Our Obama Problem Exceeds Our Spending Problem

William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

Simply put, anything which increases Obama’s chances of reelection will more than offset any additional cuts to be gained beyond the Boehner plan.  That plan is far from perfect, and doesn’t go far enough, but think how far we have come in just a few months since Obama proposed a budget which was so outrageous in its spending and deficits that not a single member of the Senate from either party voted for it.

This is an interesting viewpoint. Jacobson is a solid conservative, and I sympathize with his take on this. I just can’t help but think no matter how you slice it, this is putting politics ahead of principals. Our spending addictions are wild and completely out of control. Anything that does not get them under control ought to be a non-starter for all Republicans.

If the Republicans had a clear and consistent message that they didn’t compromise on, they would force the Democrats’ hand to act. The fact is we have a Democrat in the White House. If the Republicans pushed a solid plan and the Democrats failed to get on board, any negative impact felt by America would fall on Obama’s shoulders.

People attribute the economy to the White House. This is how Reagan beat Carter with his famous question “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” There is just no need for the Republicans to give in to the demands of Liberals in some sort of cushy “compromise” that screws the American people. They can stick to their guns here and put the ball in the Democrats’ court.

Instead, we have a situation where America is in a Ferrari headed towards financial hell, and the Republicans are saying, “Hey, let’s take a tractor there, it’ll take longer.”

I wouldn’t want that stance on my conscience.