-
SEQUESTER: The Horror!
March 1, 2013 | 4 comments
-
SOTU Preview: Human Props, Budget Fights, and Wedge Issues
February 12, 2013 | 0 comments
-
Hello, I Must Be Going
August 14, 2012 | 18 comments
-
Weekend Political Wrap-Up, Paul Ryan Edition
August 12, 2012 | 16 comments
-
Esquire Blogger Sees Paul Ryan, Shreds His Safety Net
August 11, 2012 | 13 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Yuval Levin nails it here:
Imagine if Paul Ryan had produced his budget proposal and put it before his committee, but then John Boehner killed it, insisting that the House should not pass a budget of any kind so that his members could be spared a difficult vote in an election year. Surely had any such thing happened it would have been treated as a monumental leadership crisis among House Republicans and a sign of gross dereliction and disorder.
But when Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad proposed holding a vote on a budget based on the Simpson-Bowles commission recommendations — the first meaningful budget vote by Senate Democrats in three years — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promptly pulled out the rug from under him. The Senate will continue to flout its legal responsibility to pass a federal budget.
This is not a failure of bipartisanship, as Senate Democrats stopped passing budgets when their party still had control of the House. The president, in case you haven’t noticed, is also a Democrat. After health care, Reid didn’t want to force his members in competitive states to cast more tough votes. Any budget that could pass the Democratic-controlled Senate would presumably contain unsustainable deficits as far as the eye can see, broad-based tax increases or both. This is why President Obama’s budget proposals can’t get a single Democratic vote in either house of Congress. Democratic leaders, once bitten by Obamacare and cap and trade, don’t want to do any pre-election governing.
View all comments (7) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/04/19/gridlock-isnt-to-blame-for-sen
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Richard Baker| 4.19.12 @ 4:09PM
The Senate has abrogated its Constitutional responsibility by the actions of Harry Reid and his acolytes and that doesn't constitute gridlock but political cowardice.
LiveFreeOrDie| 4.19.12 @ 4:16PM
Term limits.
WL| 4.19.12 @ 4:17PM
I think Romney needs to take up this case!
TexasMom2012| 4.19.12 @ 6:44PM
It is not just pre- election! It has been over 1000 days since Reid allowed a budget vote! I can't believe he will be there another 4 years, arghhhh! Can we sue him for failure to act on his constitutional responsibilities?
Jeff P| 4.19.12 @ 9:36PM
I sense something more ominous in Reid's inaction. His behavior is in concert with Obama's increasing tendencies to rule through the administrative machinery, ignoring Congress in the process. Both men are statists who believe that all power should reside with the executive, the legislature functioning as a rubber-stamp debating society. This process will accelerate should Obama gain re-election, a likelihood I fear is probable.
Heaven help us.
PattyMor| 4.20.12 @ 9:33AM
My guess if there is no budget (ie. a spending blueprint for the year), then you can spend the money any way you want to. So I would expect that Obama is funnelling money to the marxist/socialist front groups. What's to stop him and who is going to hold him to account? John Boehner? Plz!!!
Mike Rogers | 4.23.12 @ 9:29AM
I think there is a simple explanation - in year one of our lord Obama, the massive stimulus passed, and the budgets of almost all government departments were massively increased. If no budget is passed, they continue on autopilot at this elevated level, which is directly responsible for our $1.3T budget deficits each year. If an actual budget debate is held, these elevated spending levels can and will be questioned.