Published in the Lynchburg Ledger on March 4, 2011
Congress has just kicked the can down the road, postponing a potential government shutdown by two weeks. In the continuing resolution which passed by the House by a 335 to 91 vote, the government will be funded from March 4th until March 18th and cut spending by $4 billion. Senate Democrats have indicated they will pass the extension and Barack Obama has indicated he would sign it although he favored a 4-week extension.
By way of a review, we are at this stage because the last Congress failed to pass a budget for the fiscal year which began October 1, 2010. The Democrat-dominated House, led by frequent-flyer Nancy Pelosi, did not even attempt to produce a budget because last year was an election year. The voters noticed and fired her for non-performance of duty. Since October 1st, the government has been running on “continuing resolutions” which keeps the government running at current spending levels.
The U.S. House has passed a budget to fund the federal government to the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2011, but removed funding for many of the Democrat’s pet projects for a total savings for the remainder of the year of $61 Billion. All the Senate has to do is pass the House budget bill and send it to President Obama for his signature, but the Democrats are stalling.
Some of the cuts in spending that infuriate the Democrats are the de-funding of Planned Parenthood, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, $14 million for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and certain EPA and Department of Energy programs. The Republicans cut the EPA budget by about 29% and included prohibitions to fund programs implementing carbon dioxide regulations and regulation of cement plants, which is the Obama Administration’s way of implementing Cap and Trade, which failed in Congress.
The Republican House, the Democrat Senate and White House are playing the old game of chicken. None wants to be the first to blink. Democrats must think the two-week extension will give them time to sway public opinion to their side. I don’t see that happening.
It was the Democrats in the last Congress that rushed legislation like ObamaCare though Congress without giving legislators and the public time to read them. Now those the shoes is on the other foot, Democrats seem more than willing to slow things down.
Failure to reach a settlement by March 18th will result in a shutdown of the non-essential functions of the federal government. Would that be a good or bad thing?
The last time the federal government shut down was in 1995 under similar circumstances. Back then, we had a Republican House and Senate and “William the Impeached” in the White House. Once again, it was the Republicans trying to rein in spending and the tax-and spend Democrats in opposition.
In 1995, the Republicans took a short-term public relations hit and were the first to blink. In the long-term, they suffered little ill effects at the polls. They lost only nine House seats in 1996, easily retaining their majority. In the Senate, they gained two seats.
Where they did suffer was in the personal attacks lunched against them by Democrats. Their philosophy has always been if you can’t beat them at the polls, smear their reputation. Then - Speaker Newt Gingrich was targeted by the Democrats on a phony ethics issue. Democrats are already trying the same tactic this year.
The entire political climate has changed in the 16 years since the last government shutdown. In 1995, about the only well known conservative talk show host was Rush Limbaugh; there was no blogosphere, no Fox News Network, no Tea Party movement and no Lynchburg Ledger.
Today, all that has changed. Much more unbiased information is available today than ever before. In 1995, the three major TV networks, the New York Times and the Washington Post dominated the news with their liberal bias and spin. The Fox News Network, now available in 102 million households across the country, was launched on October 7, 1996 and quickly grew to be the top TV news provider in the nation.
The Internet has also had a major impact and provided a much needed alternate source for news. Outlets such as The Drudge Report, Real Clear Politics and Townhall.com are just a couple of excellent sources of information.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey reported last Monday that fifty-eight percent (58%) of the respondents say it’s better to have a partial shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree on what spending to cut. The Democrats have lost the argument in the public square and they are beginning to step out of denial.
With a possible government shutdown looming, bureaucrats in federal agencies will be scrambling to determine how many “essential” workers will stay on the job. They will decide just who qualifies as essential personnel, earning the right to continue working even as the rest of the government gets furloughed.
With the rebellion of unionized government workers in Wisconsin and other states, I think it is about time the nation had the debate over rights of the taxpayers and the unionized public employees. Today, the percentage of unionized workers is approximately 11 percent and half of those are government workers. Government workers now make on average more than the taxpayers who pay their salaries and benefits.
The federal government needs to trim its spending as the various states do. In some cases, cuts will hurt, but for the long-term economic health of the nation, they must be made.
Let us hope the Republicans won’t be the first ones to blink this time as the public is solidly in their corner this time.
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