Last week in regards to the impending debt limit negotiations we asked What do Republicans want?" Since then House Speaker John Boehner has reiterated his position that every dollar of raising the debt ceiling will require one dollar of spending cut. But as s Phil Klein pointed out last week that policy simply is not workable. So where do conservatives go from here?
Yuval Levin and James Capretta both fellows at Ethics and Public Policy Center have written articles in The Weekly Standard and National Review that outline a more prudent debt limit strategy. Both authors start with the premise that a grand bargain" with President Obama on entitlement spending is simply impossible (Capretta: Does anyone believe the GOP can force the president and Senate Democrats to accept these kinds of reforms in a debt-limit showdown two months from now?" Levin: Essentially none of the ambitious proposals of the Ryan budget can be adopted as they stand while Obama is in office.").
Capretta then warns Republicans not to get suckered into a larger entitlement debate during the debt limit fight if the GOP makes the debt-limit fight a showdown over fundamental entitlement reform the president will successfully put on the agenda another round of tax hikes in grand bargain" fashion. The media will of course play along and echo the argument that… The danger is that the GOP by escalating the stakes could find itself in another retreat on taxes which would be truly disastrous for the party."
Instead both authors advocate smaller topical tactical reforms that will set the stage for real reform later.
Capretta writes: The GOP needs to articulate real entitlement reforms advance them in the legislative process and stand behind them for the next two years. That should mean for one advancing reforms to Medicare that fall short of premium support but nonetheless represent real progress toward advancing consumer incentives in the program. On Medicaid the GOP could work with the nations 30 Republican governors to push for reforms that give the federal government more budgetary predictability and the states far more control over the program."
Levin echoes: Their task now is to use the broader vision laid out in the Ryan budget as a standard by which to distinguish good from bad incremental steps and so to propose discrete politically plausible reforms that not only reduce spending but lay the groundwork for the sorts of larger reforms they believe are needed in the long run. Many potential spending cutsincluding many entitlement cuts like the provider cuts in Medicare favored by some Democratswould not meet this test and should not be pursued. Those that do meet it would need to involve changes in the character of the entitlement system."
This will be a difficult road for Republicans to follow. It will require a degree of movement discipline that Republicans did not display when Boehners Plan B fiscal cliff bill failed to pass the House last year. But if Republican leaders do step up their game and develop a list of sensible small ball" reforms that the caucus can support then conservatives will have laid the groundwork for electoral gains in 2014 (7 Democratic Senators face reelection in states Romney won) and possibly even a chance to enact their full agenda after 2016.
Last week in regards to the impending debt limit negotiations we asked What do Republicans want?" Since then House Speaker John Boehner has reiterated his position that every dollar of raising the debt ceiling will require one dollar of spending cut. But as s Phil Klein pointed out last week that policy simply is not workable. So where do conservatives go from here?
Yuval Levin and James Capretta both fellows at Ethics and Public Policy Center have written articles in The Weekly Standard and National Review that outline a more prudent debt limit strategy. Both authors start with the premise that a grand bargain" with President Obama on entitlement spending is simply impossible (Capretta: Does anyone believe the GOP can force the president and Senate Democrats to accept these kinds of reforms in a debt-limit showdown two months from now?" Levin: Essentially none of the ambitious proposals of the Ryan budget can be adopted as they stand while Obama is in office.").
Capretta then warns Republicans not to get suckered into a larger entitlement debate during the debt limit fight if the GOP makes the debt-limit fight a showdown over fundamental entitlement reform the president will successfully put on the agenda another round of tax hikes in grand bargain" fashion. The media will of course play along and echo the argument that… The danger is that the GOP by escalating the stakes could find itself in another retreat on taxes which would be truly disastrous for the party."
Instead both authors advocate smaller topical tactical reforms that will set the stage for real reform later.
Capretta writes: The GOP needs to articulate real entitlement reforms advance them in the legislative process and stand behind them for the next two years. That should mean for one advancing reforms to Medicare that fall short of premium support but nonetheless represent real progress toward advancing consumer incentives in the program. On Medicaid the GOP could work with the nations 30 Republican governors to push for reforms that give the federal government more budgetary predictability and the states far more control over the program."
Levin echoes: Their task now is to use the broader vision laid out in the Ryan budget as a standard by which to distinguish good from bad incremental steps and so to propose discrete politically plausible reforms that not only reduce spending but lay the groundwork for the sorts of larger reforms they believe are needed in the long run. Many potential spending cutsincluding many entitlement cuts like the provider cuts in Medicare favored by some Democratswould not meet this test and should not be pursued. Those that do meet it would need to involve changes in the character of the entitlement system."
This will be a difficult road for Republicans to follow. It will require a degree of movement discipline that Republicans did not display when Boehners Plan B fiscal cliff bill failed to pass the House last year. But if Republican leaders do step up their game and develop a list of sensible small ball" reforms that the caucus can support then conservatives will have laid the groundwork for electoral gains in 2014 (7 Democratic Senators face reelection in states Romney won) and possibly even a chance to enact their full agenda after 2016.
