I'm really, really sick of Tom DeLay
There is no more fat to trim from the federal budget. Seriously. None at all. Zero. Because Tom DeLay said so.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn't seem possible.
...
Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, "Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it down pretty good."
Mr. DeLay, it's bad enough that you're as guilty as any one man (okay, with the possible exception of Ted Stevens) of trashing whatever remains of the Republican party's reputation for fiscal restraint. But kindly do not add insult to injury by publicly spewing this kind of crap.
On a brighter note, a lonely voice of fiscal sanity took issue with DeLay's asinine comment. Not surprisingly, it belonged to Jeff Flake.
"This is hardly a well-oiled machine," said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican. "There's a lot of fat to trim. ... I wonder if we've been serving in the same Congress."
For the love of God, what went wrong? What became of the budget-cutters who stormed the Bastille of Congress in 1994? Did they lose all stomach for the fight after being demonized as mean-spirited ogres who wanted to starve children and old people? Or did they simply become co-opted by the lawmakers and lobbyists of that Grand Whorehouse inside the Beltway?
I suspect it's probably a little of both. God only knows how bad things will have to become before our lawmakers get serious about reining in spending.
Comments
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Time for a fresh start, the Cynical Party has a nice ring to it. ;-)
Posted by: CRB | September 14, 2005 11:56 AM
Remember the Contract With America? Term Limits? "Government IS the problem?"
After the Democratic Party is cold and buried, let's have a two party system again- with Republicans on the left and Libertarians on the right.
Posted by: Paul Moore | September 14, 2005 03:17 PM
How about the Butcher Party? We can go in and take big meat cleavers to the national budget.
Posted by: Adam | September 14, 2005 11:34 PM
I'm confused by Paul Moore's comment? My impression of Libertarians want no gun control and no (or little) taxes. But that they also want that same freedom extended to the body. Obviously really simplified, but is that completely wrong? So how does that land Libertarians to the right of Republicans? Or am I taking that too literally?
If you're mucking with the party system, I think it would be better to have at least 5 parties. Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Liberal/Progressive and Conservative.
Posted by: K | September 15, 2005 07:43 AM
This has been the hallmark of this administration - wanting to have all the perks of heavy spending (happy lobbyists, happy special interest groups, etc.), but not wanting to make any fiscal sacrifices, and not wanting to have to deal with any of the consequences of overspending.
It doesn't help that we're in an open-ended war that eats up billions, and that a massive tax-cut bill was passed a couple of years ago (that accomplished little, economy-wise, IMHO).
Posted by: Tracy Miller | September 15, 2005 08:12 PM