No room to cut budgets in Washington?

Even if it were true, which it isn’t, saying that there is NO fat left in the federal budget is just plain stupid.

No, a liberal didn’t say it.

No, a Democrat didn’t say it.

Tom Delay said it:

As reported in the Washington Times.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn't seem possible. "My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet," the Texas Republican told reporters at his weekly briefing. Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, "Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it down pretty good."

Some statements are just fraught with danger, whether or not the statement is true.

Politicians should never say:

There’s no waste in Government
Taxes are too low
We did a great job in responding to the hurricane.

There will always be someone who will keep the quote and use it in the next campaign. More importantly, those statements run counter to the intuitive truth that every one understands and to argue otherwise is to stand in the middle of a hurricane storm surge calling for calm and order.

Is it me, or is Tom Delay getting a little weird lately. Defending government bureaucracy isn’t a strong position for a conservative Republican. Of course, he and other Republican leaders now ARE the government, and have been for several years.

If you didn't read it, the rest of the Washington Times story was a string of organizations that had ideas about where to cut budgets.

Leadership is hell, when you are the government. ......... for more click here