On the FR weblog today, Jason Roe, our Beltway correspondent, laments that the Prop. 77 strategy in California may backfire and, due to a ripple-effect of other redistricting measures that may pass in a number of other states where the GOP has the favorable lines, we may lose the GOP majority in the house. Jason and I disagree on Prop. 77, but that’s okay. I’m right and he’s wrong! ;)
THE BIGGEST DANGER TO A GOP LOSS IN THE HOUSE
If we want to look to why Republicans might lose their majority in the House, one need look no further t
han an article from The Hill today, and look to California’s own Duncan Hunter. Hunter is Chairman of the esteemed House Armed Services Committee, and a very senior player in the House. He has also apparently been drinking the water too long! Apparently Duncan Hunter has staked out public OPPOSITION to a very modest plan pushed by House conservatives for an ACROSS THE BOARD 2% CUT IN FEDERAL SPENDING.
DID THE ALIENS ABDUCT THE REAL DUNCAN HUNTER?
I’ve known Duncan for years — he has always been a patriot, and a strong conservative leader. But what conservative would not embrace the idea of across the board cuts (at 2%, you’d actually just call that ‘beltway tightening’). Look, I understand that Republicans do not generally favor cuts in defense spending. Lord knows what Bill Clinton did to our readiness as a nation with his cuts in defense spending to finance his social agenda. That’s not what we are talking about here – these are cuts across the board. I have no doubt that the United States Department of Defense can find 2% to cut – it is, after all, a huge bureaucracy.
ALWAYS TAKE ACROSS-THE-BOARD-CUTS!
I would submit that ANY time we can slash the federal government across the board – do it! I would say this to Members of Congress, if you want to come back later, and make an argument, on a case-by-case basis to augment funding to an area — then introduce that and discuss that individual boost on its merits.
FINAL NOTE TO DUNCAN HUNTER: I respect that you feel a responsibility to protect your ‘turf’ – but as a conservative CHAIRMAN of a Committee, you have such a bully-pulpit from which make positive change, which in this case is a (very modest) cut in federal spending! You simply should not oppose ‘across the board cuts’ in federal spending! To do so take away any argument for you tosay that you support a limited role for the federal government. Not at this point – not with the grotesque expansion in the size and scope of the bureaucracy over the last 100 years.
(If I am missing something here, folks – shout out!).
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The FlashReport commends longtime GOP donor (and football masochist) Alex Spanos for donating $1,000,000 towards the passage of Proposition 77!!
Have a great day, and keep sending me your input!
Jon
PS: You won’t believe what Phil Angelides had to say about his own kids and his ‘parental’ philosphy if any of them were contemplating aborting a child… Read it on FR friend Erig Hogue’s blog here.