The Workday Liberal

This story really is a head scratcher.

Republicans may control Congress and the White House, but a leading House Republican says they can't be blamed for runaway federal spending on their watch.

Blame it on the war, said Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. Or the Democrats...

He blamed Democrats, complaining that they haven't offered any suggestions on how to cut spending. He said they created a congressional budget process that makes it difficult to cut spending.

"We've been operating off a Congress designed by Democrats," he said.

The Republicans took control of Congress in 1995.

It might be hard Mr. Delay but have you noticed how when Democrats ran the scene they passed the Clinton Budget of 93, on a strict party line vote in both houses, that drastically reduced deficit spending until he left office. It might be hard, but you certainly didn't find it difficult to give your fat cat buddies massive tax cuts. Imagine that. You cut taxes on the wealthy, drastically increase spending on pork and needless war, and you get deficits! Darned old Democrats!

J. William Lauderback, the executive vice president of the American Conservative Union, challenged DeLay's version of congressional spending history. He told DeLay that he ignored the fact that only one-third of the rise in federal spending under Republicans stemmed from security. He also noted that House Republican leaders have advised their members to campaign on the local benefits of the recent highway bill, ripped by many conservatives as wasteful spending.

"I'm not here to defend the highway bill," DeLay said. Then he defended it, saying that without the bill, his Houston district wouldn't get its fair share of highway money.

I just can not imagine the embarrassment of your average Republican talking head when Rep. Delay and the crowd we currently see running the show come up with this kind of stuff. I mean the daily press briefings of Scott McClellan are just an embarrassing joke. The whole Republican leadership could not be more inept if their party were taken over by 2nd graders.