Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Our member Duane Oyen has properly called Ricochet's attention to this item:
... would-be House speaker John Boehner has gotten one thing right: the importance of changing the spending culture by changing the rules that enable it.
This is, Duane says, "the most important potential outcome of the election." I agree. It's in the top three, at least. The Wall Street Journal explains why:
Mr. Boehner suggested that "we ought to start at square one and give serious consideration to revisiting, and perhaps rewriting, the 1974 Budget Act." Now he's getting somewhere. That law, passed over the veto of a Watergate-weakened Richard Nixon, further rigged the budget process to abet spending. It killed the President's impoundment power not to spend money, and it established the annual "budget baseline" that makes spending increases automatic. Thus even a reduction in the amount of spending increase in a program becomes a budget "cut" that special interests can attack. Mr. Boehner should consult Budget ranking Member Paul Ryan and former Member Chris Cox for reform ideas.
The larger insight here is that Democrats have organized Congress and written its rules to aid and abet their policy priorities. During their last time in the majority, Republicans didn't do enough to rewrite those rules to assist their ostensible goal of limiting government power and reducing spending and taxes. They shouldn't make the same mistake again.
If you've read this far, you'll realize that this post has nothing to do with Harry Reid. Sorry! I lied! I doubt he's ever molested a child, frankly. But the headline "Rewrite the 1974 Budget Act" might have caused a lot of people to skim down the page, and really, this is too important for that.
(By the way, I don't think journalists should even dignify those stories about Reid and the sheep by repeating them, and besides, what would be wrong with it if he had, anyway? So the man likes himself some wool. It's a private matter.)
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May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire conspires with aliens!!!!!!!!
Now that I've got your attention, I wonder how two factors would impact the odds of getting something done in this regard: SCOTUS's weighing in on the line-item veto and how this would affect any return of impoundment power--there seems to be some overlap there which might prevent a wholesale renewal of the practice; also, some of these battles are not so much Dem v Rep. as Legislative v Exec.--a power struggle between the two branches.
A Yoo-Epstein discourse on this would be nice.
Jul '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire, get your facts straight.
It wasn't a sheep, it was a goat. No self-respecting sheep would consort with Harry Reid. And the relationship was entirely consensual.
The goat's "spokesperson", a certain Gloria Allred, has tried to whip up controversy by claiming that Reid reneged on his promise to "...call my client over the weekend...", though Reid's office has released an email delivery receipt from Flowers.com, proving that a tasty edible bouquet was delivered to the farm two days after the tryst.
The goat is said to be currently reviewing offers for a reality-TV show, a tell-all-memoir and for a photographic spread (including centerfold) from Modern Animal Husbandry.
May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:
Obviously, spending increases should not be automatic. But, before hearing Ricochet's lawyers chime in, I'd agree with the Budget Act's proposal that the President should not be able to refuse or redirect money Congress has allotted. That seems to directly conflict with the separation of powers, whereby Congress is supposed to control the purse strings.
Besides, the GOP should be focusing right now on what it's going to do before 2012. They can't pass any conservative laws for years to come. If they can change some Congressional procedures without the President's approval, and those procedures are not merely aimed at empowering Republicans, I support that.
May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Kenneth: Claire, get your facts straight.
It wasn't a sheep, it was a goat. No self-respecting sheep would consort with Harry Reid. And the relationship was entirely consensual.
....and as the Ayatollah has explained (seriously), the real no-no is to eat the goat after the romantic evening.
Aug '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Aug '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
I guess the address of the ad sort of gives it away. but chop !
http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/08/angle-says-reid-gave-viagra-to-child-molesters/
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire: And Scott you know that for once, the Ayatollah and I are in perfect agreement. Animals are for loving, not eating.
Claire's Cats: Important exceptions to this rule include rodents, lizards, and houseflies.
May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Aaron, I don't care that much about the Impoundment Act, though I think that a president ought to be able to not spend if the cash balance is going into deficit, and then Congress should be able to force the obligation by overriding with a supermajority.
The meat of this is not impoundment, it is the Current Services Baseline (link). Even Jimmuh Cartuh campaigned in favor of "zero-base budgeting." (he didn't really mean it, except for DoD)
Oct '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Claire: And Scott you know that for once, the Ayatollah and I are in perfect agreement. Animals are for loving, not eating.
Claire's Cats: Important exceptions to this rule include rodents, lizards, and houseflies. · Oct 9 at 6:27pm
Sorry, but my ancestors didn't fight their way to the top of the food chain so that I could be a vegetarian. :-)
Aug '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Claire's Cats: Important exceptions to this rule include rodents, lizards, and houseflies.
I'm pleased to see that snakes don't make Claire's cats' deli menu -- not that many of us of the ophidian persuasion wouldn't be able to defend ourselves anyhow.
Edited on Oct 9, 2010 at 9:55pmJul '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
If the Republicans are really serious about controlling spending, they will vote against raising the debt ceiling. Or even better, vote to lower it.
But every time a vote on the debt ceiling comes around, it seems to pass on a voice vote, with substantial Republican support. Because, of course, that's the only "responsible" thing to do.
Phonies.
May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
Claire, does this entire post violate the Code of Conduct for being off-topic?
May '10
Re: Is Harry Reid Molesting Our Children?
If the topic diversion is dictated in the post itself by the editor, absolution is immediate and unstinting.
The virtues of power.