I don’t know that you can accurately call what the House Republicans are attempting with the budget a “strategy,” but anything that delusional will eventually collapse from the weight of its own stupidity. Consider that 73 senators just voted for cloture on Barbara Mikulski’s Transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. And then consider that the Senate bill costs $10 billion (or about 25%) more than the House version. Overall, the Senate is planning on spending $91 billion more than the House.
But the real delusion is on military spending. If the House doesn’t come to some compromise with the Senate, military spending will be gutted and most of the domestic cuts will be undone.
What makes the Ryan budget doubly difficult is it lowers total spending while also tilting the remaining funds to the Pentagon at the expense of nondefense programs.
Total appropriations fall to $967 billion even as defense spending is restored to $552 billion — about $33 billion above post-sequester levels. To make room, nondefense spending must drop then to approximately $414.4 billion.
That’s a 12 percent cut on top of the reductions made in sequestration and far deeper than what was anticipated in the 2011 BCA. But without some compromise, the BCA will reassert itself this winter with the opposite result.
Domestic appropriations will be largely untouched. Defense will be reduced to $498 billion or $54 billion less than what the House is proposing.
Before this is over, I predict that John McCain will punch some Republican colleague in the neck.
Joseph Cannon weeps from at hell at their incompetence.
Ah yes, and the Kim Jong-Un/Il model has worked out so well for N Korea let’s lemming-jump over that cliff behind Ryan America!
Isn’t that what everyone said they wanted? To get professional politicians out?
An unfortunate conservative talking point that has completely infected the mainstream. So it fits. Just look at us out in California. Term limits gutted the Legislature and now we routinely send amateurs to Sacramento who have no idea what they’re doing. So lobbyists are the only “adults” who have any idea how to run the place. And boy do they.
are they doing anything about abolishing term limits?
Of course not – why would Geppetto give Pinocchio autonomy without an alternative motive?
Yep yep, exactly.
Not now that I know of. But I have some minor hope that we’ll get rid of them in the long term. We made some decent little tweaks recently that show voters might be ready for change, eventually.
Whoops, meant to respond to Errol there.
not to worry, clear from the comment.
good to hear.
No Donnie, these men are cowards.
These clowns are really determined to torpedo the economy.