Bad Economics, Bad Politics: GOP Senators Betray McCarthy

Save America. Kill the omnibus bill. That’s a good place to start. Stop the lame-duck spending spree being conducted by the Democrats in both houses, but with the support of Senate Republicans — including Senator McConnell and retiring appropriator, Senator Shelby of Alabama. Mr. Shelby, who has a fine conservative record, is blowing it up in his last weeks. He won’t be around to pick up the higher inflation pieces that may result from his omnibus spending increases, including his status as the league leader and most valuable player of the Earmarks World Series. When I say Senator Shelby is the league leader, I know whereof I speak. According to his own Senate Appropriations Committee, his earmarks come to $650 million. The runner-up is another retiree, Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma — with $511 million worth, followed by recently re-elected Alaska senator, Lisa Murkowski, at $490 million. Of the top ten most valuable player candidates for earmarks, eight of them are Republicans. Remember how the GOP ran in the midterms to cut spending and inflation? Didn’t do all that well, did they? Well, here’s just one little reason why. They are the reigning earmark kings of the Senate. Eight out of the top ten. All of them have made the playoffs. Then, of course, the Republican Senate leadership has thrown in with Senator Schumer to back the so-called omnibus spending bill, put together in a dark smoke-filled room by a handful of senators coming up with decisions that affect the risks of high inflation and deep recession for 350 million Americans, breaking process rules in an incredibly un-democratic effort. You can call around senators or senior Hill staffers right now, and nobody will be able to tell you what the topline spending total’s going to be. So, once again, please note Senator Paul and his scathing attack: “The omnibus will be 3,000 pages, we’ll get it 2 hours before they want to pass it, no one will read it, but hidden in the 3,000 pages will be we will waive pay go. So Steve Moore is right, it will take 41 votes, but the other thing is 41 votes would stop the big spending.” The Kentucky senator adds: “We have completely and totally abdicated the power of the purse. Republicans are emasculated, they have no power and they are unwilling to gain that power back.” Hats off to Senator Paul for his brilliant synopsis of a painfully broken process. But let me make two more points on this Republican emasculation. First, there is growing evidence by economists that the principal source of sky-rocketing inflation and the equally rapid Federal Reserve run-up of its M2 money supply was caused by huge federal overspending — going back to the Biden Covid relief bill of March 2021 — which Republicans did oppose. Nonetheless, that bill essentially mandated that the Treasury Department just write checks to the bank accounts of many millions of Americans. I’m not absolving the Fed, which did not have to keep zero interest rates and monetize the deficits, but the source seems to be federal overspending. And this inflationary budget spending will be enhanced by an omnibus that probably adds $150 billion to $200 billion in brand new spending above the fiscal 2023 baseline. And, don’t forget, the phony ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ and the CHIPS Act added $1.3 trillion together to that 2023 baseline. So, we are off to the inflationary races once again with the omnibus bill. And my last point is that the Senate Republican leadership’s apparent support of the omnibus spending bill is an unbelievable betrayal of the victorious House Republicans. Congressman Kevin McCarthy and company don’t want an omnibus for all of next year — they want a shorter-term continuing resolution that might carry through to January, when they take over the House. This would give them a chance to restore regular budget order, with 12 appropriation bills that would substantially cut back on all this inflationary overspending in the omnibus bill. Or even implement the budget caps with automatic spending cuts. Why the Senate Republican leadership wants to undermine the House Republicans is beyond me. I don’t get it, but I know it’s bad economics, in addition to being bad politics. So, save America. Kill the omnibus bill. From Mr. Kudlow’s Broadcast on Fox Business Network.

Bad Economics, Bad Politics: GOP Senators Betray McCarthy

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