You’d never mistake me for an unbiased observer of John Boehner – as I’ve admitted, I’m a fan – but the guy has spent an awful lot of time in Washington. That makes it difficult to remain confident in the congressman’s ability to wrangle with President Obama, King of Class Warfare, over spending cuts vs. tax hikes.
Conservatives, take heart! The president sees the debt ceiling debate as a terrific excuse to raise taxes amid his spending binge, but Speaker Boehner remains a steady advocate of smaller government:
“I can tell that you [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor and I were very disappointed in this call for higher revenue,” Boehner said. “Secondly, they refuse to get serious about cutting spending and making the tough choices that are facing our country on entitlement reform. That’s the bottom line. I take the same oath of office as the president of the United States. I’ve got the same responsibilities as the president of the United States. And I think that’s for both of us to do what’s in the best interest of our country. And I can tell you that it’s not in the best interest of our country to raise taxes during this difficult economy and it is not in the best interest of our country to ignore the serious spending challenges that we face.”
This is what it’s all about, folks. We can’t afford the handouts politicians have promised their various constituencies. Are we going to rid the tax code of loopholes and prune the federal government back to saner dimensions? Or will the Democrats win, treating anyone who dares to succeed as fertilizer for a bureaucratic thicket from sea to shining sea?
Two reminders for Progressive eggheads who will cry that the GOP is preventing a grand bargain because they have no ideas: House Republicans passed a budget months ago. Senate Democrats haven’t bothered to write one for over two years. If big government works so well, why are its official champions so incompetent?
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Cross-posted at that hero and Columbus Tea Party.