WASHINGTON — Potential Republican presidential contenders this weekend took a wide range of positions on the deal that prevented the near-shutdown of the federal government Friday, but nearly all warned of bigger budget battles in the near future.
By Alex Wong, Getty Images
The agreement between leaders allowed for a six-day stopgap bill that prevented the government from shutting down in exchange for $38.5 billion in cuts to the budget this year.
For some conservative Republicans, particularly those involved in the Tea Party movement, the deal did not cut nearly enough.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Alaskagovernor Sarah Palin came out strongly against the deal struck late Friday night between President Obama, Senate Democrats and House Republicans.
Bachmann called the deal a disappointment. "Sadly, we're missing the mandate given us by voters last November, and for that reason, I voted against the continuing resolution," she said in a statement Saturday.
Throughout the budget negotiations, Palin urged Republicans, "don't retreat!" via Twitter and to shut down the government if cuts to Planned Parenthood and other Republican demands were not met.
Palin told Fox Newson Saturday that the Tea Party was not satisfied by the deal but was ready to engage on fights over the debt ceiling down the road.
News from The Oval
Latest posts from USA TODAY The Oval blog
- 9:03 AM Obama misses being 'anonymous'
- 7:44 AM Obama's debt speech to re-ignite many budget battles
- 6:45 AM Obama's day: Planning a big speech on deficits
- 12:11 PM Obama, GOP prepare to battle over debt ceiling
- 10:29 AM Obama adviser: Trump is a 'sideshow'
"Raising the debt limit just shows you that there really is no true limit to the debt that our politicians are willing to incur," she said. "The only way we do that is to draw a line in the sand" and not increase the debt limit.
Bachmann also foreshadowed a larger fight over the debt ceiling and future budgets in a Friday post on the conservative blog RedState.com. "I am ready for a big fight, the kind that will change the arc of history," she wrote.
Congressional action is required to raise the debt ceiling, according to the Treasury Department, must vote on raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit before May 16 in order to avoid serious economic consequences.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who praised House Speaker John Boehner for pressuring Democrats to make deeper cuts than they wanted, defended his support of the deal on his show on Fox News Saturday night, telling viewers the bigger fights over the budget are right around the corner.
"To get more than first offered seems a victory to me but not to some who want it all or nothing," he said. "Let me give you a dose of reality. … Republicans only control the House. Now you don't have to be a math major to understand that Republicans won't get all they want but they got far more than the president or Harry Reid wanted them to have."
He added to his detractors, "You should thank Speaker John Boehner for artful leadership and skill, and to quote that great philosopher Charlie Sheen: 'Winning. Duh.' "
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former House speaker Newt Gingrich indicated the deal was a good first step during speeches to South Carolina Republicans this weekend.
"This is a loaf we've got to be willing to eat one slice at a time," Barbour said.
During a speech Saturday, Gingrich said, "This is a building block. The next big step is the debt ceiling, and we should challenge President Obama right now. This doesn't have to go down to the wire. This doesn't have to go down to the last night."
Two notable Republicans were absent from the commentary in the days following the near-stalemate. Neither Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, the only major candidate to officially declare his interest in the presidency, nor former Massachusettsgovernor Mitt Romney commented on the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment