It is impossible to take Democrats in Congress seriously when they say they are interested in cutting spending.
As you may recall, it was only weeks ago that Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., was blasted by Democrats for insisting that a debt-increasing, $10 billion extension of unemployment benefits be paid for with cuts in wasteful government programs.
Sen. Bunning was not opposed to helping the unemployed — though that is how his opponents portrayed him. He simply was calling the bluff of Democrats who have long demanded “pay-as-you-go” rules so that new spending is offset by cuts elsewhere.
Now it’s happening again. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says a new $9 billion extension of unemployment and other benefits ought to be paid for with spending cuts in other areas. One area ripe for cuts is the wasteful, unproductive, $862 billion so-called “stimulus.”
But once again, Democrats flatly refuse. They want to add the extra $9 billion to our crippling $12.8 trillion national debt. And once again, Republicans who are trying to block that are being condemned for supposedly not caring about the unemployed.
The fact is, Congress could show a lot of concern for the unemployed by de-funding the stimulus, which has failed to create the jobs promised but has added to our already unsustainable debt load. But on a party-line vote, Democrats rejected the idea of using unspent stimulus dollars to pay for the new benefits.
“What we are doing is stealing future opportunity from our children,” Sen. Coburn told The Associated Press.
He should be praised, not criticized, for insisting that Democrats abide by their own “pay-go” rules and pay for this proposed new spending with spending cuts from the bloated federal budget.