February 1, 2006, The party of small (as in its responsiveness) government
The Republican controlled House did what you'd think it would when it came time to try to make a half-assed and meaningless attempt to control the insanely out of control federal deficit: it imposed a meaningless-in-the-big-picture $40 billion cut over five years piled on the backs of the poorest Americans. The TLB Act (TLB stands for "tough love... bitches") passed 216-214; around a dozen Republicans were permitted to vote against the measure to save face (presumably in tough races from blue states). The rest had to join in reducing federal expenditures to student loan programs (investing in the future), welfare and child support enforcement programs (who told you to have kids anyway?), Medicaid for the elderly (who told you to get sick)... and you get the idea. Tax cuts remain sacrosanct. We won't talk about them, of course. The same House Republicans, of course, balked at lobbying reform; when something works, why fix it? I mean, the junkets and dinners keep coming, right? So... what's the problem?
Meanwhile, the responsiveness of the federal government to Hurricane Katrina was praised severely criticized in a report by (my former employer) the G.A.O. (now "Government Accountability Office"), noting that no one in the federal government took appropriate charge, despite clear warnings from the government's own National Hurricane Center that "Katrina was the Big One." Of course, in fairness, the President was trapped by that super-villain, Cindy Sheehan... won't she leave the poor President alone?
Anyway, the President is learning his lesson about over-promising... as we all know, presidenting is very hard work... so the President's proposed agenda is mostly not very ambitious... which, given this President's ability to actually deliver anything (except deficits and chaos) is... well, let's just say that lowering the bar is a good thing with this President (lower expectations mean fewer disappointments!)
The party of small (in its responsiveness) government, ladies and gentlemen. It'll be here all week, and will be held over for at least 11 months... maybe longer...