"Republicans Still Can’t Name Any Programs They Would Cut To Offset Extending The Bush Tax Cuts"

[TomCADem]

Here is nice article from Think Progress that is doing what the corporate media refuses to do, hold Republicans accountable for their crazy math and their BS talking points:

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/03/gop-cant-cut/

During this campaign season, many Republicans were loathe to lay out any spending cuts that they would make in order to offset their desire to extend all of the Bush tax cuts. Extending the entirety of the Bush tax package would cost nearly $4 trillion over ten years, including about $830 billion to extend the cuts for the richest two percent of Americans alone. House Republicans, though — including Pledge to America architect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — simply said that they would cut discretionary spending across-the-board to offset that cost. “The line item would be across-the-board,” McCarthy asserted.

Even though election night was upon them and a new majority secured, House Republicans weren’t any more willing to lay out specific spending cuts last night. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that the most important thing that Congress can do is extend the Bush tax cuts. But when Matthews pressed her for spending reductions, Blackburn only named parts of the budget that she has deemed off-limits for cuts. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) did the same, refusing to name a specific cut in two separate interviews

Contrary to one of Blackburn’s assertions, defense spending is part of the discretionary budget. The Sustainable Task Force — composed of Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and some of the nation’s leading defense and budget experts — has identified nearly $1 trillion in waste that can be cut from the defense budget over the next ten years by simply eliminating unnecessary Cold War-era programs.

Blackburn and Cantor seem to be under the impression that there is nothing that matters in the non-defense discretionary portion of the budget. But that portion of the budget includes all federal education funding, some veteran’s benefits, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, federal highway funding, the National Park Service, the Coast Guard, and Congress itself.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Gawd save us all from Republicon FAIL Freakery

They ruined America under 8 years of mismanagement from George AWOL Bush and Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney -- and now they are baaaaack to screw things up even more for America and honest Americans.

[Angry Dragon]

2. Cut Congressional spending by 50%

Eliminate Congressional pensions
Eliminate Congressional health care
Eliminate Congressional junkets

That should be a start

[mzmolly]

3. But they sure are "standing tough"...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9553409&mesg_id=9553409

[annabanana]

4. k&r . . .n/t