Extreme GOP Conservative House Budget Fails

House leaders defeated more austere cuts than in Paul Ryan's proposal

At times it appears that there is a contest within the GOP House Caucus as to who can bring forth a more draconian and anti-Gospel message budget proposal.  And typically, it is those Republicans who most boast about their godliness and allegiance to the Bible who formulate and back the most heinous and mean spirited budget proposals.   Today saw that phenomenon once again and thanks to Democrats who voted "present" but who did not cast a yes or no vote, the GOP extremists and faint of heart were flushed out.  And, as a result, a majority of House Republicans voted against a budget proposal that made Paul Ryan's horrific budget look both charitable and reasonable.  Politico looks at the GOP batshitery.  Here are a few highlights:

 

House Republican leaders beat back conservatives’ effort to substitute more drastic spending cuts than those contained in Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s fiscal blueprint, as Democrats forced the issue by voting present on the floor.

The Republican Study Committee budget would slash domestic accounts much faster than Ryan’s plan and freeze Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding at fiscal 2012 levels. It would achieve a balance in five years, compared to Ryan’s version, which does not project balance until 2023.

[M]ost House Democrats cast “present” votes. That meant that only Republicans would decide whether the RSC budget would replace the Ryan plan. The vote, scheduled for 15 minutes, lasted about 25 minutes.  The two sides slowly ticked upward, as many Republicans withheld their votes until the end of the voting period.

While the outcome was never seriously in doubt, the Democratic procedural maneuver ensured Republicans didn’t get to cast a freebie vote for a budget that plays well with the conservative base but is considered too extreme even by most members of the GOP.

In a rare scorecard result, a plurality of the House — 171 members — voted “present.” The “yes” votes totaled 104, while 132 members, including 14 Democrats, voted “no.” Twenty-five lawmakers did not vote.

For watchers of the emerging Georgia Senate race, all four House Republicans who are looking at bids voted “yes,” while Rep. John Barrow of Georgia was one of the 14 Democrats who actually cast “no” votes.

Kudos to the Democrats for putting members of the GOP in a box.  It is a pretty sad statement about conservatives in today's GOP when even Paul Ryan's budget looks like a charity work in comparison.   The hypocrisy of Republicans who wrap themselves in religion is once again off the charts.