Capitol Hill Republicans are circulating this clip, and for good reason. Watch in wonder as our Law Professor President's top spokesman breezily expresses "no opinion" over whether the US Senate should meet it's legal obligation to offer and pass a FY 2013 budget:
Oh, wrong answer, Jay. Why would you lamely refuse to offer any opinion on the matter when your party has already concocted a dishonest insta-excuse to deflect Tapper's question? And why do I know Democrats' fraudulent talking points better than the White House Press Secretary? Pay close attention, Jay -- Schumer's a real pro:
Senate Democratic leaders on Friday said they do not intend to bring a fiscal 2013 budget up for a floor vote. "We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year — it's done, we don't need to do it," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters on Friday. Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued that the debt-limit agreement in August directs spending for the next year and said Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has already asked the heads of the subcommittees to write their appropriations bills for fiscal 2013. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has said he would probably mark up a budget resolution for 2013, but Reid recently told the Hill he didn't expect any floor action on a measure produced by the panel.
See? "The Senate doesn't need to offer a budget this year because they've already done so," sounds so much better than an effective "no comment." Carney does dissemble on the Budget Control Act a bit, quasi-suggesting that it's sort of a budget, but he doesn't quite own the lie the way Schumer and Reid do. It is a lie, of course, because the debt deal only set forth general spending caps and targets; it in no way, shape, or form constitutes a budget. Those contain detailed roadmaps on tax policy, specific appropriations priorities, and entitlement reforms. Ask any business owner, homemaker, or Republican member of Congress whether their working definition of a budget involves "deeming" a spending celiling while offering zero details on how money is distributed. Oh, and for the zillionth time, Congress is legally required to pass tangible budget resolutions every single year -- a task Reid's tribe hasn't even attempted in nearly three. Carney may not care to weigh in on this elementary question, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wasn't nearly as bashful during recent testimony before Congress:
More than 1,000 days of uncertainty -- resulting from craven political calculation -- hinders economic growth. Go figure. One doesn't have to be a Fed whiz to reach that conclusion; it's common sense. And a solid growth strategy is precisely what our ailing economy needs at the moment, to say nothing of the legal requirement aspect of all this. Never fear, Carney assures us, President Obama will release his own budget next week. What could go wrong?
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