CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • World
  • Innovation
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      FOOD & BEVERAGE
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Beauty
        • Home
        • Pets
        • Kitchen
        • Fitness
        • I'm Looking For
        BEST PICKS
        • Best VPNs
        • Best Gaming PCs
        • Best Air Fryers
        COUPONS
        • Vistaprint Coupons
        • Ulta Coupons
        • Office Depot Coupons
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • Walmart Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE
        0

        Why Fall Off the Fiscal Cliff When You Can Fly Off?

        Zoom Zoom!

        David Frum

        Updated Apr. 21, 2017 2:50PM ET / Published Nov. 28, 2012 8:00AM ET 

        Roger Wollenberg

        What's the Republican future?

        Brent Bozell recommends what might be called the Thelma & Louise option: why tumble off the fiscal cliff when you can press the accelerator and zoom off?

        [I]f the GOP wakes up and decides that the principles they fought for during the campaign were more than empty political posturing, there is another option. … [T]wo of the biggest steps that Congress can take toward getting our fiscal house in order are: repealing ObamaCare’s gigantic insurance subsidies and repealing the individual mandate. According to the CBO, repealing ObamaCare’s insurance subsidies would save $150 billion in 2020 alone. Similarly, repealing the individual mandate would save $40 billion in 2020 alone. …

        Either Republicans are serious about honoring their commitments, in which case they will accomplish this [i.e., repeal] through the power of the purse, or Republicans are not serious about their promises, and will ignore the solution. Either/or, no other options. No more excuses, no more rhetoric. No more meaningless half measures. Take the correct course and America will thank you for saving us from the coming disaster, or take the wrong course and co-own the disaster while being exposed as fraudulent to your constituents.

        While Bozell's rhetoric is emphatic, his recommendation is not altogether clear, so let's decipher it.

        Republicans don't have the power to repeal Obamacare. They don't have the power to pass budgets either: the concurrence of the Senate and the signature of the president are necessary to those. What they do have - and what is meant by the phrase "power of the purse" as Bozell uses it - is the power to refuse to appropriate any funds at all. The House, Bozell is saying, should threaten the re-elected president and the majority of the Senate that unless they abandon their commitments, Republicans will shut down the government altogether. On top of the automatic tax increases - on top of the ending of extended unemployment benefits - on top of the automatic sequester - Republicans should (Bozell urges) collapse the entire government of the United States until Obamacare is ended.

        Whee!

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • World
        • Innovation
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Best Picks
        • Coupons:
        • Coupons:
        • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
        • HP Coupon Codes
        • Chewy Promo Codes
        • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
        • NordVPN Coupons
        • JCPenny Coupons
        • Nordstrom Coupons
        • Samsung Promo Coupons
        • Home Depot Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • eBay Coupons
        • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC