They say opposites attract, but deficit reduction and new stimulus spending are two contradictory ideas that have no business being considered in the same breath.
Sadly, that's not how President Obama sees it. The Associated Press reported today that President Obama may plan on using the new Deficit Supercommittee (created under the debt limit compromise) to make a renewed push for stimulus measures that have failed to gain traction in Washington.
President Obama may be trying to exploit the lax rules of the new Super Committee to push for new spending that otherwise could not have passed. The Committee's recomendations will enjoy expedited floor consideration thatlimits debate, precludes the opportunity for amendments, and eliminatesprocedural checks available to the minority, such as the motion to recommit inthe House and filibuster in the Senate. Because of these changes, the Committee's plan only require a straight majority for passage.
House Republicans, led by Eric Cantor, have already begun pushing back against the idea. "We must put an end to the policy uncertainty constantly being driven by this Administration," said Majority Leader Eric Cantor. "That means stopping the discussions of new stimulus spending with money that we simply do not have."
The stimulus was tried and failed. The huge rush of government spending did little to fuel job creation, but merely stoked the fires of debt that threaten to consume future generations. The problems created by that spending were the entire reason behind the creation of the Deficit Supercommittee in the first place. The President's attempt to coopt a Committee designed to cut spending, in order to try and increase spending, highlights how fiscally irresponsible this Administration has become.