February 27, 2024
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Senate Minority McConnell pushes for ‘clean appropriations and away from poison pills’ as House Speaker Johnson pushes to ‘rein in Democrats’ overspending and policies’ harming America
By Robert Romano
Congress is once again at an impasse on funding the federal government with partial shutdowns looming in the next week, with no agreement between the House and Senate, or even between House and Senate Republicans, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) calling for “clean appropriations and away from poison pills” while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushing to “rein in Democrats’ overspending and policies” he says are harming America.
In a Senate floor speech on Feb. 26, McConnell urged that Congress simply pass a status quo funding package that will change almost nothing: “We have the means – and just enough time this week – to avoid a shutdown and to make serious headway on annual appropriations. But as always, the task at hand will require that everyone rows in the same direction: toward clean appropriations and away from poison pills.”
Translating from Swampese, “clean appropriations” means the status quo.
That had followed a Feb. 25 X (formerly Twitter) post by Speaker Johnson that outlined House Republicans’ position in favor of cutting spending and harmful regulations: “Our position is that of the American people and our mission is to take steps to rein in Democrats’ overspending and policies that are harming the economy, raising prices, and making everyday life harder for our constituents.”
As it is, funding deadlines now looming for March 1 for the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs, and March 8 for Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Labor, and State.
The House has proposed hundreds of policy riders in their appropriations bills that defund government censorship, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, carbon disclosure rules and otherwise prioritize border security and stopping the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into the country.
From a policy perspective, having analyzed proposed government appropriations bills for over a decade, what House Republicans have come up with for Fiscal Year 2023 are among the most far-reaching and comprehensive approaches ever devised — and will surely serve as a roadmap for future Republican-led Congresses.
Whereas the Senate led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) doesn’t want any of those policies — and Senate Republicans led by McConnell apparently agree with him. That is, Senate Republican leaders don’t want a fight on any provisions whatsoever, effectively boxing House Republicans out since an effective strategy would in the minimum require Senate Republicans to make similar demands on the funding bills.
If you find yourself asking when Senate Republicans became so ineffective, a better question might be when they were ever highly effective at either cutting spending or reining in overreaching regulations. The only two large spending freeze of the past two decades were because Republican House Speakers John Boehner and Kevin McCarthy and their respective House majorities fought for budget sequestration in exchange for increases in the debt ceiling in 2011 and 2023, respectively. Senate Republicans voted in favor of both of those cuts, but the truth is, if they’d had their way, there wouldn’t have even been a fight.
There are very few pieces of must-pass legislation by which lawmakers can get anything accomplished. They are largely limited to appropriations and omnibus spending bills, continuing resolutions and debt ceiling increases. Lapses in appropriations can result in partial government shutdowns, whereas delays in debt ceiling authority can ultimately limit the federal government’s ability to borrow money for ongoing deficit expenditures.
Unfortunately, the choices being presented to the House and the American people are either doing nothing by passing another continuing resolution, which although it would maintain budget sequestration that automatically goes into effect April 30, doesn’t get anything else done to secure the border, cut spending further or roll back harmful regulations, or by passing the Senate’s so-called “clean” appropriations bills that similarly won’t cut more spending, secure the border or roll back regulations.
This sort of heads I win, tails you lose to appropriations is nothing new in Washington, D.C. and does outline the limits of what the GOP can hope to accomplish with just a small House majority. More might be accomplished, but that would require a united front from Senate Republicans, whose current leadership’s funding goals unfortunately for Republican and conservative voters appear to be more in line with the Senate Democratic majority than their own constituents.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
TippInsights: Haley's Deadend - It's Time To Unite Behind Trump
Speaking in Charleston, South Carolina, at her election night watch party, Nikki Haley, the former governor of the state who lost decisively to Republican front-runner Donald Trump by 20 points, said that she is a woman of her word.
It's not the word that voters expected her to keep, though. A month ago, in New Hampshire, Haley, who won 43% of the vote, said of her upcoming home state battle in South Carolina:
“What I do think I need to do is I need to show that I'm building momentum. I need to show that I'm stronger in South Carolina than in New Hampshire. Does that have to be a win? I don't think that necessarily has to be a win.”
We predicted then that should Haley perform worse in South Carolina - which she did, considering that she couldn't even meet the 40% threshold, coming in at only 39% of the vote with 89% of votes counted - she would never acknowledge defeat and probably spin away her loss.
And spin is exactly what she did as she addressed her supporters:
“That's about what we got in New Hampshire, too. I am an accountant, I know 40% is not 50%. But I also know 40% is not some tiny group. There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative. I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president. I am a woman of my word.”
If Haley is a woman of her word, she should quit the race. By her own statement a month ago, she has shown that she is not stronger in South Carolina than in New Hampshire. Deadends are hard in politics, but that's precisely where she is now.
It's time for Haley to be gracious, concede, and unite behind Trump to beat Biden. To that end, she smartly said a few words from which she could quickly pivot without hurting her brand or political future. It could be the mantra of a robust nationwide GOP campaign unified behind Trump: "America will fail if we make the wrong choices. We need to beat Joe Biden in November."
Haley has burned too many bridges to contribute to Trump's reelection efforts, but a decision to end her campaign immediately could put her in good stead to earn the Secretary of State spot in Trump's second term. Politically, it would be wise for Trump not to have her be a thorn in his side in America, appearing on TV and constantly second-guessing Trump's every statement or policy action.
As a former UN ambassador, Haley could be the moderating voice abroad to calm nervous foreign capitals who are anxious that Trump’s return could devastate existing alliances. A Haley appointment to run Foggy Bottom would also neutralize Trump's critics who charge that Trump is too pally with Russia. Haley has been a staunch defender of Ukraine, belongs to the Military Industrial Complex wing of the GOP, and could serve as an olive branch extender to the America First agenda. A second Trump administration would pursue an America First agenda anyway, so there's little risk of Haley upsetting Trump's priorities.
Haley's insistence that she is a compelling candidate for the GOP nomination because she won 40% of the vote is downright dishonest. In a two-person race, her support in both New Hampshire and South Carolina came from party crossovers. Her campaign, powered by TDS supporters, the liberal media, and Democratic donors, tried to replicate Liz Cheney's strategy (when Cheney begged Democrats to vote for her in the Wyoming congressional primary in 2022).
South Carolina has an open primary, so Democrats are free to vote in the Republican primary as long as they don't also vote in the Democratic primary. Biden was always expected to win the SC primary, given how the Palmetto State put him on the road to the White House in 2020. Indeed, on February 4, Biden won more than 96% of the South Carolina primary vote. Many Democrats never participated in their primary, holding their choices to vote for Haley to hurt Trump. These voters would never cast a ballot for Haley in the general election.
A more accurate evaluation of Haley's standing came from the results of the Nevada primary held on February 6, which were not binding regarding awarding delegates. Nevada had switched to a caucus format to award delegates, which Trump won handily. Trump wasn't on the primary ballot (candidates could only be on one of them), which meant there were only two choices for voters: Haley and "none of these candidates." Even then, Haley only captured 32% of the vote. It was an electoral disaster when "none" claimed nearly 62%.
So, RINO Nikki Haley has lost four elections in a row - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and now her home state of South Carolina. In Iowa, Haley came in third, behind Trump and Ron DeSantis. There's no political path forward for Haley in 2024 without a legal or medical Trump disqualification.
So, it is time for Haley to quit and unite behind Trump. Any other decision will put an end to her political career. If she has any doubts, she should talk to Liz Cheney.
To view online: https://tippinsights.com/haleys-deadend-its-time-to-unite-behind-trump/
Urge Nikki Haley To Drop Out Of The Republican Presidential Race!
