'Cromnibus' Continues Wasteful Congressional Spending

Last week conservatives were so close to defeating the $1.1 trillion Cromnibus bill.
House leadership was holding a vote on the rule that would allow the monster spending bill to lurch onto the floor for final approval. A full half hour into the 15 minutes allowed for the vote, Speaker Boehner and the GOP surrender caucus were losing 214 to 212. Eventually the sundial Boehner was using to keep time would run out of daylight and Cromnibus would die of neglect.

Obama and Harry Reid’s bid for lame duck control over spending for the next 10 months, long after Republicans assumed control, would have been defeated. Negotiations on a short–term spending bill reflecting the results of November’s conservative landslide could begin.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R–Ind., was one of the no votes Boehner had to change if he wanted to squeeze in one last tanning session before heading home for Christmas. One of the leadership team approached Stutzman and said Cromnibus was dead, but they still needed Marlin to change his vote so it could come to the floor for an autopsy. Or, maybe the envoy told Stutzman he could keep his doctor, accounts differ.

Once Cromnibus was pronounced dead, a short–term continuing resolution would be passed and a new, totally Republican legislative branch would reopen budget negotiations in January.

For any minimally perceptive person this situation would generate a number of questions.
First, if Cromnibus was dead, why did it need another vote? No emergency medical technician who wanted to keep their job would apply the paddles after the coroner left just to see the body jump.

Second, why is the leadership talking to Marlin — someone whose only brush with fame is when he’s recognized in the IHOP back in Fort Wayne — and not Tim Huelskamp who was formerly on the budget committee? Wouldn’t a leader of the conservative faction be the proper choice to discuss strategy?

Meanwhile Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich. — a one–term reindeer farmer — was soon to have his own encounter with consequence. He lost his primary back in August so by the time of the spending vote he had probably packed up all the antlers in his office and booked a flight home. I can understand Santa Claus contacting Bentivolio directly because after all he has reindeer, but wasn’t the congressman the least bit suspicious when Boehner himself button–holed him during the rule vote failure?

What’s more, Boehner didn’t even bother with the Christmas fable Stutzman got. He just told Bentivolio to change his vote.

Both these two profiles in pathietic changed to yes votes. Cromnibus passed the House and later the Senate. Bentivolio got the best deal for selling out. He told the leadership to make sure his soon–to–be–unemployed staffers got jobs. Stutzman, during his subsequent media whining about being misled, didn’t say if he was allowed to specify the type of magic legumes he received in return for his vote. Taxpayers though are in no doubt as to what they got.

CNS News reports that during his time as Speaker of the House, John Boehner has agreed to spending deals with Obama that increased the national debt by $3.8 trillion — which works out to a trillion a year.

Simon Black warns the country has reached a tipping point with deficit spending and it’s now mathematically impossible to grow our way out of the debt. This is in spite of the fact we set another record for tax collection — taking in over $400 billion in October and November.

Thanks to Boehner’s leadership, Obama will now control spending until next September. Promises that amnesty will be fought in February have as much truth as the promises Stutzman swallowed. Now is the time for an Obama shutdown — not many months closer to the next election.

During the holidays few will read the heart–rending stories of federal bureaucrats wondering if they’ll have to cancel their subscription to Champagne of the Month if their paycheck is delayed. And we can tough out the dreaded picture of Santa Claus being ejected from the National Christmas Tree, as grim–faced National Park (dis) Service employees erect barriers they can never seem to find when leftists protest.

Republican leadership employed the pre–emptive surrender yet again. Cromnibus is a wasteful exercise in crony capitalism and interest group bribery. Taxpayers will be spending money to promote Las Vegas casinos. The EPA gets $250 million more than Obama requested, and $60 million will go to subsidize luxury hotels and oil projects — both of which don’t appear to be on the ropes.

Congress didn’t forget itself. Buried deep was a $1,000–a–month taxpayer gratuity for what HuffPost calls “a luxury car allowance.” Merry Christmas indeed.