After the historic losses of Democrats in the 2014 election, politicians from both major parties are suddenly in a hurry to get something done. Establishment types are doing their best to both undermine the incoming class of Republican law makers and quietly get home to enjoy the holidays. After years of gridlock and a so called “do nothing congress”, we are expected to believe there is a renewed interest in doing the people’s business.
A search of Google shows that April 29, 2009 was the last time Congress passed an actual budget. Research a little more and you will find that even that was not a true budget. This kind of funding is known as an omnibus spending bill. The last time America operated under a true budget was in 1997 during the Clinton-Gingrich era. The country has been operating on continuing resolutions ever since.
The most recent omnibus bill funds the government through most of 2015. Consider this action exhibit ‘A’ that the major parties could care less what the voters have to say. With a clear mandate to stop reckless spending and government encroachment, the establishment made sure to get what it wanted signed, sealed, and delivered before the new congress was seated. Strange how after all these years of gridlock, when it came to funding state mandated health care and corporate welfare, R’s and D’s suddenly felt the urge to “get something done”.
Less than 2 months after running against the issue and winning big, lame duck Republicans funded government health care for another year. Why would they do this? One possibility is that it’s a strategic move designed to keep government funded health care alive and well. Republicans are now positioned to use the appropriations process over the next 2 years to nibble at the edges of law’s funding. This also creates a series of well-timed photo ops leading up to a presidential election. If all you cared about was getting your party back into full control, this would be a great plan. Libertarians see this situation through a different lens. Big government rarely gives back power that it seizes. This funding legislation also gives the establishment another year to socialize government run health care and make it acceptable to the masses.
It didn’t take long for the Republican Party to disappoint. Should we be surprised? Libertarians and other pro-freedom advocates have been pointing out this kind of hypocrisy for years. Unfortunately the message is only being heard by a small audience. With nearly 2 years of political drama still to come before the 2016 election, Libertarians will certainly have more opportunities to show a fed up electorate a better way. Let’s not waste them.
Jason Brandenburg
Libertarian Party of Southwest Michigan