B-Daddy here, guest blogging. Dean and I are both Republicans, even if many Tea Party supporters are not. The Republican Party has been the recipient of Tea Party energy and votes, even if not always wanted by party leadership. I will admit that it even cost the Senate seat in Delaware. However, the Tea Party primary challenges put real fear into Republican leadership. The early pay off was the defeat of Omnibus and its earmarks. So in the spirit of helping the Republicans get re-elected by doing the work of the people, I propose the following New Year's Resolutions for the Republican Party members of Congress.
- We will focus on reducing spending as our number one priority. (With the temporary extension of Bush tax cuts, tax policy can temporarily take a back seat.)
- We will start the spending reduction by de-funding Obamacare.
- We will swear off earmarks.
- We will hold hearings on the failure to enforce the border.
- We will investigate Obama regulatory overreach.
- We will not introduce a flag burning amendment, school prayer bill, or a challenge to DADT, etc.
I leave it to the Temple to collaborate with Dawn for resolutions for the Democratic party. Maybe W.C. or Shane could take a stab at Libertarian party resolutions.
Cross posted at The Liberator Today.
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10 comments:
BD, I agree with all of your resolutions except the DADT challenge! Repealing it was wrong and keeping it moves the military into a social petrie dish frame of reference. Those who are anti-military keep trying to get our fighting forces to mimic the social morays of a civilian corporation when we, the military, are not! Far from it. The military, as you well know, is not a company in the public sense and is only effective through good order and discipline. DADT was a good tool to take the sex out of the person and to normalize them in the sense that they are just like any other military man or woman. The armed forces is not the place to express your sexual preference, nor should it be, as it detracts from the primary goal of any armed force: winning wars and keeping our nation secure. Keep DADT as sexuality is not part of being in the field carrying a weapon and defending your country.
Change your list.
1) Find out what is causing the current deficit and the source of future debt.
2) Prioritize your list in such a way that you optimize spending cuts.
3) I know you mean well and want the country to do well, but how could you possibly not even mention Medicare on our spending list?
4) I will assume you have made budgets before. Obamacare is at least mostly funded. Why not start with Medicare Part D? It was not funded at all and is close to the same level of spending.
Steve
B-Daddy, thanks for covering.
The list of Democrat Resolutions are here:
http://templeofmut.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/tea-party-democrat-2011-resolutions/
Steve,
The cause of the deficit is well known. Tax receipts as a percent of GDP are amazingly constant. Spending is out of control. I had a pretty lengthy post on the whole budget subject here.
I am all for repealing Medicare part D by the way.
Yes, let's repeal Medicare part D. I have always held that was the beginning of the end of the Republican party as we now know it.
It makes sense both fiscally and from a "branding" standpoint as it would seperate the new Republicans and like-minded Democrats if they were so inclined, from the Republicanism of the Bush years.
"The cause of the deficit is well known. Tax receipts as a percent of GDP are amazingly constant. "
Nope. Tax receipts dropped precipitously with the recession. The current large deficits are largely caused by the drop in revenue. The long term projected debt, is mostly entitlement spending with Medicare as primary cause. References available, but not that hard to find.
Steve
Ok, to make it easier, here is the OMB link. First table or two should help. If you prefer, use the Tax Foundation, CBO or BEA.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/
Steve
Paul12, I refer back to Rule #2, there is only so much management attention available. Even though I didn't agree with the repeal, I am certain our armed forces will carry on. In the meantime, the hour is late, as Peggy Noonan opined, and only the Tea Party seems to know it. We need laser focus on spending.
Steve, I posted on the sources of the increasing debt. It actually looks to be something of a mystery, but spending growth seems to be outpacing revenue decline.
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