Senator John Cornyn: 'Time to Give GOP New Mandate to Govern'

From the Texas Sanator, at The Houston Chronicle:

With the support of the American people, Republicans told the president that raising taxes during a weak economy was unacceptable. Once again, the president backed down. And that option came off the table as well.

Republicans held the line on taxes and canceled the president's blank check. We won the argument that spending cuts are the key to reducing our debt and balancing our budget. That's pretty good work for a party that only controls one-third of one-half of the federal government.

Yet despite refocusing the debt-ceiling debate on out-of-control federal spending, the actual spending cuts in the compromise bill are too small. The $2.1 trillion in potential debt reduction is far less than we need to prevent a downgrade in the U.S. credit rating, according to many analysts. All the spending cuts so far are backloaded, with only $21 billion scheduled to be cut from next year's deficit. The Pentagon is specifically targeted for spending cuts, even as our troops are fighting three wars and other security threats loom on the horizon.

So I sympathize with my colleagues, as well as many Republican candidates, who say that the compromise bill does not fix the problem. They are right. A far better alternative was Cut, Cap, and Balance. A far better budget is the Pathway to Prosperity. I voted for both of those plans, and I wish we had the votes to enact both of them into law.

RTWT.

Republicans are looking ahead to 2012.

See also New York Times, "Republicans Set Sights on Balanced Budget Amendment."

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