It is September so three major sports are going on in America. Baseball is marching towards the playoffs and the World Series. College and pro football have started and America’s national pastime, politics, is heading toward the end of the season with the November elections.
Then comes the political postseason, or as it is more commonly known, the lame duck session of Congress.
Congress will put off difficult and unpopular decisions until after the election. Difficult and unpopular is any decision that an endangered politician might regret before the election.
While it is still too early to safely predict who will be in the World Series or in the Super Bowl, it is fairly safe to predict that Republicans will gain seats in the Senate after this election.
Before the next Congress is sworn in, there will be one last rodeo for President Obama and this Congress. Congress will come back for the lame duck to try and pass a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded and pass what is known as the Tax Extender package.
The Continuing Resolution will keep the government funded and running. The Tax Extender package is a group of laws that will extend certain tax programs and tax cuts.
The real question for the political post season is whether or not the Republicans will stand up for themselves or whether they will let Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have one last shot at cramming big spending, fraud and waste down the throats of the American people.
In 2012, Mr. Obama won re-election. As soon as he did, he demanded that Congress raise taxes. Unfortunately the Republicans went along with this, saying Obama had a mandate because of the election.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
If the American voters keep the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives and more seats in the Senate, there’s a mandate. The American people are speaking and saying they are tired of the Democrats. They are tired of Obamanomics. The Republican Party must push a solid conservative alternative to what can only be described as the Great Obama Depression. This means cutting the cronyism in the budget. This means a serious effort to create policies that help the free market, create jobs and actually grow the economy. If there is to be a lame duck session, this must be the Republican Agenda.
The Republican spending and tax plans coming out of the House is the beginning of getting America’s fiscal house in order. The House Republican plan is far better than anything the Democrats are coming up with.
Oh wait, they aren’t coming up with a plan. They do not want their candidate in 2016 to be stuck with a bad Democrat plan.
With the debt that is out of control and the other policies that have led to the Great Obama Depression, a record number of Americans, almost 93 million, are no longer in the job force. Many have simply given up.
If the Republicans sweep the Senate in November, that is a message from the voters to Washington that America wants the House Republican plan, not another disaster from the Obama/Pelosi/Reid axis of fiscal evil. As long as the Democrats control the White House, a real plan that cuts spending and taxes and starts to move America toward fiscal sanity will be impossible. But when you are in a hole, the first thing anyone must do is stop digging. The House Republican is a step towards stopping the digging.
Republicans have a position of strength to act from. In 2012, Barack Obama acted from a position of strength when he force Republicans to sign off on his tax increase. Now it is time for the Republican to insist on meaningful spending cuts. They can start with a favorite target of this column: the Wind Energy Production Tax Credit. The subsidy given to Warren Buffett so he can build expensive and unneeded wind farms.
The problem with so many Republicans is they refuse to act from a position of power, even when they have it. With far too many Republicans, the siren song of “COMPROMISE” calls them.
Washington has a funny definition of compromise. Compromise is when Republicans give the Obama/Pelosi/Reid axis of fiscal evil what they want. When do the Democrats ever compromise?
To many in the conservative movement, compromise is a dirty word. When used properly to advance objectives, compromise is a wonderful tool. But when compromise is the goal, surrender is always the first option.
The GOP must stand tall and fight on the issues of spending and taxes. This time they hold the high ground. Voters are choosing the Republicans because this is what they want. The Republican Party should not fear this.
They should embrace it.
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