Print
E-mail
Gregg Sets GOP Tone On Federal Budget
By Joe Murray, The Bulletin
The man Barack Obama once considered for the post of Commerce Secretary has taken the lead in blasting the president’s budget and in setting the GOP’s tone for the upcoming debate.
Former Commerce nominee, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., warned Saturday, in his response to the president’s radio address, Mr. Obama’s plan “taxes too much and borrows too much” and will result in over $9 trillion in new debt over the next decade.
“In the next five years, President Obama’s budget will double the national debt; in the next 10 years, it will triple the national debt,” Mr. Gregg added.
“To say this another way, if you take all the debt of our country run up by all of our presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush, the total debt over all those 200-plus years since we started as a nation, it is President Obama’s plan to double that debt in just the first five years that he is in office.”
The issue of government spending has resurrected the GOP amid what many analysts thought would be leave them in lingering in political wilderness after two devastating campaign cycles. But after House Republicans unified to oppose Mr. Obama’s stimulus package two times, it appeared the GOP had regained its footing.
The party, however, showed its footing was less than solid Thursday when House Republican leaders introduced an alternative to the White House budget that contained few, if any, numbers.
House Republicans, in what is being dubbed as a public-relations blunder, unveiled what they called a “budget blueprint” in anticipation of the release of its alternative budget this week. The GOP leadership’s handling of the rollout — and a lack of specifics — left them appearing unprepared and opened the doors for the president’s allies to attempt to divide the party.
“For weeks, the Republicans just said ‘no’ to the president’s plan and refused to propose one of their own,” an ad released by the liberal Americans United for Change says.
“They finally presented their alternative. How many numbers were in their alternative ‘budget?’ That’s right — none. A budget with no numbers? Tell the Republicans that Americans won’t take no for an answer. Tell them we want our president — and America — to succeed.”
Republicans have consistently said the Obama budget amounts to an unprecedented amount of government intrusion in to the marketplace, which would undermine hopes of an economic recovery.
“He also is proposing the largest tax increase in history, much of it aimed at taxing small business people who have been, over the years, the best job creators in our economy,” Mr. Gregg said. “And further, he is proposing a massive new national sales tax on your electric bill. So that every time you turn on a light switch, in your house, you will be hit with a new tax — and it averages over $3,000 per household.
“These are staggering numbers and represent an extraordinary move of our government to the left,” he said.
As Republicans rally around Mr. Gregg’s message and Congress prepares for a heated debate, the nation also remains split as to the benefit the economy would receive if the Obama budget passed.
In a poll released by Rasmussen Reports, 42 percent of Americans believe the White House budget would help the economy, while 43 percent believe it will hurt the economy. The poll found that those believing the budget will help the nation has remained steady at between 42 and 44 percent, while those believing the budget will hurt the nation has increased over the past month.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
Former Commerce nominee, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., warned Saturday, in his response to the president’s radio address, Mr. Obama’s plan “taxes too much and borrows too much” and will result in over $9 trillion in new debt over the next decade.
“In the next five years, President Obama’s budget will double the national debt; in the next 10 years, it will triple the national debt,” Mr. Gregg added.
“To say this another way, if you take all the debt of our country run up by all of our presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush, the total debt over all those 200-plus years since we started as a nation, it is President Obama’s plan to double that debt in just the first five years that he is in office.”
The issue of government spending has resurrected the GOP amid what many analysts thought would be leave them in lingering in political wilderness after two devastating campaign cycles. But after House Republicans unified to oppose Mr. Obama’s stimulus package two times, it appeared the GOP had regained its footing.
The party, however, showed its footing was less than solid Thursday when House Republican leaders introduced an alternative to the White House budget that contained few, if any, numbers.
House Republicans, in what is being dubbed as a public-relations blunder, unveiled what they called a “budget blueprint” in anticipation of the release of its alternative budget this week. The GOP leadership’s handling of the rollout — and a lack of specifics — left them appearing unprepared and opened the doors for the president’s allies to attempt to divide the party.
“For weeks, the Republicans just said ‘no’ to the president’s plan and refused to propose one of their own,” an ad released by the liberal Americans United for Change says.
“They finally presented their alternative. How many numbers were in their alternative ‘budget?’ That’s right — none. A budget with no numbers? Tell the Republicans that Americans won’t take no for an answer. Tell them we want our president — and America — to succeed.”
Republicans have consistently said the Obama budget amounts to an unprecedented amount of government intrusion in to the marketplace, which would undermine hopes of an economic recovery.
“He also is proposing the largest tax increase in history, much of it aimed at taxing small business people who have been, over the years, the best job creators in our economy,” Mr. Gregg said. “And further, he is proposing a massive new national sales tax on your electric bill. So that every time you turn on a light switch, in your house, you will be hit with a new tax — and it averages over $3,000 per household.
“These are staggering numbers and represent an extraordinary move of our government to the left,” he said.
As Republicans rally around Mr. Gregg’s message and Congress prepares for a heated debate, the nation also remains split as to the benefit the economy would receive if the Obama budget passed.
In a poll released by Rasmussen Reports, 42 percent of Americans believe the White House budget would help the economy, while 43 percent believe it will hurt the economy. The poll found that those believing the budget will help the nation has remained steady at between 42 and 44 percent, while those believing the budget will hurt the nation has increased over the past month.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
 |
 |
|
| Panel: Rendell Policies Stunt Economic Growth | 'New York Times' Spiked Obama Donor Story |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thebulletin.us.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
