Libertarian ideas of smaller government, cutting domestic spending and a balanced budget not only run in the Paul family, but are starting to take a hold with mainstream Republicans as well.
Just ten years ago, the budget and domestic spending would not have been as high of a priority to many within the party other than Senator Rand Paul’s (R-Ky) father, Rep.Ron Paul (R-Texas).
When the younger Paul proposed his latest take on the FY 2013 United States Budget, it was seen as the “most radical” of today’s four proposed Republican budgets by many on the left. But it was also seen as a refreshing change by many on the right.
Most surprising about the Paul Budget is not that it made it to a vote at all, but that 16 of the Senate’s 47 Republicans voted for a budget that was supposedly too radical.
Today’s vote got a ‘yea’ from Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator John Thune (R-SD) just to name a few.
The Paul budget most notably called for the elimination of the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is seen as a large step by mainstream conservatives in getting the nation’s finances back on track.
According to the American Spectator, the Paul budget will also reduce federal spending by $11 trillion relative to President Obama’s budget, reduces discretionary spending to 2008 levels, and reduces foreign aid at $5 billion per year.
Theoretically, the Paul budget will not only balance the federal deficit in five years, but it would actually achieve a $111 billion surplus by 2017. If that wasn’t juicy enough for most conservatives, the Paul Budget would also repeal Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements.
Super committee defense spending sequesters would also be ended, and the Federal government would also be required to end ownership of any failed private sector companies and stop bailing out corporations.
Despite the spending cuts that will be seen as ‘hefty’ by those on the left, the Paul budget sets out to prove that many items can be cut without touching entitlements. A separate bill addressing Medicare has yet to be drafted.
None of the senators were available for comment.
About Casey Cheap
I tend to think of it as the Newt Philosophy. After all, Paul missed the whole Contract with America and Republican Revolution. Newt was able to pass balanced budgets for 4 years in the House (I’d consider at least 2 years balanced overall thanks to the US Senate). After Newt left, everything could be pretty easy…just renew his budget- Sure, it was not perfect…you have to compromise with a democratic president, but overall it got things done.
Paul agrees with many of the same things, but Newt never used Paul to help him get reelected to Congress. Ron Paul has used Newt in his ads for election (because he realized he’d lose without Newt’s help against his opponent). Thus, to me, Newt is the clear top tier.
Also, it just don’t like using someone to help you win on an issue, then attacking them years later on the same issue. Kind of a JERK move, in my opinion.
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Federal spending actually increased every year that Newt was Speaker. The reason the budget was balanced was because tax revenues increased faster than spending increases.
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Actually, KP, Newt’s “Contract with America” was a watered-down version of Mark Neumann’s balanced budget plan, and only “balanced the budget” by raiding the Social Security trust fund. Newt also kicked Neumann off of an appropriations committee because he didn’t vote for a spending bill…
Newt supported Scozzafava, an ACORN backed candidate, over Doug Hoffman in NY 23
Newt said he would have voted for TARP were he in Congress at the time
Newt supports ALL energy subsidies
In a 2007 interview at Freddie Mac, Newt said this: “The housing GSEs have made an important contribution to homeownership and the housing finance system. We have a much more liquid and stable housing finance system than we would have without the GSEs. And making homeownership more accessible and affordable is a policy goal I believe conservatives should embrace.”
He advocated an individual mandate FOR 20 YEARS
Newt helped develop Medicare Part D
He campaigned for Rockefeller against Goldwater
He has repeatedly called FDR the greatest president of the 20th century, and his other favorites include Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson– he called himself a ‘realpolitik Wilsonian.’
Whatever good Newt may have done in his career, Newt has NOT devoted his life to fighting for limited government, something Ron Paul HAS done– and the philosophy that is gaining popularity is one that includes Austrian economics, something Newt opposes. Say all you want about how great Newt supposedly is, he’s irrelevant to today’s conservative revolution.
I stopped giving merit to this article at this point: “…priority to many within the party other than Senator Rand Paul’s (R-Ky) father, Senator Ron Paul (R-Texas).” It wasn’t a typo either, further down the article: “None of the senators were available for comment.”
It’s Congressman Ron Paul, not Senator. Few have a real grasp of Ron Paul’s actual policies or apparently even the position he holds.
Newt also betrayed any alliance with the National Right to Work Act. He killed the bill in committee. Kind of a jerk move in my opinion. Gingrich was overrated and his showdown with Clinton over where he seated on an airplane showed Gingrich’s true characteristics. That and he’s never found a wife that wasn’t too good to cheat on.