Obama Preparing to Use “Hatchet” on Federal Spending?
One reason Obama did so well in last fall’s presidential election was that moderate voters believed him when he promised a “net spending cut.” Many, once reliable Republican voters, no longer trusting the GOP on spending, agreed with the Democratic nominee that were “living beyond our means” and needed “to make some adjustments.”
While these voters may have trusted the newcomer to the national stage, many on the right, including yours truly, never believed him. It wasn’t just his liberal voting record. It was also his partisan pedigree. Democrats have traditionally held onto power by turning on the federal spigot to pay off various interest groups.
And while I certainly appreciate that the President is finally considering a “domestic spending freeze” and will commend him should he succeeded in effecting it–should he freeze spending (adjusted from inflation) at the levels they were when he took office, I highly doubt he’ll get this done. From one standpoint the move makes a lot of political sense; it would endear the Democrat to the independents who have been abandoning his party in droves.
But, in winning back independents in such a manner, he’d dispirit his base. Heading into mid-term elections, Democrats can’t afford to antagonize those groups dependent on the largesse of and special treatment from the federal government.
Should Obama succeed in implementing such a freeze, I do hope he’ll apologize to his 2008 opponent for dismissing his plan to do just that. When John McCain brought up the topic in the first debate last September, Obama quickly shot it down, “The problem with a spending freeze is you’re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel.“
Here’s hoping the President whips out that hatchet and that he doesn’t freeze into place the big budget boondoggles of his erstwhile Congressional colleagues.
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I can’t believe there are no comments yet.
The problem with fact-checking Obama when his books came out… is that he hadn’t actually done anything yet. There was vary little on public record. Thus, no facts to check.
Comment by Sonicfrog — November 13, 2009 @ 8:48 pm - November 13, 2009
So he will use the ‘hatchet’ AFTER the stimulus and healthcare bills are passed. Um…stimulus already has us in incredible debt and the government healthcare us to death is going to cost and cost and cost. Not for actual healthcare, but for pay and benefits of all the cronies put in place to dictate who gets care.
Comment by Annie — November 13, 2009 @ 10:02 pm - November 13, 2009
Here I go with My inaugural thread on the GP… Firstly, I need to thank My family, friends and the 100s of job seeking sycophants sitting at My feet hoping to catch any scrap I toss from My plate. I must admit, without them propping Me up I could not attract the scores of groupies that continue to pay My bills. Now after much thought and discussion, it’s clear even to Me, the notion of finance and budget is where all roads converge. Just as in our married life, how grateful am I now, Michelle is taking up the reins to lead us on a fiscally responsible path of recovery. Think back to the beginning of summer; how impressed were we all after she unveiled the veggie garden at 1600. What 1st Lady has soiled her hands like My lil Mickey? I’m here to tell you all, that postage stamp patch of a garden out back saves countless dollars on the White House Chef’s budget. This is just one example of how My administration will continue to be reticent about its affairs in implementing ways to curtail spending at the federal level. As always My door will remain open in an effort to encourage a bipartisan discourse. Thankyou and g’nite.
Comment by Spartann — November 13, 2009 @ 10:13 pm - November 13, 2009
As I’ve done before, I would like to draw attention to the date of that promise: October 15, 2008. The financial crisis was in full swing.
In other words, he promised it implicitly as part of his solution to the crisis. It would have been a good solution. It would have been helpful to the economy and preserving jobs. If he had meant a word of it.
It won’t be enough. Because of Obama’s $1.5 trillion annual deficits, the U.S. economy is headed off a cliff. Freezing spending where it’s been pumped up to means freezing deficits in the $1 trillion range. That’s the problem – not the solution. For America to have a snowball’s chance in hell, spending must be cut drastically – say, to a $0 deficit if not a surplus.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — November 13, 2009 @ 10:17 pm - November 13, 2009
Ooops. Wrong post comment. Gotta watch the wine intake.
Scratch that, I hadn’t drunked yet!
Comment by Sonicfrog — November 14, 2009 @ 1:31 am - November 14, 2009
Hmmm. And maybe we should put arsonists in charge of fire service. Brilliant.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — November 14, 2009 @ 4:51 am - November 14, 2009
Obama will not take a “hatchet” to federal spending next year or any other year because liberals are incapable of picking up and using anything resembling a weapon–even metaphorical ones.
Comment by Sean A — November 14, 2009 @ 4:53 am - November 14, 2009
He has thrown the budget and deficit so far out of whack that he can cut $50 billion out of the budget and say “see how good I am!” and not have made a dent in the deficit. Yeah, it was out of whack before he got into office, he decided to make it worse. That makes no sense.
Comment by LCRW — November 14, 2009 @ 9:22 pm - November 14, 2009
Just as while campaigning, Obambi will TALK about cutting spending, but will actually spend MORE once given any chance at all to do so. Only complete idiots believe anything that comes out of his mouth at this point.
Comment by Tully — November 15, 2009 @ 2:51 pm - November 15, 2009