It was two years ago this month that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was enshrined in the the Gutless On Principles (GOP) Hall of Shame for joining forces with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—who was the Senate Budget Committee Chairman back in the day when Harry Reid was the official leader of the Senate instead of the defacto leader he is now under Mitch McConnell—in creating the Ryan/Murray Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.
Isn’t it interesting how legislators use the word “bipartisan” when they pass legislation that raises taxes and increases spending? Pretty much tells you all you need to know about how pathetic the Republican leadership has been, wouldn’t you say?
So, with a history of such spineless leadership, it should come as no surprise that Ryan is once again playing footsie with the Democrats in the current budget discussions, this time with Nancy Pelosi. And while Ryan plays the Capitol Hill version of the rope-a-dope on the omnibus that was supposed to be voted on this past Friday, it is his Boehner-esque behind-closed-doors negotiations that Conservatives find particularly troubling.
As we approach the new budget deadline of December 16, 2015, chairman of the Republican Study Committee Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) said in an interview with The Daily Signal that he still doesn’t know what’s exactly on the negotiating table or what could end up in the spending bill:
“My biggest frustration is that [the negotiation process] is too opaque. We don’t have any transparency into anything that happening.”
The Ryan camp isn’t wasting any time defending their lack of transparency. An aide told The Daily Signal that the new speaker hasn’t backslid on his promise [to be more transparent and inclusive]. The aide noted that while members of the House don’t have specific details, they have more information than they would have had under his predecessor, John Boehner. Translation? We’re just as bad as Boehner was.
Unfortunately there are those in the Conservative camp who buy this lie, including House Freedom Caucus member Matt Salmon (R-AZ).
“It’s like turning the Titanic around in the Potomac; It’s not possible, you can’t take all these years of bad policy and turn it around overnight.”
Expressing a complete willingness to play political games on the big issues, Salmon defended Ryan’s decision to negotiate in secret in order to keep members and outside groups from gumming up the works. Then, according to Salmon, the process “would drag on for a couple of months.”
I guess stopping Obama’s destructive agenda is simply too time-consuming for some people.
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative, where you will find news and opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” He is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His political commentaries can be heard daily on KLZ560 AM at 5pm MST and on other Crawford Broadcasting stations throughout the day.
