Posted on 11/11/2005 3:39:49 AM PST by counterpunch
According to sources on Capitol Hill, House Leadership still does not have the votes for the Deficit Reduction Act (H.R. 4241) but is working furiously to get them.
This is the biggest vote of the 109th Congress – period. It is the first time Republicans are attempting to seriously address out-of-control spending since 1997 by reducing its rate of growth by saving $50 billion over five years. However, this vote has become far more about symbolism than substance (although the substance is good), and it is now about the soul of the House Republican majority.
Late in September, conservatives on the Republican Study Committee (RSC), led by Reps. Mike Pence (IN) and Jeb Hensarling (TX), sent shock waves through their party with their Operation Offset and dared to assert what the base already knew – that federal spending is out-of-control. House Leadership, after initially balking, finally tried to ante up for their big spending ways and embraced a $50 billion savings package as a down payment to fully pay for the Katrina relief effort. The moderate Tuesday Group, catered to for years, took umbrage with the RSC's recent efforts and now refuses to give the RSC a victory. For the moderates, it has become us against them. Leadership even took drilling in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf out of the package late last night to get their vote, and they still have not come around.
Let's be clear. This is a fight that the moderates cannot be allowed to win. For the first time in a decade, the House Republican majority is acting like the Contract of America majority we thought we sent to Congress. If the moderates win this fight, they will be emboldened, Leadership will seek to paper over the mess in an election year, and many of us will end up golfing on election day. This vote must happen today, and if the vote needs to be held open for three hours until there is a majority, so be it. It will partially atone for the Medicare fiasco. Acting Majority Roy Blunt has to be willing to play hard ball like Tom DeLay ("the Hammer") used to and grind the votes out on the floor.
One final thought. Where is the President of the United States? Sources say that he is not lobbying members by phone or inviting to them to see the new decorations in the Oval Office. As usual, when it comes to cutting spending, the Administration is completely AWOL choosing to stay on the sidelines. The Office of Management and Budget hasn't even sent the Hill its Statement of Administration Policy yet! So the President is willing to pull out all the stops to pass a prescription drug benefit for Medicare but not take a small step for freedom by reducing spending – even when doing so could salvage yet another bad week for him politically.
For those of you who want to burn the phone lines or just take down the names for posterity, here is a snap-shot list of just some of current bed wetters:
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Update [2005-11-10 16:26:55 by Blanton]: Roy Blunt's office has cancelled the vote. In the words of his floor assistant, "Mr. Blunt has cancelled the day because our Members are not yet ready to move forward on the Budget Deficit Reduction Act. The Budget Chairman and his committee will continue to work on the bill next week. Veterans Day events already scheduled make it difficult to keep Members here." Also Congressman Conaway still thinks ANWR has a shot.
The Conservative Party should be called the Shriveled Party....
Were that it was the "conservative" party. If you take a look, they all have an R after their name. Republicanism just isn't what it used to be.
The real difference in politics is not R or D, but Conservative and Liberal. The Liberals control both out houses of Congress!
Only a paltry $50 billion over 5 YEARS! This is nothing but cowardice. The budget is over 2 trillion a YEAR. In 5 years it will be about 3 trillion at the rate they're going. It's less than a fraction of 1%.
hmm, "over 5 years". I do not have this advantage in my checkbook. Over 5 or 10 years is a RINO notion--it has to be done EACH year.
Hmm, cut taxes, spend $200 billion on New Orleans from all of our money, and increase the national deficit--and interest thereon for our grandchildren--cut medicare for our grandparents. What is wrong with this picture?
Cutting it's rate of growth?
How can anyone believe that a handful of "moderates" are the problem here?
No surprise with Bradley or Bass...
Since everyone of these guys has to run for office every two years pull them in and tell them that the party will support more conservative canidates in the next election.
Forget it. The Republican party is living up to its reputation as the stoopid party. Here in York, PA, the local Republican office holders openly supported the Democratic candidate for mayor.
[The Republican party is living up to its reputation as the stoopid party. Here in York, PA, the local Republican office holders openly supported the Democratic candidate for mayor.]
It is truth. The rats abandoed the dem party and took over the conservative.
The Wimp Frist Group.
Mark Kirk is my Congressman. He just got an early morning piece of my mind. This is infuriating.
These are NOT cuts in spending. The amount of spending will increase year over year, they are only going to spend slightly less than they proposed to spend. ONLY IN WASHINGTON IS MORE SPENDING CONSIDERED A CUT. GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Good work. Be sure to raise awareness of this in your community and among your conservative friends and coworkers.
Indeed,
Sad isn't it?
I believe that this is the "moderate" MI gentleman who sided with Loretta Sanchez, when Robert K. Dornan attempted to prove fraud in the 1996 disputed CA House race.
Oh. To be sure I will be shouting this from the rooftops around here. I have not found Congressman Kirk to be a mushy moderate in the past. He certainly is now and I pinned the label on this donkey with an (R) this morning.
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