This Washington Times article refers to House Majority Leager Tom DeLay‘s recent comments regarding the Bush Administration’s record on government spending:
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an “ongoing victory,” and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.
Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans’ choice to borrow money and add to this year’s expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn’t seem possible.
On the contrary, the Bush Administration compares poorly with past administrations in terms of cutting non-defense governmental spending, approved outrageous and poorly-administered pork barrel spending, ushered in a huge unfunded increase in the government’s future liabilities through the Medicare prescription drug benefit package, and has arguably presided over the biggest and most reckless deterioration of America’s finances in history.
In what parallel universe is Mr. DeLay operating?
Hat tip to Arnold Kling for the link to the Washington Times article.
Seems to me Mr. Delay was making a somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement of fact: everyone wants ot cut the budget, yet no one (at least, no elected representative nor senator) has offered up anything for the chopping block; hence his statement to the effect that there’s nothing left to cut. Any congressman or senator who criticises his statement will be put in the uncomfortable position of having to offer up a pet project from their district for the chop.
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House majority leader Tom DeLay has suffered a psychotic break….
Rolling back federal governmental spending would not have been a political winner in 2000 or 2004. Newt Gingrich learned his lesson the hard way that promising to roll back the federal welfare state is a political loser. President Bush is a more astute student of politics than he is generally given credit for being; he was never going to
make Gingrich’s mistake in that regard.
I think it’s much more likely that spending reduction is going to come later, from none other than John McCain. The nomination will be his
for the asking if he runs in 2008, and I suspect spending will be an issue he can actually run with (credibly) by 2008. Further, I think he’ll find the GOP House a willing partner in helping him reduce spending.