GOP needs to hold the line, Boehner may not be up to it
It's long been known that politicians elected to Washington move closer towards the DC view, and further from their home view the longer they are there. by Mark Vogl
(conservative)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Once again Speaker of the House John Boehner may be leading the Republican majority down fairy tale lane.
The Republicans have done a good job of passing the right bills in the House, but seem to cave when they run into the liberal walls of the Senate and the Presidency. Boehner appears to be worried about the repercussion of not lifting the ceiling before August 2. It appears that he buys into the "crisis mentality" planted by President Obama, Senator Reid and much of the mainstream media. While the Republicans seem to have shut down any chances for new taxes, that could also change if the liberals sense a rout in the House.
As Rush Limbaugh has pointed out, the 2010 election victories were created by the Tea Party, but the leadership in the House remained the same within the two parties after the election. Boehner does not have the intense hatred of government, taxes, and centralization that the voters had when they elected dozens of Tea Party candidates.
The Republican freshmen seem unsure. Should they follow Speaker Boehner? Or shold they ralley to the colors which elected them, and force Boehner to work with House Democrats to get the votes necessary to pass an acceptable debt ceiling compromise?
For the GOP this is a defining moment. If Boehner folds to pressure, President Obama not only wins the debt ceiling debate, but he knocks alot of wind out of the Republican sails for 2012. Time and again the GOP has folded in the waining moments of an issue. For the freshman, they will face anger at home if they betray those who elected them. For the Tea Party it might be essential to vote against Boehner and lay out the fight for the soul of the Republican Party and the nation.
The "Cut, cap and balance" plan which the House passed is the plan needed to actually address the ongoing deficit financing issue. This is the time to fully discuss the Balanced Budget Amendment and see where the two parties come out. And also see where individual congressmen and senators are. In addition, the "cut, cap and balance" plan actually has real cuts.
The Congressional Budget Office has revealed that both the Boehner plan and the Reid plan fall far short in their cuts. The Republicans had been hood winked the last time these issues were addressed. This time it appears Speaker Boehner was either ill advised, or is not up to real cuts.
Meanwhile the nation’s credit rating seems ready for a down grading regardless of what happens concerning the debt ceiling. The liberals are looking for more time to regain seats and increase taxes. Some Republicans hope to fix the deficit spending through cuts only, but many of the establishment Republicans including Boehner, McCain and Mitch McConnell just don't seem up to it. After all they were all part of creating the 14.5 trillion dollars of debt our nation currently carries.
So now we sit and watch. Will the conservative core of the Republican party stand fast? Will they provide a real choice, even in defeat? If the moderates and liberals are able to cobble together sufficient votes to pass their version of a debt ceiling increase without a Balanced Budget Amendment, and without real cuts; but also without the conservative Republicans than the stage will be set for an internal fight within the Republican Party.
The line will be drawn. Speaker Boehner may be sealing his own political death.
Republicans at home don't want compromise, and accept that there may be bad repercussions from not raising the ceiling. They were disgusted with the pretend cuts which were adopted in the bail outs and continuing budget resolutions. But we know for sure that running on the national credit card means two things in the long term; much higher taxes, and much less prosperity for all.
The GOP has been given an opportunity. Does the Speaker know what to with it...not just for his party, but more importantly for the nation?
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