Patriot Post Vol. 07 No. 13 | 30 March 2007
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
A budget too good to be true
Senate Democrats pushed through a $2.9-trillion budget blueprint this week to expand the children’s health-insurance program by $50 billion over the next five years, add more money to education and veterans’ benefits, and increase overall discretionary spending by nine percent in FY 2008. Democrats claim it can be done without cutting defense (or a single federal program for that matter), raising taxes or increasing the deficit. In fact, they believe that this budgetary sleight of hand will actually balance the federal budget by 2012.
While the budget does extend the Bush tax cut for middle-income Americans, the expanded child-income credit and the ten-percent tax bracket, it completely ignores the inevitable expansion of the Bill Clinton’s stealthy 1993 Alternative Minimum Tax rate hikes (due to hit 23 million Americans next year) and it fails to enact fiscal belt-tightening in any way. Additional money to pay for the plan is supposed to come from so-called “reserve funds,” which as of yet do not exist.
Although they have not admitted as much openly, it is certain that Democrats will fill those reserve funds with fresh revenue from across-the-board tax hikes on business, higher-income Americans and a renewed death tax, which will return in 2011 at more than 50 percent. All told, tax increases in this bill will be nearly $400 billion over five years—a figure far higher than the then-record $240-billion tax hike by tax-and-spend Democrats circa 1993. Need we mention the potentially devastating economic impact of this fiscal piracy?
Of course, Democrats employ the “ignore the problem and it will go away” approach to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Currently, there is no political will in Congress to actually do something about runaway spending, especially after the pounding President Bush took over his minor Social Security reform plan.
Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has long been a staunch advocate of responsible government spending. As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, he has renewed the call for a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, challenging the denizens of Capitol Hill to embrace it before the federal government drives us into a fiscal disaster. Some of its basic points are: 1) Taxpayers have a right to have a federal government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it; 2) taxpayers have a right to receive back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement; 3) taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised; and 4) taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code they can understand.
Embracing the ideas that a balanced federal budget means less spending, not more taxes, and that taxpayers have the right to a simplified tax code seems antagonistic to liberals, but to those of us that live in the real world and advocate constitutional government, such rights are merely commonsensical.
Earmark hide and seek
The Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service (CRS) has summarily decided to no longer respond to congressional requests for information on earmarks. The stated reason? Since the House and Senate appropriations committees and the White House Office of Management and Budget are now following the earmark process, CRS no longer needs to play a role. In other words, the CRS is putting the fox in charge of the hen house. What seems to be lost on CRS Director Daniel Mulhollan is the fact that without his nonpartisan office’s reports, citizens cannot be sure that earmarks are not in fact being added secretly to federal spending. If these reports are not even going to be conducted, then what, pray tell, is the purpose of this $100-million agency? Perhaps to help members of Congress feel better about their spendthrift ways. Fortunately, Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) are not inclined to take Mulhollan’s excuses lying down.
Thompson surges in polls... but will he run?
Last week, our own Mark Alexander profiled Patriot friend and former Senator Fred Thompson and his possible presidential candidacy. Patriot readers responded with a resounding “Run Fred, Run!” and Thompson has leapt out into third place in some polls—and he’s not even running... yet. We rarely report on polls, nor do we give this one too much weight so early in the game, but we are fascinated at the reaction a potential Thompson run has received. He garnered 13 percent in the latest Gallup Poll, behind Rudy Giuliani’s 31 percent and John McCain’s 22 percent; most of his support came from Giuliani’s previous 44 percent. We fully expect that as conservatives learn more about Giuliani and McCain, their numbers will head downward. Mitt Romney, another touted “front runner,” only managed three percent—within the margin of error of a big fat zero. We suspect Thompson would soon become the front-runner should he join the race.
Remember the ‘Friends of Bill’? That was nothing
Hillary in ‘08 Clinton received a big endorsement this week from Tom Vilsack. “Tom who?” you may ask. He’s the former governor of Iowa and an old friend of the Clintons. Vilsack, believe it or not, also was running for President for about a month and a half. His endorsement does not amount to a hill of beans except for two things: He carries weight in the Iowa caucuses, and Hillary has offered to bail him out of $400,000 in campaign debt for the favor. The Clinton campaign quickly denounced as “ridiculous” the natural charges of quid pro quo. “One thing’s got absolutely nothing to do with the other,” spokesman Phil Singer said. “They’ve known each other for years. If she weren’t running for President, she’d be doing whatever she can to help retire his debt.” Right. As The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto quips, “We’re sure Mrs. Clinton would have been happy to pay off Vilsack’s debts even if he’d endorsed Barack Obama.”
Tony Snow’s cancer returns
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow announced this week that his colon cancer has returned. Two years ago, Snow had his entire colon removed and endured six months of chemotherapy. Through it all, he maintained his good will and his good nature. Late last year, a growth was discovered near his pelvis; after tests showed that it had grown, doctors removed it on Monday. The cancer has spread to his liver, however, and this is not a good sign. It is not known when or if Snow will return to his duties at the White House, but what is known is this: Tony Snow’s wit, warmth and decency are among the rarest of attributes in our nation’s capital. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Edwards stays in race despite wife’s cancer recurrence
“The campaign must go on” was the message of John and Elizabeth Edwards upon learning that the cancer Mrs. Edwards fought several years ago had returned. The response to the Edwards’ decision has ranged from praise for the couple’s courage to criticism that the senator has put politics above family.
Noble though this quest may be, it is our belief that America will not be well-served by a president whose attention is, as it must be, so thoroughly focused on the health and well-being of his ailing wife. We are told that Mrs. Edwards’ cancer is incurable, and should the young Edwards children be left without a mother, they certainly will not be well served by a father whose attention is, necessarily so, focused on the grueling and relentless affairs of state. Having said this, we join with all Americans in offering our prayers for Elizabeth Edwards and her family.
New & notable legislation
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) is seeking co-sponsors on his bill (H.R. 1586) to fully repeal the death tax, set to reappear in 2011.
Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) is seeking original co-sponsors on the Parent’s Right to Know Act, which would require Title 10 clinics to notify parents five days before providing contraceptives to minors.
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) introduced the Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act (H.R. 1640), which would provide liability protection for Americans who responsibly report suspicious activity.