StupidiNews Focus: The Neo-Hoover Era Begins

Republicans, already measuring the drapes in various House committee chair offices, are promising to cut $100 billion in spending as their first act when the government is the buyer of last resort in our floundering economy.

U.S. House Republicans plan to try to slash $100 billion from the federal budget as early as January if they wrest power from Democrats in this year’s midterm elections, setting up possible early showdowns with President Barack Obama on taxes and spending.

A Republican House takeover would thrust new committee heads, such as Representative Dave Camp on the Ways and Means panel, into the spotlight within weeks -- or days -- of seizing their gavels in early January. They would confront quick political tests that could alienate independent voters and Tea Party activists alike, analysts said.

“The major issues are going to be fiscal, and fiscal issues are always contentious,” said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

Carrying out spending cuts that Republicans have pledged to seek -- which would amount to 21 percent of the government’s so-called discretionary money pot -- could prove politically difficult. Reducing funds for programs such as college loans for low-income students or medical research at the National Institutes of Health is harder than promising to do that on the campaign trail.

Republicans “will quickly find out that across-the-board cuts have political repercussions,” Pitney said.  

Of course, all of this depends one whether or not the Republicans decide to shut down the government later next month by sinking the lame duck session.  No matter what happens on Tuesday, the Bush tax cuts expire in January, and I'm betting that the Republicans will simply run out the clock unless they get a permanent (and budget busting) extension of them for the top 5% of Americans.  They'll then declare that they have to make up the difference by cutting spending from popular programs, and that's going to have serious consequences.  Remember, the Republicans have no intention of working with the Democrats.  At all.

There's going to be nothing but gridlock because that's the goal.  If you think putting the Republicans back in power will equal a more moderate and less "extreme" federal government, well, don't say I didn't warn you.