Monday, February 21, 2011

"Some trips are longer, lonelier, and darker than others."

a Republican Congressman explains why he voted against a spending reduction bill... i respect his motives, but disagree in principle.

Heading Off The Cliff
by Congressman John Campbell (R-CA)

Excerpts (emphasis added) and commentary:
Many of my colleagues who have been around much longer than I have remind me that it is a huge shift to talk about how much we are going to cut instead of how to slow the rate of increase. I get that. But, if you are in a car heading for a cliff, it is not enough to apply the brakes if that braking is insufficient to keep you from going over the cliff. You must brake hard.
i'm with him up to this point... there must be a will to stop the increases... moreover, they need the will to reverse away from the edge... while i disagreed with many of his methods, President Clinton actually (briefly) brought the run-away spending to a stop... President Bush put that car back in gear, and President Obama has mashed the gas to the floor.
The vote was 235-189. Every Democrat voted against it...
I was one of 3 Republicans to vote no. We all voted no because it did not reduce spending enough. I thought there might have been a few more to join our little band of rebels.
here's where we differ... when you're heading toward the cliff, not pressing the brake enough will doom you... but not pressing it at all is just as sure to fail... doing too little and doing nothing both send you off the edge.
An amendment offered by Jim Jordan (R-OH) and cosponsored by yours truly would have reduced non-security spending to 2008 levels. It failed by a vote of 147-281, meaning that some 40% of Republicans in addition to all Democrats opposed it. This cost saving measure had nothing to do with security. It is not a big stretch to ask the government to spend at levels spent just 2 years ago when there has been little intervening inflation.
again, i'm in agreement... but there is some hypocricy creeping in, too... if you vote against doing too little before, why vote for 2008 spending levels?... in 2008, Congress was already spending like a drunken sailor... that's not slowing... that's not even a serious attempt at fiscal responsibility... however, it is better than doing nothing... you know... the same nothing you proposed earlier.

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