It was a telling moment in America’s political discourse. It hinted at how Republicans might govern should they reclaim a majority in one or both houses of Congress in 2010. “We need to capture this lightning in a bottle,” former Virginia Republican Congressman Tom Davis said of the tea party movement in 2009. Tellingly, he added, “But you can’t let them run the show”.
It was a prophecy. Thanks to the tea party, Republicans won the 2010 elections and won a majority in the House of Representatives. So, the lightning was captured in a bottle. And, the tea party is most certainly not running the show — especially when it comes to restoring order to the nation’s fiscal house.
How else to explain the failure of House Republicans to cut $100 billion in 2011 as promised in the Pledge to America? Or their 2012 financial plan that does not contemplate a balanced budget for the next 26 years? Or the fact that although the nation faces a $1.645 trillion budget deficit this year alone, the 2012 budget will only cut $111 billion from outlays.
Their only claim to reducing the $14.3 trillion national debt is as a measly percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) until 2037, when the nation would finally be in a position to begin paying it off. Until then the debt will still rise every year to $22 trillion by 2021 likely — even if they get everything they want.
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