Texas Senator John Cornyn: We Must Burn The Government To Save It

Sometimes you have to burn the village to save it, every soldier knows that, which means it also totally makes sense that you have to shut down the government and then completely deprive it of revenue to fix it. Hear that? Just SHUT THAT SUCKER DOWN, the economy won't mind at all. And then when you power it back on, drown it in a bathtub, and this is how we will solve all of our problems. Of course, while it's down, you might not be able to access certain services you have come to depend on (LOSER!) but guess whose fault it is? OBAMA's, of course. Here, let John Cornyn (R-Idiot) explain at you:

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the fiscal cliff ordeal was that President Obama engaged in the same type of brinksmanship that has become his hallmark. For the fourth time in two years, he stalled and delayed on critical fiscal policy actions.

Really? We seem to remember John Boehner praying and crying a few days before Christmas Eve as his caucus refused to vote for HIS OWN BILL. But obviously, we are remembering this wrong, which is what happens when you bring facts to an ideology fight. Anyway, the rest of the Op-Ed kind of goes on and on like that, and then Cornyn gets to his REAL point, which is that we should stop giving money to Olds and Poors and this will definitely put us back on the track to prosperity.

The biggest fiscal problem in Washington is excessive spending, not insufficient taxation. Tax cuts didn't cause this problem, so tax increases won't solve it. If we don't reduce spending and reform our three biggest entitlement programs - Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security- then we will strangle economic growth, destroy jobs and reduce our standard of living. With the national debt above $16 trillion, and with more than $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities hanging over us, our toughest fiscal decisions cannot be postponed any longer.

[...]

The coming deadlines will be the next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to Washington. It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain. President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately.

Fun fact: Actually, tax cuts did have something to do with the deficit, as did a couple of off-budget wars, but who's counting? (Obama. Obama is counting. ) Another fun fact: Greece, Italy, and Spain are plodding down their respective paths due to prolonged exposure to AUSTERITY , not due to deficits. Yet another fun fact:  there is no evidence that deficits cause a reduction in economic growth . Another fun fact: it is possible to keep and even expand those "entitlement" programs without adding to the deficit. And still yet another fun fact, because we are super into fun facts: John Cornyn is kind of an asshole, given that he is trying to use deficit hysteria as an excuse for taking away programs to help the most vulnerable people in our society. But you knew that already, duh, because he is a Republican from Texas.

 [Chron]