Tuesday, December 17, 2013

What Does It Mean to Be GOP?


After Republicans succumbed to the bipartisan siren song in the joint budget by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Senator Patty Murray (D-WA),  Tea Party types and the Conservative base is flummoxed.  The measure passed   332-94 in the House and passed cloture 67-43 in the Senate.

The first real budget that has been passed by Congress during the Obama Administration also promised to not cause another government shutdown.  However, this two year budget came at a cost of surrendering all real Sequestration savings which were won in August 2011 for fictional accounting rounding errors in a decade.  It also took away a tool from the Senate minority of requiring cloture votes for future budgetary increases.  In addition, it raised outlays by government employees and beneficiaries such as combat veterans for health care.  But there were no government programs cut. Yet despite the modest budget proposal, House Speaker John Boehner attacks conservatives and cries "Are you kidding me?" when questioned if he could have gotten a better deal.

This Pyrrhic political by the GOP calls to mind what they really stand for.  Is the GOP in Washington dominated by the Cocktail Party, which goes along to get along and will not stand up against programs which they will campaign against during the general election?   Does the G.O.P. still stand for the Grand Old Party? Maybe it should mean Get an Orthopedic Procedure sometimes called spinal replacement therapy.



h/t: Dana Summers

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