Posted on 10/15/2013 10:46:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
Every time we have a congressional impasse over budgetary issues, we hear from liberals predicting Shutdown-mageddon. Why don't they ever join us in expressing concern over the inevitable financial collapse that will result from their policies?
We always seem to hyperventilate over these mini-crises involving the temporary shutdown of small parts of the precious federal government, while we totally ignore the real financial catastrophe we're headed toward unless we begin to move in the direction Sen. Ted Cruz and other congressional Republicans are insisting on in these budgetary battles -- defunding Obamacare, reining in spending and reforming unsustainable entitlements.
Indeed, President Obama, his Democratic Party, the media and some establishment Republicans are railing against a group of spirited, principled, patriotic Republicans doing their best to fulfill their congressional watchdog obligations against the unprecedented recklessness emanating from Washington.
Every single time Republicans try to take meaningful action to honor their mandate against the further unfolding of these federal government train wrecks, they are slandered as irresponsible.
But who is more responsible, those driving the United States over the fiscal cliff or those willing to allow us to drive over a small hill in order to stop the guaranteed financial free fall awaiting us if we don't begin to put on the brakes today?
It's maddening to hear Democrats, the media and the establishment join hands in condemning the tea party and Reagan conservatives as fanatical extremists who are just spitting against the wind.
Well, if opposition to Obamacare and our current unsustainable level of spending and entitlements makes us extremists, then God bless the extremists. In fact, those who are trying to fight the current lawless assaults on our liberty and our health care system are quite the opposite of extreme.
Rather, it is those who are behind the policies guaranteed to destroy the nation who are extreme -- unless you think it's extreme to want to preserve this nation as the greatest nation in world history.
How I wish establishment Republicans would quit piling on against Sen. Cruz and others trying to draw a line in the sand against President Obama. How about, at the very least, they join us in calling needed attention to the radicalism of the true extremists -- President Obama and the Democratic Party leadership.
The establishment cites polls purportedly showing that Republicans are losing even more popularity as a result of the government shutdown and says this proves the folly of the Cruz approach. I don't buy this for reasons I've already articulated, but I think that, in any event, public perception would be less negative toward the conservative position if all Republicans would unite behind those who are trying to stop Obama now and call attention to his extremism and intransigence. If the establishment would put half as much energy into fighting Obama as they have into fighting Cruz, we might have a better chance of turning these loaded polls around.
The establishment line is that Cruz et al. have no strategy. To the contrary, they know that grass-roots conservatives (and many other Americans who have no voice) are frustrated and feel disenfranchised. They want to know that their votes matter and that they have representatives in Washington who'll fight for them. The Cruz-ers aren't guaranteeing short-term victory, but by fighting fiercely and drawing attention to Obama's excesses and recklessness, they are increasing their chances to stop him eventually.
Meanwhile, what is the establishment's strategy? It's been urging caution since the very first budget impasse with Obama. Establishment types always tell us to wait until the next election or we'll get shellacked. They seem to continue to get their way, but we get shellacked anyway, and an increasing number of people are coming to believe there is no longer any difference between the parties. And here's another little secret: Even if conservatives do lose the public relations battle over the government shutdown, we're more than a year away from the 2014 elections, and Republicans are likelier to get hurt then by not having fought than they are by contributing to an impasse that led to an ultimately harmless government shutdown.
I respect the position of the establishment faction way more, I think, than its members respect our position. But I can't help but wonder how much progress we could make if instead of heeding their perennial admonitions to go soft on Obama -- for example, with fights over the budget and Romney's taking on Obama on Benghazi -- they would unite with us in going to the mat against Obama now (not one year, two years or three years from now) and let the chips fall.
Besides, if we can't win a PR battle with Obama over Obamacare in the very midst of its nightmarish rollout, what makes our establishment friends think we can win in 2014 after having rolled over for Obama without "firing a shot," blurred the lines of distinction between the parties, and killed each other with not-so-friendly fire?
The stakes are too high not to draw the line today. We can't continue to kick the can down the road forever. God bless Sen. Cruz and his fellow line drawers.
Every time we have a congressional impasse over budgetary issues, we hear from liberals predicting Shutdown-mageddon.
Exactly. We’ve been here, done that, over and over and over again. Don’t compromise anymore. Hell, even Leon Panetta agrees …
Time for the e-Gop to go or take the TEAPty herd to a new Palin.. Uhhh, plain..
Delay only benefits the Rats who get to keep paying off their constituents and GOP incumbents who get to keep their jobs a bit longer.
What is more stupid is continuing the spending policies that got us here - and keep getting us here everytime we raise the debt ceiling - is insanity.
Why anyone thinks the SOLUTION is to RAISE the debt ceiling - ie keep spending as usual until we hit the higher debt limit - is beyond me. Why the Repubs don’t start hammering this basic point - well, I know why.
they really don’t mind all this either. at least the leadership doesn’t really mind this. to really fight this proper, because the other side is using every strategy they’ve thought of for years to implement - they have to really be firing on all cylinders and be concise, and clever and humiliate the basic premises behind the left.
Such as - why is the solution to our debt, to allow us to spend more? Hows that been working out for us so far?
Why was the president against raising the debt limit when he wasn’t president and the debt was 6 trillion less and he called it a catastrophe to keep doing it, but now shuts everything down because republicans finally won’t raise the debt limit when he’s put us 17 trillion in the hole?
Why’s Camp David still open, it’s on national park grounds? Biden and him still vacation and play golf there. what’s up with the emperor mentality?
Why’s the press silent on the utter pettiness and the fact Obama has given orders to federal workers to make things as difficult as possible for citizens?
Why has Obama shut down federal monument spaces to citizens but has allowed illegals to hold rallies in those same spaces? Why no press coverage of this fact?
Why is it that the solution to all this Obama is demanding is to be able to spend MORE money and increase our debt even more?
Why is it that Obama demonizes Republicans for holding fast to certain negotiation conditions when he himself has turned down any deals and plans offered to him by Republicans because of his own unwaivering negotiation position?
It’s just nuts. Press can’t report because they’re too far up Obama’s ass.
David writes “How I wish establishment Republicans would quit piling on against Sen. Cruz.” David, how I wish you would finally say you would start naming rinos and work on kicking them out of the party.
Whenever a leftist screams and yells, it means someone has forced them to actually think. They normally just feel their way through the day.
They follow the lead of Paul Krugman, who argues that we should spend more deficit money, not less. He points to the fact that the doubling of debt under Obama hasn't resulted in the collapse of the currency, hyper-inflation, or the zombie apocalypse, all of which have been predicted if deficits were run up at this level. He and his followers take from this that it's not a legitimate fear.
Also note that Team Obama will constantly claim that the deficit is only 1/2 of what it was, yada yada, so the trend line is good.
Obama Deficits
FY 2015*: $577 billion
FY 2014*: $744 billion
FY 2013*: $973 billion
FY 2012: $1,087 billion
FY 2011: $1,300 billion
FY 2010: $1,294 billion
Bush Deficits
FY 2009†: $1,413 billion
FY 2008: $458 billion
FY 2007: $161 billion
FY 2006: $248 billion
FY 2005: $318 billion
note: † some people say that 2009 should be assigned to Obama.
Analysis: the "1/2" figure is BS. Basically Obama has taken the highest year ever for deficit creation and set that as the bar. In fact he has never brought spending under $1 Trillion. Bush was never over $500 Billion, if you leave out 2009, which Barack was in the drivers seat spending like mad during.
On average Obama is deficit spending at more than 2X Bush's rate. Unless you are lying with statistics, which lefty's think they are so clever when they do.
Krugman is extremely influencial, being both a Nobel prize winning economist and a New York Times columnist. He has repeatedly called out the "doom and gloom" crowd as idiots who have made multiple failed predictions and not been man enough to admit that they were wrong.
They follow the lead of Paul Krugman, who argues that we should spend more deficit money, not less. The point to the fact that the doubling of debt under Obama hasn't resulted in the collapse of the currency, hyper-inflation, or the zombie apocalypse, all of which have been predicted if deficits were run up at this level. They take from this that it's not a legitimate fear.
Krugman is extremely influencial, being both a Nobel prize winning economist and a New York Times columnist. He has repeatedly called out the "doom and gloom" crowd as idiots who have made multiple failed predictions and not been man enough to admit that they were wrong.
Dwindling Deficit Disorder By PAUL KRUGMAN
For three years and more, policy debate in Washington has been dominated by warnings about the dangers of budget deficits. A few lonely economists have tried from the beginning to point out that this fixation is all wrong, that deficit spending is actually appropriate in a depressed economy...
...People still talk as if the deficit were exploding, as if the United States budget were on an unsustainable path; in fact, the deficit is falling more rapidly than it has for generations, it is already down to sustainable levels, and it is too small given the state of the economy. ...
...Right now, a sustainable deficit would be around $460 billion. The actual deficit is bigger than that. But according to new estimates by the budget office, half of our current deficit reflects the effects of a still-depressed economy. The “cyclically adjusted” deficit — what the deficit would be if we were near full employment — is only about $423 billion, which puts it in the sustainable range; next year the budget office expects that number to fall to just $172 billion. And that’s why budget office projections show the nation’s debt position more or less stable over the next decade.
So we do not, repeat do not, face any kind of deficit crisis either now or for years to come.
...The deficit is indeed dwindling, and the case for making the deficit a central policy concern, which was never very strong given low borrowing costs and high unemployment, has now completely vanished.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.