WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE CONGRESSIONAL DEBT LIMIT BATTLE

August 11, 2011

The battle over the $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit is over--for now. The compromise package that passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Barack Obama increased the debt limit by the full amount he requested in exchange for illusory cuts in the federal budget over ten years.


The cuts are not actual reductions in spending from one year to the next. They are reductions in planned increases in spending. That's an old Washington trick to give cover to the politicians who want to make it look like they are really doing something to cut spending when they aren't.

The first round of so-called cuts was supposed to be $1 trillion over ten years. The specifics of where those "cuts" would be made were agreed to in the compromise.

An additional $1.6 trillion in cuts were contained in the compromise but they could not agree where those cuts would be made. So they followed the time-honored tradition in Washington of setting up a special committee made up of six Republicans and six Democrats--three Senators and three Representatives from each party.

This committee has been called the "super commission" because they have extraordinary powers granted to them by Congress. If they can agree on an itemized list of cuts, it will be presented to Congress for an up or down vote--no amendments allowed and no filibuster allowed.

If the super commission does not agree, or if their proposal is rejected, then a pre-determined formula for cutting spending by $1.6 trillion will kick in. It will be $800 billion of cuts in defense spending and $800 billion in cuts to Medicare.

The politicians who put this "poison pill" in the compromise knew full well that Congress would never go along with such cuts. It was placed there to box Republicans into a double bind. The Democrats will insist that taxes must be increased in order to avoid what they will call "Draconian" cuts in defense and Medicare.

This will force Republicans to choose between the "draconian" cuts or increasing taxes.

Republicans know that raising taxes now, in this economic climate would be a disaster.

The only bright spot in the compromise is the agreement to allow a vote in both houses of Congress on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. We can be justifiably proud of the fact that our grass roots lobbying campaign was responsible for members of Congress receiving over 250,000 faxes opposing an increase in the debt limit.

We inundated Congress with faxes causing Speaker Boehner to re-write his version of the compromise bill twice--each time making it stronger and more acceptable to conservatives.

We may not have stopped the increase in the debt limit but we did manage to help get the balanced budget amendment through in the final package.

The vote on the balance budget amendment will take place later this year, most likely in October. You will be hearing from us when that comes up for a vote and I hope every person on our roster will get involved in our grass roots lobbying campaign to get it passed through Congress.

OBAMA--DISENGAGED AND IN OVER HIS HEAD

It goes without saying that we oppose Obama for his radical left-wing agenda and for a laundry list of outrages.

But, quite apart from his ideology, Barack Obama has proven to be a colossal failure in the areas of competence and leadership.

He often seems disengaged from the crises swirling around him and more interested in the trappings and privileges of office than he is in being a leader.

You see him dancing at the White House, playing golf more than any President since Gerald Ford, taking off on expensive vacations, picking teams in basketball tournaments and more.

He is tone deaf, or just plain doesn't care, about the political implications of taking expensive vacations in the middle of a crisis.

And, when he does decide to take action on an issue, he inevitably makes the problem worse with his left wing prescriptions for every problem.

It is still a mystery why so many people ever thought that a man with zero executive experience and whose biggest deal in life was the purchase of his house, could walk right in to the Oval Office and manage the biggest and most important job in the world.

Would anyone with an ounce of brains hire a doctor, lawyer or accountant with no experience and expect them to do a great job? Would any board of directors anywhere hire an inexperienced management trainee to run the company? Of course not! But this is what happened in 2008 when the voters hired Barack Obama to be the President of the United States.

But don't count on the fact that he's been a total failure as President to guarantee that he won't get re-elected. He's got the media on his side and a powerful left wing establishment. He will be swimming in money and has a ruthless team of political pros running his campaign.

LIBERAL PATRICK LEAHY INTRODUCES BILL TO PROTECT ILLEGAL ALIEN MURDERERS

Just when you think you've seen the worst of the liberal mindset, something like this comes along and knocks you back into your chair.

At the behest of the Obama Administration Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, one of the most liberal members of the Senate, has introduced a bill called the "Consular Notification Compliance Act". The purpose of this bill was to stop the State of Texas from executing Humberto Leal, Jr., an illegal alien who had lived in the United States since he was two years old and was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 16-year old Adria Sauceda.

The Obama Administration attempted to pressure Texas Governor Rick Perry into halting the execution. Why? Because Humbero Leal, Jr., the convicted rapist and murderer had not been given the opportunity to consult with the Mexican Consulate when he was arrested for murder.

Understand, he didn't ask to be put in contact with the Mexican Consulate. But because it turned out that he was an illegal alien, Barack Obama and the U.S. Justice Department demanded that his execution be stopped because of this technicality.

Thank goodness Governor Perry refused to stop the execution and it took place on schedule.

The problem is that it has now come out that there are 50 other cases of Mexican citizens awaiting execution in the United States and they would be protected by the Leahy bill if it passes.

This bill must be defeated at all costs. We are carefully tracking the bill's progress and will keep you informed. When the time is right for a grass roots lobbying campaign, we hope we can count on your help in defeating this bill. Stay tuned.

From the "Republican Majority Campain 2012.