|
DesideriScuri -> RE: Gingrich: Do Not Trust CBO or State Department (8/13/2012 4:40:56 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: dcnovice
quote:
Former Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich today defended the Paul Ryan budget with an attack on the credibility of Congressional Budget Office and endorsed Mitt Romney's foreign policy credentials by suggesting that he will "distrust the State Department," as president.
The CBO estimates that the Ryan plan will generate a budget surplus by 2040 because the plan calls for $4 trillion in tax cuts. Most conservatives economists don't view tax cuts as a loss of revenue because they believe that a stronger private sector will generate more overall wealth and thereby increase revenue.
"One of the great debates which we're not going to have but should is the Congressional Budget Office and their method of scoring. Because it's just factually false," said Gingrich while on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Gingrich ignited a firestorm amongst conservatives last year when he characterized the first Ryan Budget as " right wing social engineering." He was forced to step back those comments while running for President but admitted today that he did have which wholesale transformation of Medicare.
"The one thing - the one thing I objected to back in May of 2011 was that he - he eliminated Medicare for everybody," said Gingrich today. "He listened - and one of the things I give Paul a lot of credit for is he really listens. And he came back with an approved Medicare plan that Ron Wyden has cosponsored, the only bipartisan reform, by the way, Paul Ryan and Ron Wyden introduced. And it basically allows people to stay in the current system. So he met my only objection."
When questioned on Romney's foreign policy experience Gingrich had this to say:
"He will be very cautious. He will think about America's interest first. He will apply a decision making process that relies heavily on facts and he will distrust the State Department," said Gingrich.
"I am for any candidate who distrusts the State Department over a candidate who trusts the State Department," said Gingrich.
Source: Yahoo! News
While I have no illusions of being a Washington insider, I have picked up a thing or two in my three decades along the Potomac. Among the things I've noticed, along with many other folks, is that the Congressional Budget Office is widely hailed, on both sides of the aisle, as careful, objective, and nonpartisan.
So it's a bit disappointing to have Newt Gingrich trying to sow distrust of one of the few institutions in town that enjoys widespread respect. Is America not sufficiently polarized already? It's also a bit baffling, given that CBO projected that Ryan's budget plan would ultimately produce a surplus.
Gingrich also seems to have it in for the State Department, but they're used to catching flak.
Not the most promising start for the fall campaign.
The CBO scores have to be taken with a grain of salt. They are simply scores of what is put in front of them. The bills that are scored do not necessarily have to reflect reality, and assumptions can be made to make a bill score a certain way. In fairness, this game is played by both sides of the aisle; usually on the big ticket bills where they need a certain CBO scoring to make their point and pass the legislation.
{font=sarcasm}
Gingrich probably was referring to not trusting the State Department because it's full of politicians.
{/font}
|
|
|
|
