Impeachment Proceedings and the Art of War
Timothy Birdnow
"Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content."
- Sun Tzu
I'm all for a balanced budget amendment. I think we need one to hold spending to a loud roar (it's still going to be waaayy past a dull one) and it would be great if we would implement such an amendment. Unfortunately, I fear the notion that we will pass one as part of the debt ceiling imbroglio is daft.
Right now we need to concentrate on forcing Obama to send out social security checks and military pay. This man is fully intending to hold these for a week or so to bring wrath upon the GOP should he not get his way, and the House Republicans must take steps to prevent this - or make it obvious to the American People that it is Obama's choosing to take food from their mouths. This balanced budget idea is a concept whose time is yet to come; now is not the time, and it is simply going to be used as an example of the "unwillingness" to act soberly by the GOP.
I'm not alone in thinking this; Lawrence Hunter has a piece at Forbes making the same exact argument.
http://blogs.forbes.com/lawrencehunter/2011/07/17/its-time-for-the-republicans-to-play-budgetary-small-ball/#comments
As Mr. Hunter observes;
"Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is not the disaster; failing to raise the debt ceiling with a rogue president and no plan to preempt and constrain him is a disaster. We have a disaster in the making on our hands. Wake up, Republicans!"
End excerpt.
I fear he's right; this is indeed a disaster in the making. As Donald Trump observed, Republicans are the worst negotiators, and have repeatedly been caught with their pants down on this.
Rush Limbaugh understands how this should be done; he has argued that the GOP should be still and force the President to move. Obama has laid a trap for them, a trap that will split the party elites away from the Tea Party and thus split the Republican vote. The Tea Party will turn to the Libertarians, or the Constitution Party if the GOP caves, yet Boehner and his fellows will be hurt by moderates if they propose some foolish scheme that gives the President what he wants. Obama comes out looking like a winner, and like the adult. No, what Boehner should do is go play golf, quit meeting in private with Il Duce and point out that Congress gives the Executive Branch money but it is up to him to apportion how it is spent, so HE is the one who has to propose a realistic plan. Tax hikes are off the table. Obama himself said tax hikes would tank the economy not six months ago, and history shows clearly that it does; Republicans raised taxes in 1931, turning a fragile economic recovery into The Great Depression. They should be saying this very thing to the media. Say that this is what the President has to work with, and make him propose a budget. If he says he'll have to stop SS checks then you can howl to the public the truth; that he would rather pay his buddies in SEIU by taking the food out of the mouths of senior citizens. Many of those SEIU members are there because of the Stimulus anyway, money that should never have been spent.
But you have the McConnell types who are ready to capitulate to avoid being blamed, and that at the cost of losing the Tea Party. Foolish. You also have the types who still think this is ordinary politics, and that at the end of the day they can go to the pub and quaff a few hefeweizens with Bam and the boys. Those times are past. The time of the sunshine legislator is over; these are the times of storms, and the faint-hearted should return to their think-tanks and their media and academia jobs. But we must be wise.
And we must attack at Obama's weak flank, not "hey, diddle, diddle, straight through the middle" (as was said to be the invasion plan for Iraq in the First Gulf War.) This balanced budget amendment idea is clearly hey diddling.
No, it is time to be still, to force Obama to make the next moves.
Remember Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am The Lord".
"Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content."
- Sun Tzu
I'm all for a balanced budget amendment. I think we need one to hold spending to a loud roar (it's still going to be waaayy past a dull one) and it would be great if we would implement such an amendment. Unfortunately, I fear the notion that we will pass one as part of the debt ceiling imbroglio is daft.
Right now we need to concentrate on forcing Obama to send out social security checks and military pay. This man is fully intending to hold these for a week or so to bring wrath upon the GOP should he not get his way, and the House Republicans must take steps to prevent this - or make it obvious to the American People that it is Obama's choosing to take food from their mouths. This balanced budget idea is a concept whose time is yet to come; now is not the time, and it is simply going to be used as an example of the "unwillingness" to act soberly by the GOP.
I'm not alone in thinking this; Lawrence Hunter has a piece at Forbes making the same exact argument.
http://blogs.forbes.com/lawrencehunter/2011/07/17/its-time-for-the-republicans-to-play-budgetary-small-ball/#comments
As Mr. Hunter observes;
"Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is not the disaster; failing to raise the debt ceiling with a rogue president and no plan to preempt and constrain him is a disaster. We have a disaster in the making on our hands. Wake up, Republicans!"
End excerpt.
I fear he's right; this is indeed a disaster in the making. As Donald Trump observed, Republicans are the worst negotiators, and have repeatedly been caught with their pants down on this.
Rush Limbaugh understands how this should be done; he has argued that the GOP should be still and force the President to move. Obama has laid a trap for them, a trap that will split the party elites away from the Tea Party and thus split the Republican vote. The Tea Party will turn to the Libertarians, or the Constitution Party if the GOP caves, yet Boehner and his fellows will be hurt by moderates if they propose some foolish scheme that gives the President what he wants. Obama comes out looking like a winner, and like the adult. No, what Boehner should do is go play golf, quit meeting in private with Il Duce and point out that Congress gives the Executive Branch money but it is up to him to apportion how it is spent, so HE is the one who has to propose a realistic plan. Tax hikes are off the table. Obama himself said tax hikes would tank the economy not six months ago, and history shows clearly that it does; Republicans raised taxes in 1931, turning a fragile economic recovery into The Great Depression. They should be saying this very thing to the media. Say that this is what the President has to work with, and make him propose a budget. If he says he'll have to stop SS checks then you can howl to the public the truth; that he would rather pay his buddies in SEIU by taking the food out of the mouths of senior citizens. Many of those SEIU members are there because of the Stimulus anyway, money that should never have been spent.
But you have the McConnell types who are ready to capitulate to avoid being blamed, and that at the cost of losing the Tea Party. Foolish. You also have the types who still think this is ordinary politics, and that at the end of the day they can go to the pub and quaff a few hefeweizens with Bam and the boys. Those times are past. The time of the sunshine legislator is over; these are the times of storms, and the faint-hearted should return to their think-tanks and their media and academia jobs. But we must be wise.
And we must attack at Obama's weak flank, not "hey, diddle, diddle, straight through the middle" (as was said to be the invasion plan for Iraq in the First Gulf War.) This balanced budget amendment idea is clearly hey diddling.
No, it is time to be still, to force Obama to make the next moves.
Remember Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am The Lord".
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 6:03 AM
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