By George Scaggs
Last week Congress skipped town to head home & hit the campaign trail. It seems they left a bit of unfinished business.
Not only did the Democrat-controlled body fail to deal with the Bush tax cuts which are set to expire on December 31 but in case you didnt hear this year Congress failed to fulfill one of the most fundamental duties it has: They did not pass a budget.
Actually to be totally accurate they never bothered to create a blueprint for government spending at all. Barely managing to address the issue the House passed only two of 13 necessary appropriations bills and the Senate passed none.
This was no small dereliction of duty. In fact it was a first for the U.S. Congress under the current budget rules which have been in place since 1974.
Perhaps we should have expected as much from the 111th Congress. Every time we thought they couldnt get any worse they managed to reach another new low. Their entire tenure was fraught with one affront after another: passing major legislation without reading it blocking the minority party from the legislative process prohibiting legitimate debate last-minute backroom deals unchecked corruption etc.
This bunch seemed to make up the whole game of governance as they went along routinely abandoning the processes by which we should be governed. Perhaps never has a body empowered by the people proven so unworthy. Indeed the electorate appears most anxious to bid them good riddance and rightly so.
Once the Democrats finally figured out that they were in genuine disfavor they found the constitutionally mandated tasks of taxation and spending too problematic to deal with. Though out of absolute necessity with the federal governments new fiscal year beginning October 1 both houses did manage to pass catch-all continuing resolutions to keep the whole operation chugging along ever closer to the edge of the proverbial cliff.
All politics and philosophical differences aside this is no way to properly run a government. If this is not tyranny then how shall we define it? At what point of
indiscretion and reckless abandon do we start calling it what it is?
Still while Congress-bashing is all too easy with the 111th and the current powers that be are more than deserving of the fate that awaits them on November 2 if Pelosi Reid and gang are nothing else they are cunning and manipulative. Theyre not done yet. Something wicked this way comes.
Considering the Democrats whole one-party rule approach to running the country we must ask ourselves what are their intentions during the post-election session that will convene on November 15?
The Democrats continuing resolutions were based on Obamas train-wreck of a budget proposal for 2011. Coming in at a whopping $3.83 trillion and borrowing forty cents of every dollar it spends it is a grand scheme to create an additional $1.6 trillion of debt.
Actually it will prove worse than that. The administrations numbers forecast last February were based on the failed Keynesian notions that economic growth would be much greater than it has turned out to be. The subsequent loss in revenues will only widen their projected deficit gap.
Obviously the stage is set for more mischief to come. Something has to give. A lame-duck Congress will have only until December 3 to continue funding the federal government and thats with a generous Thanksgiving break thrown in. A precious few days to deal with appropriately spending such a massive sum is begging for a standoff.
The mountain of debt in Obamas budget is bad enough but the means by which Democrats appear to be planning to implement it is despicable effectively adding a heap of insult to a ton of injury.
Essentially lame-duck Democrats will be in the position to shove a budget down our throats one that they avoided properly dealing with in an attempt to save their electoral hides and know will be rejected by the newly elected Congress. Thus they will not be inclined to use another continuing resolution to push the matter into the next session.
Adding to the tension will be the sticky matter of extending our current tax rates a simultaneous unfolding drama that will only heighten the partisan rancor.
Behind that the new Congress must deal with raising the debt ceiling currently at $14.3 trillion within a few short months. If anything like the Obama budget gets passed our amassed debt will be well north of $15 trillion within the 2011 budget year.
How will Republicans react to all of this? Presumably during the lame-duck session we will get a quick test of the current GOP congressional leaderships mettle. Will they have the fortitude and integrity to shut down the federal government? It may be their only option to avoid being steamrolled.
And what of us the groundswell of Americans demanding sweeping change in the way we are governed? Are we ready for it? Given the nations less-than-desirable economic and fiscal circumstances it stands to reason that substantial sacrifice is going to be required sooner or later.
Are conservatives with the hue and cry of a huge dependent class and relentless attacks from the media prepared to weather the storm?
Ultimately if we are to expect the kind of bold and stern leadership that the times demand then we are going to have to damn well back it up.
The exuberance of a conservative takeover of Congress will be short-lived indeed. The struggles we have endured in the last few years all the protests and the hard work done to produce electoral change in this years elections may prove relatively easy.
They will pale by comparison to the challenges quickly coming our way.
Hold on ... its about to get interesting.
George Scaggs is a writer commentator voice actor & audio-video producer. You can find his work at Bargain Citizen Media Ramparts360.com and TexasInsider.org.
