The American Spectator

Mark Hemingway of The Weekly Standard draws our attention to this exchange yesterday between ABC White House correspondent Jake Tapper and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. Tapper asked Carney if he agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate did not need to pass a budget or if he agreed with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the Senate not passing a budget has created uncertainty and affected growth:

Tapper: So therefore, the Senate should pass a budget as well.

Carney: I don’t have a —

Tapper: I’m asking.

Carney: Well, I don’t have an opinion to express on how the Senate does its business with regards to this issue. The fact is because of the negotiations over the debt ceiling that resulted in the Budget Control Act, we have an unusual situation here in that the top lines for the budget going forward have already been set and agreed to by Republicans and Democrats alike.

Tapper: So the — I’m not actually asking your opinion, but the White House’s opinion, because it’s the White House’s —

Carney: Well, I mean, I don’t have a —

Tapper: The White House has no opinion about whether or not the Senate should pass a budget? The president’s going to introduce one. The Fed chair says not having one is bad for growth. But the White House has no opinion about whether —

Carney: I have no opinion — the White House has no opinion on Chairman Bernanke’s assessment of how the Senate ought to do its business.

So there you have it. The Obama Administration does not have an opinion on how the Democrat controlled Senate “does its business with regards to this issue.” Is it any wonder that the aforementioned Democrat controlled Senate has not passed a budget in 1,016 days and counting? If the Senate were in Republican hands and had not passed a budget in over a 1,000 days, I doubt Mr. Carney would reply in such a sanguine manner. I dare say Mr. Carney would accuse Senate Republicans of being “obstructionist” as he has done repeatedly with House Republicans.

Only in Obamaland can an elected body not pass a budget in over 1,000 days with its leader proclaiming that a budget need not be passed and it be deemed progress. Whoever Republicans nominate to run against President Obama should be point out the Democrat controlled Senate’s inaction whenever President Obama accuses House Republicans of obstructionism.