Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Health Care Debate
Following the resignation of Republican Rep. Christopher Lee for trying to get his groove on with a woman who was not his wife over Craigslist and some embarrassing hiccups on the House floor, Republicans are struggling with their upstart conservative ranks.
The New York Times writes:
For the second consecutive day, House Republicans on Wednesday lost a floor vote due to a mini-revolt, this time over a plan to demand a repayment from the United Nations. Earlier in the day, members of the party's conservative bloc used a closed-door party meeting to push the leadership to go well beyond its plans to trim about $40 billion from domestic spending and foreign aid this year, demanding $100 billion or more.
The spending rebellion came after the House on Tuesday rejected what was expected to be a routine temporary extension of anti-terrorism Patriot Act provisions when Democrats and about two dozen conservative Republicans balked at a fast-track procedure. Republicans, still searching for their footing after assuming control in January, were also forced to pull a trade assistance bill from the floor after conservatives raised objections. They found themselves mediating other internal fights as well.
"We have been in the majority four weeks," said House Speaker John Boehner. "We are not going to be perfect every day."
And you aren't going to have peace until some members of your party realize that rhetoric and legislating are two different things. For example, for all the Republican talk about just slashing the budget, I hope they see that is not as easy as it sounds.
Cutting $100 billion in domestic spending sounds good but try accomplishing it without eliminating important programs that affect the people that voted for you. The "cut, cut, cut" mantra of this new crop of ultra-conservative Republicans is just not practical in real life.
Check out the crop of important programs that are already on the chopping block. According to the the New York Times:
Among 60 programs in line for elimination were the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AmeriCorps and a $298 million Clinton-era program for hiring local police officers. Other planned cutbacks included nearly $900 million in energy conservation and efficiency programs; $1.8 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency; and $75 million from legal aid programs. In a swipe at the administration, the bill would eliminate $5 billion in high-speed rail money.
Some of these programs will probably save money in the long run. It doesn't make sense that our national rail system is behind the times and continues to crumble. Improving the rails can provide much-needed jobs as well as help clean the environment by taking more cars off the road. And $900 million in energy conservation and $1.8 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency will certainly have an effect on making sure we take the necessary steps to save the environment.
We should look at things such as our defense budget, tax breaks for the wealthy and Congress' own budget when it comes to paring down our deficit.
And new economic numbers out of Britain are leading many to question whether fiscal austerity helps the economy. Despite Britain's focus on austerity, the economy is 4 percent below pre-recession levels. In times of financial difficulty, the government can serve as a bridge and a stimulator. No one wants the government interfering in every aspect of their lives but it's clear that cutting the government to the bone is also not the answer.
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