Post script summary: Obama cannot run against a "broken system" without enforcing the public perception of same. Democrat refusal to work on a budget for three consecutive years, is a means to this end . . . . to convince the public that the system is broken, that it is time to move away from our "Constitutional historicity" and all that is associated with that concept..
Jack Lew is Obama’s new point man and he is doing no better than previous Chiefs of Staff. Yesterday, on CNN, Lew was asked to defend the fact that there has been no budget coming from the Democrats since Obama became Top Dog. “Why no budget, as required by law, for three consecutive fiscal years” was given this answer by Lew:
“You can’t pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can’t get 60 votes without bipartisan support,” Lew said. “So unless . . . . . Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed.”
Two thoughts: first, this failure has nothing to do with Republicans, When Democrats controlled both houses of congress (2009 and 2010), they made no effort whatsoever to pass a budget. I am saying that Republican participation was not needed for two of the “missing” budgets. The third budget has been written and approved by the House and sent to the Senate, where it sits on Harry Reid’s desk. Reid has made no effort to introduce the bill for Senate approval. And, that sets up the next point which challenges the misinformation embedded in the Jack Lew statement. The passage of a budget, in the Senate, does not require a 60 vote majority; it only requires 51 votes and Democrats have a 53 vote majority in that house.
The fact that congress has violated the law is a matter that rests entirely upon the Democrats to the exclusion of the GOP. In lieu of an approved budget, Dems have chosen to fund federal activity via an emergency funding process known as the “continuing resolution.” Rather than have three congressional battles over the budget, the Dems have instigated 17 such battles (there have been 17 c.r.’s) and are prepared to continue this divisive process. Understand that no Administration in history has attempted to run the government without a budget. This is a first and a glaring testament to the ineptness of this Administration.
Does congress seem more divided than in times past? It not only appears more divided, Obama has been running against a "broken congress" from the beginning of his time in office. 17 budget battles versus 3 such debates continue that perception. Democrats want a broken congress as they campaign against our [broken] Constitutional form of governance and continue to move this nation away from its foundations. If you doubt this accusation, consider the following statement:
"Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we're going to have to change our traditions, our history; we're going to have to move into a different place as a nation."
Words spoken in May of 2008, by Michelle Obama, a radical reformer in her own right.