The Savage Republican

With the 2007 budget announced, the spin over who is getting what is in full swing. For example, when speaking before the SD35 DFL, Coleen Rowley spoke about how Defense spending was the big winner (only if big winner equates to the 3rd largest piece of the budgetary pie that is). However, the thing that has been the most upsetting is the talk of massive budget "cuts" in discretionary spending.

The San Diego Union Leader had a good dissection of this spin here.

"The President would increase Medicare spending by about 66 percent over the next five years. Under the proposed 2007 budget, Medicare would grow by 7.7 percent a year. Where’s the cut? There isn’t one. "

Well, not according to Senators Harry Reid and Arlen Specter. According to the dynamic due, because the increase is only 7.7% instead of the 8.1% from this last budget we are looking at "massive cuts". That dear reader is the reality of Washington DC. If your rate of budget growth does not match what you got last year, it is a budget cut!

"Despite the lies and demagoguery of the left, if entitlement spending is not restrained it will consume more than 60 percent of the federal budget in just 25 years. The President and Republicans must have the backbone to push real entitlement reform no matter how many times they are deceitfully called heartless and cruel. If they let the demagogues win, our children will be the ones who pay, and pay big. "

This is why these mid-term elections are so very, very important! Washington needs a dose of reality. Your budget (and mine) doesn't get an automatic increase every year. Why should Washington get one?