Good for a bipartisan group of more than 150 members of Congress for urging the “supercommittee” to go big on deficit reduction. The committee is tasked with crafting at least a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction package, but the bipartisan group wants a $4 trillion package. Ironically, going big can actually make it easier to reach an agreement, because both sides will have to make significant concessions, making the deal seem more fair. However, even though some Republicans and Democrats are starting to show a little flexibility and reasonableness on raising taxes and trimming entitlements, most still care more about ideological purity than real results.
Gov. Sam Brownback, who saw a lot of Iowa during his presidential bid four years ago, campaigned in the state Tuesday with Texas Gov. Rick Perry (in photo). At an event in Bettendorf, Iowa, Perry said that “Brownback not only has the perspective of a leader in America’s heartland, but was a United States senator, where he had an up-close view of just how broken Washington is, and has witnessed Washington’s encroachment on the 10th Amendment from both perspectives. He shares my desire for fundamental reform in Washington.” Brownback praised Perry’s government reform plan, which includes shortening congressional sessions and ending lifetime appointments for federal judges, as the boldest he’d seen in 50 years. Asked how Perry could best appeal to Iowans, Brownback said: “I didn’t do so well, so he might not want to listen to what I did.”
Good for a bipartisan group of more than 150 members of Congress for urging the “supercommittee” to go big on deficit reduction. The committee is tasked with crafting at least a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction package, but the bipartisan group wants a $4 trillion package. Ironically, going big can actually make it easier to reach an agreement, because both sides will have to make significant concessions, making the deal seem more fair. However, even though some Republicans and Democrats are starting to show a little flexibility and reasonableness on raising taxes and trimming entitlements, most still care more about ideological purity than real results.
