House Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida dropped by the newsroom of The Washington Examiner early this morning for an editorial board chat and was asked by yours truly about the statement of Rep. Jack Kingston that “Republicans need their pork barrel just as Democrats did…”
An obviously pained Putnam called the Georgia Republican’s words “a mis-statement,” and vowed that the “Republicans recognize that our reputation as fiscal conservatives suffered greatly in the last several election cycles.”
Kingston’s statement, Putnam, said “is clearly not indicative of where this [House Republican] conference is going. We have to earn it back , we have to back it up with actions.” Kingston is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and has bucked the anti-earmark movement on several occasions in recent months.
Putnam said he has not spoken with Kingston about the latter’s statement, and said he was unaware of whether any other members of the House GOP leadership have spoken to Kingston on the issue.
Putnam’s discomfort with the Kingston quote is indicative of what may well be the GOP’s fundamental political problem now – based on the experience of the past 12 years, why should anybody believe party leaders like Putnam when they promise fidelity to conservative principles?
The party’s situation today is reminiscent of the first Bush presidency. When George Bush the elder violated his “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge from the 1988 presidential campaign, it undermined his credibility when he ran for a second term in 1992 against Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. Millions of conservative or otherwise anti-Washington voters went for Perot, despite Bush’s promises during the campaign’s closing weeks of a return to conservative principles.
If you haven’t already read Jennifer Rubin’s fine piece at National Review Online on Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, go directly there now and read it. You want to see the approach to politics and government that will win a new majority in Washington? Study Coburn closely.
He’s getting lots of attention in the mainstream media, the Blogosphere and among conservative political activists for his fine work in making earmarks a front burner issue and for leading the campaign to secure passage of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, but I think his ultimate significance could well prove to be his modeling of an honest official who candidly tells the truth no matter the consequences.
Forget the spin, forget the next election, just tell it like you see it and, if voters turn you out, well, Washington, D.C. is not the center of the universe, contrary to the views of most of its inhabitants.
An excellent example of Coburn’s approach was seen today in the Senate when he offered a Sense of the Senate resolution stating that it is the moral obligation of the Congress to offset the costs of new government programs and initiatives.
Coburn’s resolution, which basically gave the Senate an opportunity to vote for a non-binding resolution endorsing a balanced federal budget, was rejected on a 54-43 vote. Here’s how Coburn described the result:
“Our unsustainable fiscal course, which was described in dire terms in this week’s Medicare and Social Security Trustees Report, is not only a financial challenge but a moral challenge. Every child born in America today is faced with a debt of $453,000 in unfunded liabilities from the federal government because politicians in Washington lack the courage and discipline to make choices. Congress’ stay the course attitude on spending will bury the next generation in debt, lower their standard of living, undermine our ability to compete in a global economy and leave our nation less capable of facing foreign threats,” Dr. Coburn said.
“The Senate could have taken an easy step of simply signaling its intent, through a non-binding resolution, that politicians should live by the same rules as everyone else in America. Every day, American families have to make tough choices between competing budget priorities. Unfortunately, Congress has once again told the American people that it is out of touch and doesn’t have to live within its means. I hope the American people will hold Congress accountable for its dereliction of duty,” Dr. Coburn said.
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