Sen. Chuck Schumer (Official Senate photo)
As we move closer to a government shutdown, it's going to be more important than ever for Democrats to make the case for why they are right and Republicans are wrong on fiscal issues. Today, Chuck Schumer showed them how:
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the Republican Party's bluff on the need for deficit reduction Wednesday, outlining a fiscal framework that involves broader cuts and revenue raisers than the GOP has proposed -- and warning that there will be no agreement on funding the government unless the GOP broadens its approach.
"A bipartisan compromise simply will not be found in the domestic discretionary spending cuts alone," Schumer said in a half-hour presentation at the Center for American Progress. Without a broader scope, Schumer said, "we won't be able to come to a compromise on a seven month budget."
In addition to look at other spending categories, Schumer called out the Republican refusal to put revenue on the table:
"I noted with interest last week's Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, the most popular proposal to reduce the deficit out of 23 options surveyed was a tax -- a surtax -- on millionaires and billionaires," Schumer said. "It's not only a popular thing to do, it's the right thing to do."
Over the long run, we're going to need to seriously consider ending all of the Bush tax cuts—revenue reductions from the tax cuts have had a much larger impact on deficits than have increased spending. But as far as getting a deal done this year, if Republicans were serious about deficit reduction, they'd be open to ideas like Schumer's surtax proposal or eliminating tax subsidies for oil companies. Nonetheless, Republicans aren't willing to do those things because they really aren't interested in deficit reduction. What they want, as Schumer says, is to slash government:
"Right now a very small, very intense ideological tail is wagging the dog over in the House of Representatives," Schumer said. "Their fervor for spending cuts is not grounded in deficit reduction at all. Instead the far right wing has deliberately confused two separate issues. They've conflated reducing the deficit -- which is not their true priority -- with cutting government -- which is."
Every Democrat should listen to what Schumer is saying. It's a great way to frame—and win—the budget debate. Even though Republicans are proposing "mean-spirited" budget cuts, they really aren't actually solving our national fiscal challenges. They are on an ideological jihad.
Instead of aiming to be GOP-lite, Democrats can offer a coherent and attractive alternative by putting things like military spending reductions and revenue raisers on the table. With a government shutdown possible as soon as next Friday, Democrats don't really have any other choice. Fortunately, it's an argument they can and should win.