GOP Presents Their Alternate Budget...Which Is Nothing

The Republicans reinforced their "Party of No" label by adding the word "nothing" to the repertoire. That "nothing" refers to their well-publicized event today that was supposed to be a presentation of their alternate budget for Congress to debate. Instead of bringing something to the table, empty rhetoric was the only thing reporters could find.

From TPM:

There certainly was no hard budgetary data in the attractively designed 18-page packet that the House GOP handed out today, its blue cover emblazoned with an ambitious title: "The Republican Road to Recovery." When Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was asked what his goal for deficit reduction would be -- President Obama aims to halve the nation's spending imbalance within five years -- Boehner responded simply: "To do better [than Obama]."

When pressed further by reporters, Boehner promised that Republicans would release their actual budget within the next few days and pointed a finger back at the president.

After Obama delivered a prime-time speech previewing his budget, Boehner said, "he didn't offer his details until days later."

The lack of any statistical heft in their packet left the House GOP stumbling out of the gate as it worked to re-dub itself as the "party of yes," in the words of No. 3-ranked leader Mike Pence (R-IN). House Republicans unveiled an alternative plan for the foreclosure crisis yesterday, and they are continuing to tout their economic stimulus proposal (along with an erroneous claim that it creates more jobs than Obama's).

The GOP's "Road to Recovery" packet, divided into sections on spending limits, job creation/tax reduction, and debt control, is certainly replete with big promises. The plan commits Republicans "to ensur[ing] that the federal budget cannot grow faster than families' ability to pay the bill" ... though it doesn't explain what metric the party would use to measure the "average" family's debt burden.

Big promises, little action. That is what the nation has come to expect from the Republican party. From this Republican caucus, the reign of George W. and back beyond Reagan, there have been grand ideas but nothing much has ever been accomplished aside from making the wealthy wealthier at the expense of the working and middle class. Now that most people are starting to understand that, it is getting harder and harder for people like Boehner to trick the American people anymore.