The GOP now has the power that they have wanted since Barack Obama won the Oval Office. On November 2, 2010, the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives. And while they did not win control of the US Senate, they picked up enough seats to flex their political muscle. So, now that the Republicans have a majority, what are they going to do with their new-found power?
Until now, the GOP agenda has been obstructionist. No matter what the Democrats wanted, the Republicans just said “No.” However, continuing that strategy will not win them votes in 2012, especially if the economy does not improve.
There are two major dilemmas that are going to hit the GOP right in the face of their party platform; balancing the budget, and tax cuts.
If they are to keep their campaign promises, they would have to extend the Bush tax cuts. However, that will explode the deficit.
“Senate Republicans have offered a measure that would extend all the cuts, adding nearly $4 trillion to the debt over the next decade,” according to TheWashington Post.
Even if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, Congress still has to vote to extend the US debt ceiling, which is currently at $14 trillion dollars.
Letting America take on more debt is against everything the GOP and Tea Party campaigned on. But if they do not vote to raise the debt ceiling, the US will default on all their loans, which would ruin the credit of the United States. It is also likely to cause a worldwide depression that would make the financial collapse of 2008 look insignificant by comparison.
So were promises were made that cannot be kept?
The only way for the Republicans to earn credibility, may be to break their campaign pledges by letting the Bush tax cuts expire, and raising the deficit ceiling so the US does not default on their loans.
Any other math simply does not add up, unless the GOP and Tea Party have a secret stash of $14 trillion dollars they forgot to tell voters about during the 2010 election campaigns.