- Oct 7, 2011
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Pretty interesting and accurate take from Jack Hunter...
These days, virtually all Republicans call themselves conservatives and claim to be dedicated to cutting spending, balancing budgets, reducing debts and limiting government. Most of them are liars. The failure of the super committee this week was but the latest reminder.
The super committee was supposed to figure out how to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. If it failed, the result was supposed to be $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts over the next decade, with about $600 billion of that coming from the defense budget. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said any such cuts would be devastating to our military. Many prominent Republicans agreed with Panetta. Mitt Romney said: We cannot put Americas safety in jeopardy by virtue of the failure of this committee. Michele Bachmann echoed that sentiment: We cant do that to our brave men and women who are on the ground fighting for us.
When conservative Republicans say they want to cut the Department of Education, the Department of Energy or anything else, liberal Democrats shriek that Republicans will devastate education, energy and any other part of our government that does not remain 100% intact. Conservatives rightly recognize this as a liberal scare tactic designed to prevent anyone from downsizing a federal government that so desperately needs downsizing. What separates liberals from conservatives is that whereas liberals love big government and will tell any lie to protect it, conservatives hate big government and will cut it at every opportunity they get or at least this has long been perceived as the divide in American politics.
I stress the word perceived, because when it comes to Pentagon spending, too many Republicans still behave exactly like liberal Democrats.
Read more: Why Republicans can't cut | The Daily Caller
These days, virtually all Republicans call themselves conservatives and claim to be dedicated to cutting spending, balancing budgets, reducing debts and limiting government. Most of them are liars. The failure of the super committee this week was but the latest reminder.
The super committee was supposed to figure out how to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. If it failed, the result was supposed to be $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts over the next decade, with about $600 billion of that coming from the defense budget. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said any such cuts would be devastating to our military. Many prominent Republicans agreed with Panetta. Mitt Romney said: We cannot put Americas safety in jeopardy by virtue of the failure of this committee. Michele Bachmann echoed that sentiment: We cant do that to our brave men and women who are on the ground fighting for us.
When conservative Republicans say they want to cut the Department of Education, the Department of Energy or anything else, liberal Democrats shriek that Republicans will devastate education, energy and any other part of our government that does not remain 100% intact. Conservatives rightly recognize this as a liberal scare tactic designed to prevent anyone from downsizing a federal government that so desperately needs downsizing. What separates liberals from conservatives is that whereas liberals love big government and will tell any lie to protect it, conservatives hate big government and will cut it at every opportunity they get or at least this has long been perceived as the divide in American politics.
I stress the word perceived, because when it comes to Pentagon spending, too many Republicans still behave exactly like liberal Democrats.
Read more: Why Republicans can't cut | The Daily Caller
