No one would ever mistake General “Blood N Guts” George Patton (“L’audace, toujours l’audace”) with an Establishment Republican. Why? Maha Rushie nails it:
What they ought to do, the Republicans ought to just say, “Let’s just extend ’em for the rest of the year and put it off the table.” That’s the Republicans’ usual plan. Just agree with the Democrats and then get it off the table and then Republicans will say, “We’ll come back and we’ll nail ’em on the debt limit, or we’ll nail ’em on the debt ceiling, or we’ll nail ’em on the budget.” So if they were to stay in character, the Republicans would say, “In an attempt to steal the compassion issue –” In fact, I’m gonna suggest this right now.
Attention inside-the-Beltway Republicans. The way to deal with this is to tell the Democrats not three months, you want to extend these emergency benefits to the end of the year and get it off the table. Take the issue away from the Democrats so you can’t be hurt by it during the campaign. And I guarantee you if there are any inside-the-Beltway Republicans who just heard this, they’ll think it’s brilliant and they might actually propose it. “My God, if we got Limbaugh on our side on this what’s to stop us?” Well, it’s what they’ve been doing with every issue, agree with it, get it off the table so it doesn’t hurt us. That’s why they’re doing with amnesty, let’s just get rid of it. The issue’s killing us.
Seems right – the “get it off the table” Republicans. So, too scared to stand up against the Democrat Political Club du jour? Just take it off the table by going along with it. How many times have we seen this just the last two years in DC? It’s always “give in now to shut down the voices, and we’ll run away to runaway another day”.
Here in NH? From today’s Laconia Daily Sun:
“but GOP leaders said they still hope to find a compromise” – meaningful words, or a cover? I dunno. Campaigning here has already started (Stage One – identify. Stage Two – start the jockeying…) as well as the second session. Governing (Dec 23, 2013) shows us a repeating of the above message: “Senate Republican Leader Jeb Bradley says he’s still committed to finding a way.”
The base hates this issue; they want it off the table, too – but by deep sixing it instead of passing it via “not quite as bad as the Dems”. Free money, you say? Federal money, you say? Not NH money, you say? Hmmm, I’m betting that most of the NH Republican base are also Federal tax payers – they understand that there is NO SUCH THING AS FREE MONEY – especially when it is THEIR money that they won’t be able to spend on their own families! That their kids and grandkids will be paying for this “gift”.
Does the NH GOP Leadership truly believe that the recipients of their largesse of other people’s money is going to have them turning around and voting Republican? That has about as much of a chance of happening as these same folks knowing what LIVs stands for.
Stop relying on other peoples’ monies; if this issue is really so darn important, reject the Fed money entirely – and confront the Democrats with this:
“If this is so important, use NH money to pay it – all!”
or offer them this: if it is all that important, how are you going to restructure the budget, reprioritize all that the State does, so that NH pays for it itself? What is the sacrifice you are willing to make so that these people will get that Medicaid (even as the Oregon study shows that it isn’t working like they say it is)? This will put them on point – or shut them up.
And this may well put them on point another way – will each and every House Democrat vote NOW for a broadbased tax? Knowing that elections are coming up? Will each and every Senate Democrat vote NOW for a broadbased tax? Knowing that elections are coming up? Same thing with the Government, Maggie “The Red” Hassan? I do believe that if this is passed NOW, the bill will come due very soon for NH taxpayers as the Feds will fail to live up to their “promise” – a law can be written and as we have seen these last four months, Obama is willing to issue a diktat to change the stuff that must be changed for political reasons. Keeping the money with the Feds are sending it to the States? You know which decision will be made. Don’t let the NH Dems kick that can down the road – put it into their face RIGHT NOW.
Just as the base is putting their’s in yours.
