In the 2010 election season, the Republican front group called Tea Party Express endorsed Howard “Buck” McKeon because of his declarations in support for cuts in government spending:
I support all efforts to cut wasteful or unnecessary programs and reform every department in the government to make them more efficient. We simply cannot have all parts of our government growing in perpetuity with no checks on the spending levels. We also cannot continue using taxpayer dollars to bailout companies and banks that make poor business decisions. The idea of “too big to fail” is a flawed one that must not be allowed to become standard policy.
… It’s time we listened to the American people, rein in the out-of-control spending, and slow the creeping growth of the federal government. Let’s force closure of the credibility gap to ensure the empty promises come to an end. It’s going to take work to prosper, but with common-sense reform and buckling down on spending, it can be done.
That was then. This is now. Now Howard “Buck” McKeon is the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, which deals with the military budget. When the Defense Department came out with a very timid set of budget proposals yesterday that would not actually shrink the military budget over time, but just slow down the rate of its increase through 2015, how did Howard McKeon respond? He was upset — and not because the military wasn’t cutting its budget enough:
I’m not happy…. Is this the time to be making these types of cuts?… I will not stand idly by and watch the White House gut defense.
And so Buck McKeon is pressing for an even bigger military budget and an end to military spending contraint, a move directly opposed to his campaign plank against government spending.
Surely the “fiscally conservative” Tea Party movement must be up in arms, decrying Buck McKeon’s move to bust the budget. I mean, the Tea Party movement screamed all last year about out of control spending, right?
But oddly enough, there’s not a word written about Howard McKeon’s push for big government spending at the Tea Party Express website. Hmm. Well, how about over at the Tea Party Nation website? A lot of people are writing on the TPN blog and forums, but nobody’s written a word about Buck McKeon’s budget-busting move.
How odd. What could explain this silence? Could it be that Buck McKeon is a Republican, and the Tea Party brand is managed by partisan Republicans? No, no, surely that couldn’t be it. They must just be really busy. See this bit of work from Tea Party Nation for reference:
Making pictures that compare Barack Obama to Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Kim Jong Il, Idi Amin and Pol Pot takes up a lot of time. You have to get Barack Obama’s skin tone just right to match the rim of that Soviet medal.
I’m sure they’ll get around to criticizing the big spending push of Howard McKeon tomorrow.
Oh Thank you for posting my art above! If you like that one, I created about a thousand others! E-mail me at jerryballardusnret@hotmail.com and I will be glad to share my work with you. Please pass them on! It tells the truth about the Corrupted Obama Administration and just to make sure I am very clear here for the Record. Obama is a Domestic Terrorist who has America held hostage under his Marxist form of Government.
If you doubt that, just wait until you allow Obama to handle the Healthcare for seniors.
Again, thanks for posting my poster above! I am always greatful that the world gets the opportunity to see my Political Art. Hope the White House loved it because I sure enjoyed bringing it to you all.