Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), a leading conservative on Capitol Hill, tells National Review Online that Senate GOP brass have bungled the debt-limit negotiations.
Republican senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, is part of the problem, DeMint says. Instead of enabling conservatives to propose their solutions early on, McConnell made them wait until the Biden debt-reduction talks collapsed, leaving little time to rally behind counterproposals.
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DeMint wishes that McConnell had encouraged conservatives to engage the public months ago. As Republicans sat on their hands, the chances for the best possible outcome decreased, DeMint feels. “McConnell was convinced that House Republicans could not pass a plan. He felt like he needed to propose a plan,” DeMint says. “But he did this after we all had been told, for months, that we should not propose a plan during the Biden talks.”
“Early on, Republican leaders in the House and Senate also said that we have to raise the debt limit,” DeMint says. “Unfortunately, we showed our hand.” Now, he says, “Republicans have our backs against the walls.”
“When I spoke to the conference months ago, I told my colleagues that the most important part of negotiations is when you put your proposal on the table,” DeMint says. But that never happened. The “difference in the sense of urgency among Senate Republicans,” he says, is troublesome.
The House will take up “Cut, Cap and Balance,” a Republican Study Committee proposal, on Tuesday. DeMint hopes that it will pass. Yet he is worried about the legislation’s chances on the Senate floor.
“In the Senate, I fear that we will not see a full-fledged effort to pass something that will cut spending, cap it over ten years, and send a balanced-budget amendment to the states,” DeMint says. “But I am not ready to accept that.”
In coming days, DeMint pledges to fight for the RSC plan and a balanced-budget amendment to be passed in the Senate. “Holding firm,” he says, is the party’s best chance of besting President Obama in the negotiations.
“Frankly, I believe if we had 41 Republicans who were willing to go past August 2, these things would happen in a hurry,” DeMint says. “I don’t know that we do, but that is the kind of approach we need, and the approach we should have had all along.”
DeMint is frustrated with Republicans who think that they can push for a balanced-budget amendment, and then, should it fail, scurry to support a contingency plan that accomplishes little of what conservatives have been pushing for.
The McConnell plan, which would enable the president to raise the debt ceiling by veto, is “smoke and mirrors,” DeMint says. Senate Republicans, he adds, know this and should not rest easy if they support the maneuver. While he is not ready to say that McConnell-plan backers deserve primary challengers, he will say that such a vote would be “horrifying” and cause for future political headaches.
“I don’t think there is room in Washington for people who don’t think we need to balance our budgets,” DeMint says. “To those who think we should do this maneuver, and then somehow think you can keep your hands clean, that is the old Washington Republican way — and people don’t like it.”
“Some of us feel like we cannot push the envelope further on the debt. We have been told too many times that we will get some reforms, that we will cut, only to be asked to raise the ceiling again,” he says. “It’s time to draw the line in the sand.”
If Republicans “cave,” DeMint says, and fail to pass a balanced-budget amendment through both chambers of Congress, the future of the party will be in peril.
“If Republicans do not show the political will to stop the spending, and use the debt limit to make our case, the party is gone,” DeMint warns. “It’s not a matter of partisan politics. This is a point in our history where have to do something.”
Calculate the revenues to be raised from taxing corporate jets and raise the debt limit by an amount $1 dollar more. That way the Rhinos can say they were cooperating with the dark side that has taken over the White House. It certainly would be less dangerous than allowing the debt limit to increase by $2.5 trillion. A number that is utterly incomprehensible in our current economic condition.
Much as I like and admire both McConnell & Boehner, its time for them to go. McConnell is willing to destroy the party by civil war as opposed to damaging what he considers the "brand". As in any marketing executive will tell you, a "brand" must be maintained by actual actions, not neglected, to remain viable. So, does McConnell want to maintain the tax collector, Wall Street, back room dealmaking "brand". Apparently so.
No, McConnell prefers the country club atmosphere he's used to enjoying in the Senate. It's ok to be in the compliant minority because the perks are better and you are admitted to the parties at Tina Brown's place.
DeMint understands when the whole thing crashes, there won't be any more parties.
I am not affiliated with the Tea Party, but it is easy to see why the Tea Party has gained traction. McConnell is an inside the beltway deal-maker. He is less concerned about the health of the country than he is playing politics.
It seems to me that the GOP Congressional caucus needs to realistically analyze whether it can hold together past 08/02/2011 as all hell breaks loose. If they can hold together, then they should hang tough on negotiations and demand a Dollar of reduced spending for a Dollar of increased borrowing authority. If they cannot hold together, they need to cut the best deal that they can before 08/02/2011.
My guess is that the GOP Congressional caucus cannot stick together under severe attack, and they need to fold before 08/02/2011. I wish Congress was full of Senator DeMints; but Senator McConnell must operate in a world that has a lot of senators who think like Senators McCain and Schumer and can generate a lot of negative publicity for the GOP.
Take a sycophantic MSM, add in some weak-kneed Republicans, finish off with a dumbed-down electorate, and voila! a screwed over public. Thanks for hanging tough, guys...really makes me appreciate taking the time to keep myself abreast of things, as well as voting in the midterm. Newsflash: Obama's not the only one who needs to be worried about 2012...time to make the RINO an extinct species.
And so it all comes crumbling down. Getting rolled by perhaps the most inept president ever to occupy the White House. So if Obama "wins" then what? Debt on top of debt. Onerous taxes. Stagnant economy. Rampant unemployment. Titter it up, lefties. No, really, you deserve it. Congratulations and hosannas all around. This is what you want. This is what the fall looks like.
Senator DeMint is correct. The GOP is on the cusp: on one side lies success, on the other lies failure. It's gotten very binary. Pass the budget bills and make Obama veto them. Do not under any circumstances engage in this farcical maneuver to give him authority to raise the debt ceiling as he likes. Obama and the Democrats started this process by not passing a budget for FY2010, fully expecting that the GOP would not have the political will to stand against what the Dems see as inevitable. Frankly, if the GOP caves on this one then it will have abandoned any claim it has remaining to its existence as a party.
How can Republicans get to the point of forcing an Obama veto? They'd have to get something passed through the Senate. Can you explain yourself?
The Republicans control only one of the three levers of legislation; the House. And the only way that the House Republicans can force Obama and the (majority) Senate Democrats to capitulate to a House bill, is by taking the national debt to the limit and beyond. Which might be okay, except that the national press will turn it into a massive public relations defeat for Republicans, alone.
Mitch McConnell is right. The path to victory for Republican principles lies with defeating Obama and the Senate class of 2012.
I doubt whether there are enough smart, principled GOP senators to take down McConnell at this point. But in the House its another story. The problem is that Boehner is smart & likable, but but runs an inadequate PR operation and is a horrible negotiator. He's holding 3 Kings and he's playing like he's got Ace high. He's folding his hand on a nickel raise. How to play this? Publicly and calmly explain what should happen with no agreement past August 2. Correct the misuse of the term "default", and just put the onus on the president. If it comes to it, asky why Obama's not touching ethanol, trains, EPA, etc, as opposed to SS checks. Ironically, the more willing he is to accept the "armageddon" solution, the less likely we'll see this and get some real progress. Yes, a solution is not possible until BHO is out, we have a Tea Party led Senate & House, and a Palin or Perry is president. That doesn't mean we let the water drain out of the bathtub in the meantime.
......the republican party is the party of "cave", always has been, always will be, its a national joke. The TEA party supporters will find that they finally need to form their own party in order to govern.....since republicans have always been too terrified to govern........
How do Republicans lose if Obama is forced to balance the budget immediately? There's nothing wrong with the federal government living within its means, starting right now. That's what the rest of us have to do.
If Republicans had taken that stance from the get go and then been willing to compromise with Democrats by increasing the debt limit, reducing spending by $400m per year with hard caps, and insisting on personal and corporate income tax and capital gains tax reductions, Republicans could have looked like the grown ups.
Moreover, Americas economy would have roared back to life. (Well, the downside is that Obama might be re-elected).
For all those who think cutting spending will lead to the apocalypse, just wait till the interest rate rises on the debt, which will happen. Then you'll see what trouble looks like. We'll spend more paying the interest on our swollen debt than we will on our military.
A little history lesson is in order.
America today is spending about 25 percent of GDP on the federal government.
At the end of World War II, in 1945, federal spending was a whopping41 percent of GDP. Truman and the congress, however, cut the Federal spending to 26 percent of GDP in one year, far more than anyone is suggested now. The next year, federal spending was cut to 14 percent of GDP.
There were concerns that all the millions of military personnel returning to civilian life would lead to massive unemployment. Instead, it lead to a Golden Age in America, resulting in the baby boom and the elevated standards of living ushered in during the 1950s and 60s.
Telephones, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, color TVs, transistor radios, big cars, cheap gas, men on the moon, a freeway system that was the envy of the world, inexpensive homes, and a military that made us the most powerful nation on earth.
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