The dueling partisan debate over government spending cuts and the continued operation of government services draws to a climax on March 4. Atmospherics aside, the positions of the opposing sides are rather clear. The Democrats have declared the position that a continuing resolution to maintain spending at current levels, including the freeze in spending that Obama has already imposed and which yields reduced spending at an annual rate of $41 Billion, should be adopted as an interim measure. This is the approach that the government and Congress have taken in the past when a budget impasse has arisen. The GOP demands that a spending cut amounting to a reduction rate of $100 Billion be accepted in exchange for an agreement to avoid a government shutdown.
The Wall Street Journal reported: “In exchange for extending the deadline, Republicans want Democrats to agree to cut spending even in that short-term measure, and will try to put the onus on Democrats if they oppose it.”
Now we have the posturing about who gets the blame if the government shutdown actually occurs. The GOP is trying to construct some form of contrived logic to shift the blame to the Democrats and President. However, the continuing resolution is likely to be a short term and purely temporary measure that the public will not see as a sufficiently big deal to require agreement on the GOP plan. Why not simply continue the present course until a new plan and budget is enacted. Indeed, it is customary in the minds of most of the public that the old contract continues until replaced by a new one. Sen. McConnell has trotted out, once again, a specious pronouncement that his opinion represents what “the people” of the country want, despite no evidence whatsoever of any basis for that conjecture or credibility on his part to so proclaim. Recall the supposed public election mandate to create jobs, followed by McConnell’s proclamation that his primary goal was to defeat Obama in 2012. That does not sound like someone closely in touch with the will of the people.
The last showdown yielded an adoption of the status quo by extending the Bush tax cuts, including tax relief for the most wealthy who do not need it and which exacerbated the deficit that the GOP now wants to cut spending to address. It may sound simplistic, but it appears that the GOP made a mess and now wants to blame someone else for the cleanup cost. In any event, the Democrats, if they have the spine for it, ought to simply hold firm and demand that the status quo again be maintained. If the GOP really wants major spending cuts, then they ought to be more focused upon crafting a long range budget plan that can gain bipartisan support and avoid a Presidential veto. The quicker they achieve that solution, the shorter period of time the stopgap measure will be in place.
Given the recent past behavior of the Democratic Party and the President, there is room for serious doubt about the combined courage and wisdom to remain firm on a continuing resolution that does not make things worse than they already are, and insist on maintaining the current spending levels. This is, however, a test of leadership and will be a strong signal to the public about whether Obama can expect support from liberal and moderate voters in 2012. If he caves once again, especially when it is totally unnecessary, the damage to his credibility and reputation for leadership may be irreparable. The GOP bluffed last time, and the President blinked and caved. What he called conciliation was actually appeasement, as the current pseudo-crisis reveals. With appeasement, giving ground unnecessarily typically leads to the bully demanding even more concessions. This time around, the GOP is again bluffing and people will be looking to see if the President has learned any lessons.
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