With Republicans in control of the House, Senate, and White House, you would think taxpayers would finally see some spending restraint in Washington.
You would think.
Conservative voters nationwide were elated to see historic tax reform legislation get signed into law. Sure, tax cuts would mean a temporary increase in the deficit, but that anticipated bump would swiftly be remedied by matching spending cuts. Right?
You would think.
In the first quarter of 2018, a dual Republican majority shamelessly passed not one but two spending bills that busted the 2015 Budget Control Act spending caps, leveraged unrelated bills to buy votes, and required last-minute votes before legislators had time to read the legislation. What’s more, Republican leadership did it all under the guise of a completely manufactured political crisis.
President Trump held his nose and signed the bill into law, calling the entire process a “ridiculous situation” and vowing to “never sign another bill like this again.” But while Trump views this spending bill as a one-time compromise, historically it’s just business as usual for Congress.
The word “compromise” has always been the Swamp’s code for “working with Democrats to grow the size and cost of government.” The latest $1.3 trillion congressional spending spree is no different.
You can always tell who won a compromise by who is leading the victory lap after the dust settles. After the omnibus spending bill, Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., was pleased to report, “We [Democrats] got about 80 percent of what we were trying to get.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gushed that America’s “era of austerity” is “coming to an unceremonious end.”
Era of austerity? I’ll have what he’s having. The national debt has grown by almost $3 trillion, a more than 16 percent increase, since Republicans took full control of Congress in 2015. Only in the Swamp can “austerity” mean the government isn’t increasing spending as quickly as previously hoped.
Not surprisingly, you could hear a pin drop in the press offices of congressional Republicans. You would think Republicans would be out patting each other on the back for spending hours to craft a budget that funds our priorities and holds the line of spending.
You would think.
Republican leadership will argue the spending battles of 2018 provide more money for the military, ignoring that the February budget deal allowed a discretionary spending increase 270 percent larger than the increase allowed in the 2015 budget deal, when we had a Democrat in the Oval Office. If President Barack Obama offered this budget, Republicans would have voted in unison, reveling in the opportunity to criticize the president for recklessly bankrupting the country.
This time around, with control of both chambers and no excuses, congressional Republicans seemed to misplace their moral certainty on spending. Only the House Freedom Caucus held the line, joined by few others, including Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker of North Carolina, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
If Republicans lose the majority in 2018, it’s not because the American electorate rejects the values of limited government and fiscal responsibility. It’s because they can no longer tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Look at the special election results in Pennsylvania’s 18th District. Democrat voters turned out in droves. According to the Cook Political Report, Democrat stronghold Allegheny County turned out at 67 percent of 2016 levels, while Republican-leaning Westmoreland County saw just 60 percent of 2016 levels.
In the age of congressional scorecards and social media, accountability in Congress is at an all-time high. No longer can Republican incumbents blow their credibility on Washington spending, while simultaneously calling for spending cuts on the campaign trail.
That’s why the future of the Republican Party is the growing House Freedom Caucus. These fiscal conservatives are committed to budget sanity and willing to take hard votes. As a result, they are embraced by the GOP base.
Former Speaker John Boehner of Ohio perfectly illustrated why the Swamp does not understand the House Freedom Caucus. When recently asked about Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Boehner responded, “He’s an idiot. I can’t tell you what makes him tick.”
Imagine that level of vitriol directed toward a leader elected on conservative principles, who had the audacity to show up to Washington and do what he promised he would do.
Republican leadership take note: When you call your colleagues “idiots” for not wanting to spend $1.3 trillion we don’t have, you are calling the entire GOP voting base an idiot. And most of the time it lands you home, smoking cigarettes and giving armchair interviews to progressive glossy magazines.
Whether the GOP keeps a slim majority or not, the House Freedom Caucus will grow in clout. Grassroots activists will have their back, like they have ours when it counts.
As for everyone else, when congressional Republicans start spending like Democrats, their disillusioned conservative constituents will simply stay home.
You would think.
Adam Brandon (@adam_brandon) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is president and CEO of FreedomWorks.
