Glenn Beck Program, April 12, 2011

Guest Host:  Judge Andrew Napolitano

The Budget Cut that Wasn’t

• Normally, when you cut a budget, you spend less this year than last.  But not in Washington.  Here, you can spend more this year than last and if you spend $38 billion less than what was originally proposed, it counts as a cut.
• It’s a shell game.  Congress is borrowing $1 trillion more this year to make ends meet.

Guest:  Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI)

• Spending grows because we have a people too dependent on welfare.  The defense budget continues to grow and entitlements are a problem.
• I voted No on all the continuing budget resolutions.  There is a difference in strategy.  We need to fight right now.
• Every year the president proposes a budget.  If we come in under that, we call it a cut.  It’s insane.  We need real cuts – less spending than in the past.
• I can’t support an increase in the debt ceiling unless there is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and health care is defunded.
• There is a strong chance that the debt ceiling is not increased.  We will not default on our debts, we will just readjust our spending and we’ll be fine.
• We need to return the Federal government to what it was originally intended.  Everything else should be turned over to the states or private companies.

Guest:  Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

• I’m going to vote for the continuing resolution.
• We have very serious national problems.
• In the first have of the fiscal year, the government borrowed $829 billion.  Congress needs to assert itself. 
• In the State of the Union and in his budget, the president has not yet begun to face the serious threat this country faces, as his own Debt Commission has told him.
• The president will propose tax increases in his speech Wednesday.  We have a spending problem, not a tax problem.

There was a video shown of the White House spokesperson, Jay Carney.  He said that Congress was playing a game of chicken.  It will have enormous consequences to our economy and around the world if our debts are not paid.

Guest:  Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

• More was borrowed during the negotiations on the budget resolution than was saved. 
• We need enforceable spending caps.  A number of us will not vote for the debt ceiling increase without those caps.
• In our system, the president can’t spend any money we don’t give him.
• (Congress has raised the debt limit 10 times since 2001.)
• The people agree with us that we can’t continue to spend like this.

Judge Napolitano

• The Pew Survey showed that independents think Republicans manages the government better than Democrats.
• 47% Republicans
• 28% Democrats
• 24% Independents

Guest:  Don Shoen, Democratic Pollster and Fox News Contributor

•  Boehner and the Republicans were the big winners in last week’s budget battle.
• The president dodged a bullet.  If the government was shut down, he would look weak and impotent and no control over the budget.
• I feel he (president) thinks he will not be reelected if he doesn’t come up with a viable budget proposal.
• He should use the Debt Commission proposal to do 2/3 spending cuts and 1/3 tax increases.
• The president has two problems…

1.      His base is moving away precipitously, and…

2.      He is down to ¼ of independents supporting his fiscal policy.

• I don’t think he will have a primary challenge.  He will have trouble rallying a heretofore-compliant liberal base.
• The American people understand we cannot continue the debts and deficits and that’s why we are getting a speech.

Guest: Lou Dobbs, Fox Business Network Contributor

• The Left is already isolated.  They are on the wrong side of history.
• The president has moved his best minds to Chicago.  He is all about reelection now.
• He could have been a centrist, but didn’t take that opportunity.

Judge:  Candidate Obama in 2007

“The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

Libya falls under that definition.

Guests:

• Carolyn Powers, Professor of Political Science at Occidental College
• Nick Gillespie, Editor-in-Chief, Reason.com

Gillespie

• Libya removes all doubts that liberals/conservatives/democrats/republicans are all in favor of expanding executive power.
• What is galling in the long run is that the congress has gone missing on these kinds of things.  What we have in congress is the Yellow-Down-Their-Backs Party.
• They (members of congress) are paid to enforce the Constitution, and we ought to fire more of them if they don’t start doing it.

Powers

• The Constitution does not authorize the president to go to war.  Only the Congress can do that.
• I blame the public.  We don’t have Constitutional literacy.
• Libya has become a precedent for future presidents.

Judge Napolitano (Wrap Up)

• Conventional wisdom holds that if both sides complain about an agreement, it must be pretty good.  But there is nothing conventional about this agreement.
• Per the Constitution, federal law and 230 years of tradition, the president proposes a budget in advance of the fiscal year being budgeted and the House of Representatives approves, modifies or disapproves that budget.  Then it goes to the Senate.  When approved by both houses it goes to the President for signature.
• Currently there are 2 budget proposals…

1.      Funds the remainder of the current fiscal year, ending September 30^th.

2.      Funds fiscal year 2012 beginning October 1st.

• The $38 billion cut approved last week was to this year’s budget.  But that cut was to the original amount proposed by the president which was larger than 2010’s.  It still is larger, even after the cut.

·        Since President Obama has become president, he…

·        Has increased the debt by $4 trillion.

·        In the next six months, he wants to borrow another $1 trillion.

·        And another $1.7 trillion next year.

·        The White House and Congress are out of control

·        Why are these people still running the government?