Senator Harry Reid
delivered a statement to the Senate on March 11th on the upcoming fight over the Budget Resolution that draws on biblical references to cast the Republican Budget as unjust and immoral. It has not received much publicity that I can find but it is a great document to draw from when looking for frames and lines of attack on the budget.
Senator Reid talked of a meeting he had with a group of Protestant Ministers to discuss the budget and the morality expressed by the choices that were made.
... I met with a group of Ministers from a host of Protestant denominations. They were very concerned about the budget, and shared with me a story from the Gospel of Luke about a rich man and the poor man who lived at his gates named Lazarus. In life, the rich man lived a grand life and paid no attention to the poor man, refusing to come to his aid. But in death, it was Lazarus who went to Heaven and the rich men who suffered in Hell.
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Their purpose in telling me the story was to point out the immorality of turning a blind eye to economic injustice. And they wanted to make a larger point about the Bush 2006 Budget, which, as they put it, has "much for the rich man and Little for Lazarus".
And when you examine the Bush budget through a moral lens, as these ministers have done, you can clearly see the injustice and the lack of values in it
The Republican Budget is unjust and shows an obvious lack of concern for the common man. Americans should consider whether they are on the side of Lazarus or of the rich men so that when standing at the pearly gates they will be sent the direction they desire.
The values in the budget are the wrong values. Why have the Republicans chosen to make deep cuts in important programs? Senator Reid:
The President is proposing that we make deep cuts in many programs that are important for working Americans and for those in real need. And why? To pay for large tax breaks for the very wealthy and to provide a variety of giveaways to special interests.
Through his budget, the President is ignoring the lessons of the rich man who learned too late that we must reach out and help the Lazaruses in our lives.
The Christian appeal in that snippet is not to the vengeful God so often invoked by Republicans but is instead an appeal to the lessons of Christ. After making this point Senator Reid launches into a recounting of the various groups that are hurt by this budget.
He tells how the poor who depend on Medicaid for health care receive cuts while corporate HMO's retain a large slush fund.
He recounts over 1 billion dollars in cuts to education which will harm American children while giving a windfall to oil and gas corporations wanting to drill in Alaskan wilderness.
The COPS program, environmental protection, and family planning are cut while the rich are given tax breaks in their health savings accounts. Of course, there is a moral dimension to cutting family planning that Senator Reid does not mention, since it has been shown that family planning reduces the number of abortions.
Senator Reid notes the cuts to benefits to Veterans while drug industry corporations have their profits protected by denying Medicare the right to bargain for better prices.
For example, the President's budget cuts health care for our most vulnerable citizens. The budget would cut Medicaid, which ensures that more than 50 million children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities have access to the medical services they need. At the same time, the budget maintains a large slush fund for HMO's. Is that right?
The President's budget also calls for cutting education. More than 48 education programs would be affected, with cuts exceeding $1 billion. So our kids will suffer. At the same time, the budget calls for opening up a precious wilderness area in Alaska for the oil and gas industry. Is that right?
The budget cuts benefits for veterans. Yes, the men and women who have served our nation with such bravery and courage - the people who have put their lives on the line on behalf of their nation - they're going to have to pay more for their health care. At the same time, the Administration wants to protect drug industry profits by denying Medicare the right to bargain for lower prices. Is that right?
The budget cuts the COPS program. That's the program that helps communities hire police officers, to keep their streets safe. So our men and women in uniform, and the neighborhoods they serve, will suffer. At the same time, the budget does little to close the many special interest loopholes that are allowing big corporations to avoid paying taxes. Is that right?
The budget underfunds environmental protection. At the same time, it lets big polluters off the hook from paying the cost of cleanups. Is that right?
The budget fails to adequately fund the national family planning program, which provides critical health care services to low income women and helps reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. At the same time, it continues to support so-called health savings accounts, tax breaks that help the well-off but are out of reach for those of modest means. Is that right?
Democrats have been criticized by conservative pundits for not having their own priorities. Senator Reid let it be known that Democrats would do things differently and he outlines the concepts we all consider important.
Mr. President, America is a country that values everyone -- the worker just as much as the CEO. And most Americans would agree that it's not right to cut health care for kids and the elderly, cut education, cut veterans benefits, and cut law enforcement -while handing out a wide variety of giveaways to special interests and the powerful. That's not just bad policy. It's wrong.
Mr. President, if it were up to Democrats, we would craft a budget based on our nation's values: security, opportunity and responsibility.
To promote security, we would ensure adequate funding of our police, firefighters and first responders.
To promote opportunity, we would make our schools safer and stronger, and ensure that every American has access to affordable health care.
To promote responsibility, we would restore fiscal discipline and end the era of deficits and debt.
Unfortunately, the budget resolution approved yesterday by the Budget Committee is inconsistent with these values. Instead, with a few changes on the margins, it's based largely on the President's deeply flawed budget.
I think we can do better. And next week, as we take up the budget resolution, Senate Democrats will work to make it better. Our goal is to turn this budget into a moral document of which we can all be proud. A document that truly reflects our nation's priorities and the values of the American people.
It's clear what lines Senator Reid will draw in the upcoming floor fight over the budget. Republicans will be cast as the party of the rich that has immorally chosen to throw money at their rich supporters, both corporate and individual, while taking that money from programs that benefit the poor and the middle class. In the world of the Republican's budget it is every man for himself and social programs are hated and targeted for destruction.
Democrats will be fighting to defend these important components of the social safety net. Democrats will be defending the environment and they will be defending children, veterans, the poor, and the middle class. They will show concern for the vulnerable and they will be questioning money thrown to the rich.
What Democrats will not be doing is acquiescing to the immoral leadership of the Republicans by taking money from everyday working Americans and giving it to corporations, fatcats, and wealthy Republicans. That's what the fight is about and that's how Senator Reid has framed the battle. We need to support him in this by reinforcing those frames and spreading the word.