Daddys & Taken T--Birds

(Daddys & Taken T--Birds)

Fun, fun, fun, right ? Is that what the Senate, Democrats, and some Republicans alike, had when they, like the Beach Boys, spent that $1.7 trillion omnibus ? Who might "daddy" be ? Might it be Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy ? In recent comments, it was McCarthy's contention that there is no instinct for fiscal responsibility because the bill was bi-partisan and its two sponsoring legislators, Leahy (D) of Vermont and Shelby (R) of Alabama are no longer with the Body. Like delinquent tenants who destroy a House when they are finally forced to vacate.

Technically, Speaker McCarthy should perhaps be gratified that the margin to the House GOP Conference is narrow. It can be said that 222 Members are more controllable than, say, 255 or a number like that. Herding cats would be an easier job than corralling all those what are in the end individuals who have to represent a District and not every locale has the exact same intertest. But there should be broad agreement in the Conference for the need to cut spending and not follow the "devil may care" omnibus approach of the Senate.

For the Senate, it ostensibly will not be able to spend what the House does not give it. The Upper Chamber might seek one of those rule changes that have been discussed but with a now hostile House and the enduring resistance of remaining Senate moderates, sweeping rule changes would no longer be an option. In the end, it will be coming down to what both sided have to have and what can be done without.

The culture needs to be changed, however. It can be said with confidence that Democrat spending is an end for its own sake. In their mind, all outlays are justified and any attempt to curtail any largess needs to be resisted for the sake of resisting. That is why a "clean" debt ceiling is what is being insisted upon.

If it has been Democrat proclivity to spend, traditionally it had been the Republican tendency to cut. At least that is what is usually expected although realties lie far from this ideal. Republicans can spend just as much and one need look no further than the omnibus and that GOP Senate participation. Speaker McCarthy is attempting to alter the cycle and whether he will be successful, or who will blink first, remains to be seen.