A large group of patriots gathered at Rep. Eric Cantor’s office yesterday to personally deliver the message that we do not support a raise in the debt ceiling, unless AT LEAST the Cut, Cap, and Balance approach is implemented. I was impressed at how many people came out with less than 24-hour notice in the middle of the day on a Thursday. People know this is a make-or-break issue for America and are committed to having their voices heard, no matter how much Washington politicians cover their ears and yell, “La, la, la, la, la!”
I could take this opportunity to do a little self-back-patting, pointing out that in only two years the Tea Party has completely shifted the debate in Washington and won the hearts and minds of We the People so that spending cuts are now the number one priority of the nation. Polls (here and here, for example) even show that by a roughly two-to-one margin Americans oppose raising the debt ceiling. It is truly a stunning accomplishment.
But none of that will matter if the GOP caves (an art form they have mastered) and raises the debt ceiling without significant and unavoidable cuts. I fear that they will. I have no idea what’s really going on behind the scenes with Mitch McConnell’s trying to cut a terrible deal, President Obama’s storming out of a meeting because that mean Eric Cantor hurt his feelings, or whatever else may be playing at the Washington Theatre this week. But I know this: we need the GOP now more than ever in recent memory. We simply cannot allow them to revert to form and fold on what is a fundamental issue of our time. If we can’t use this historic opportunity to force significant and unavoidable spending cuts now and for the future, pack it up, my friends. America’s done.
So is the Republican Party. Though they haven’t collectively represented actual liberty for some time, many Tea Partiers were willing to support Republicans last November as our last and only hope to stop the insanity that is our fiscal policy. We empowered them in the House for precisely this reason. They have the votes to stop yet another raise in the debt ceiling and protect what little fiscal integrity America may still be clinging to. If they can’t hold the line, though, on something as simple and reasonable as Cut, Cap, and Balance, they probably will have squandered their final opportunity to repair the severe damage done to the trust of We the People.
They need to know this. We must continue relentlessly with e-mails, calls, faxes, and personal visits so that they know that we’re still wide awake and expect them to do the right thing for America. And if they won’t, we will find someone else who will.
Cross-posted at redstatevirginia.com
