The Republican Party made tremendous gains in the recent midterm elections, winning an astounding number of legislative and executive seats in states across the country. If the GOP is to accomplish anything, and not squander yet another opportunity, it must fire the soon-to-be Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, and soon-to-be chair of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan.
Congressmen Ryan and Cantor have depicted themselves as reformers dedicated to cutting the deficit and ending corruption. These claims have no basis in their combined 20 years on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Cantor and Ryan voted "yea" on the following:
- the expansion of Medicare Part D (creating a $9.4 trillion unfunded liability over the next 75 years)
- the Iraq War ($742 billion cost),
- the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (annual budget of $52 billion)
- TARP ($50 billion)
- the bank bailout ($700 billion),
- No Child Left Behind (an annual cost $141 million a year by 2007 standards).
Iconic leaders amongst traditionalist conservatives, libertarians, and independents like Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, and Ross Perot all soundly rejected these items.
With our debt becoming so large it threatens to wreck the nation, our currency on the verge of becoming nugatory, the views of Congressman Cantor and Congressman Paul are dangerous.
Recently, Congress Ryan released his “Road Map to America’s Future,” which included entitlement reform, tax reform, and reduction of the debt. All of which would be a good start… but the proposals remain dubious, to say the least, coming from a party that's been all about guns and butter.
To paraphrase Jack Hunter, watching the two congressmen speak out against "big government" is like watching Ron Jeremy condemn pornography. The freshman class of Congress should take a lesson from the American people and throw the bums out.
