to remove previous tweaking?

And some day Lucy won't yank the football away at the last minute.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I hate to disagree with DeMint because I love the guy but I think a balance budget ammendment is a bad idea. Congress is supposed to be fiscally responsible. Thats their job. Others on this thread are right that all a balanced budget ammendment will do is encourage raising taxes to pay for more spending. VAT tax here we come.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Agree.
No need to amend the constitution. Just pass a resolution and do it.

[Huck]

Here in NJ it’s working. Balanced budget two years in a row with no new taxes.

[Sonny M]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the balanced budget amendement that DeMint was pushing, required supermajorities to raise taxes, which would pretty much mean, no tax hikes.

[jessduntno]

To paraphrase Bob Dylan, she wants a firm base when the winds of changes shift.

[Gator113]

My vote is to leave our constitution the hell alone.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Like anything they do is Constitutional? If you can't even enforce what you have, what good does amending it do?

[Psycho_Bunny]

Instead of trying to force themselves to do their job - which they refuse to do - why don’t they just resign?

“Tar and feather” is also a viable option.

[556x45]

Agreed, esp by the pack of drooling imbeciles selling themselves as ‘smart’ and ‘expert’ in both worthless pol parties. No, lets leave it completely alone until sanity again prevails in this country. Any changes now will wind up a cluster bomb later on. This is like begging the same crop of bums to write and pass a term limits law.Nothing that happens in DC ends well.