Politico: Michele Bachmann voted against a short-term bill to keep the government running while a negotiated budget package moves through Congress. Bachmann says the larger deal, which includes $39 billion in spending cuts, and has garnered wide support among the Republican Conference, is a “disappointment.”
“The deal that was reached tonight is a disappointment for me and for millions of Americans who expected $100 billion in cuts, who wanted to make sure their tax dollars stopped flowing to the nation’s largest abortion provider, and who wanted us to defund ObamaCare,” Bachmann said in a release. “Instead, we’ve been asked to settle for $39 billion in cuts, even as we continue to fund Planned Parenthood and the implementation of ObamaCare. Sadly, we’re missing the mandate given us by voters last November, and for that reason I voted against the Continuing Resolution.”
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Mark Meckler (co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots) tells CNN, “In February the government incurred a historic high $233 Billion deficit. Last night, at best, they agreed to cut $38.5 billion in spending over the next six months. Are we disappointed? We think those numbers speak for themselves. This country needs bold and visionary leadership, something that seems sorely lacking in those ‘leading’ today. The fight will continue in the days and months ahead, and Tea Party Patriots is in it for the long haul.”
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Judson Phillips (head of the Tea Party Nation): “Can someone please tell me how this is anything other than John Boehner hauling up the white flag because he is unwilling to fight? Can anyone please tell me how this is anything but a complete victory for the liberal Democrats, who want to keep spending this country into bankruptcy and poverty?”
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The Hill: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, applauded Speaker John Boehner’s work on a last-minute budget deal to avert a government shutdown, but he was not happy with the content of that deal. “We’re impressed with his effort, we just didn’t like the final product,” Jordan said.
Jordan said he expects “significant” opposition from conservatives, both to the short-term fix and the long-term spending bill. He said he will vote against both. He also expressed disappointment that a rider defunding Planned Parenthood hadn’t been inlcuded. “We wanted more advancement on the life issue,” Jordan said.
…Asked whether he’s disappointed that Republicans didn’t reach the $100 billion in cuts they pledged during the campaign season, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said he “would have loved to have a larger cut,” but noted the GOP controls only the House.
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This might be why they’re not happy – 😉
CNN: Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden beamed that Congress and the White House were circling around “$73 Billion” in budget cuts. But that’s not $73 Billion in real-people dollars. That’s $73 Billion in imaginary, government-speak dollars….
…The vice president’s “$73 Billion” in cuts, and the Republicans’ initial “$100 Billion” number, are both reductions from President Obama’s proposed 2010 budget, which was never passed. That’s the key point. That proposed, larger budget, never became reality.
It’s a bit like a college kid who asked his parents to buy him a car and was turned down, but who then tried to count the lack of a car as a “spending cut” the next year. The money was never allocated for spending in the first place.
…Politicians could theoretically argue that they are still “cutting” when they compare numbers to Obama’s proposed, theoretical, never-became-reality budget. But they are only cutting their own fantasy budget, on paper. It is not the same as cutting actual dollars that agencies expect to spend.
So, How Much is Really Being Cut? The “deal” announced by Biden would cut $33 Billion in actual, current spending. That’s how much of government agency’s expected budgets would be cut immediately if this plan wins out….
More here
Thanks for the link, gobrooklyn
Remember:
MSNBC (October 2010): Republican leaders, ever more confident of their chances of winning control of the House and possibly even the Senate, have begun plotting a 2011 agenda topped by a push for more than $100 billion in spending cuts, tax reductions and attempts to undo key parts of President Barack Obama’s health care and financial regulation laws.
The Obama Diary 
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