Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Michelle Malkin where are you??

'Air Tanker 11 saving lives & structures during the Station Fire in LA County, CA #CAFire' photo (c) 2009, Fireground - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/ Last June 2012, when wildfires were ravaging the state of Colorado, and a particularly devastating Waldo Canyon fire was wreaking havoc on Malkin’s hometown of Colorado Springs, Michelle was fired up about budget cuts that had caused a reduction in the fire fighting air tanker fleet. Her particular concern was over the Obama administration’s handling of the aerial tanker fleet. She states, without sources, that what was once a fleet of 44 planes a decade ago was now only 9.  She writes that “the Obama administration’s neglect of the federal government’s aerial tanker fleet raises acrid questions about its core public safety priorities.”  Malkin, a fiscal conservative, was essentially criticizing the government for not spending enough money.
 


Fast forward to present day and the so-called “sequestration.”   The sequester, otherwise known as the Budget Control Act of 2011 was authorized by a bipartisan committee as a trade-off for an increase in the debt-ceiling.  The deal was set up to ensure the Republicans and Democrats could settle on some kind of deficit reduction deal.  To spur the two parties to come to an agreement, this “sequester” was put in place, composed of cuts that neither party would like, with the hope that the possibility of such cuts would motivate the two to settle on a compromise deal. Well, to the surprise of no one, no deal has been made as both sides were unable to come to an agreement.

 Now the Republicans are accusing the President of “crying wolf” over the impending budget cuts, and there’s plenty of mud-slinging both ways about who is really at fault over this.  Basically, Dems are okay with some cuts but want to see revenues (taxes) increase as well, while the GOP is completely opposed to any tax increases and will only go along with budget cuts.
 

So what does this all have to do with Michelle Malkin? Well, according to Colorado Senator Mark Udall, some of the budget cuts that will happen because of the sequester is a “slashing of the number of next-generation air tankers the U.S. Forest Service can acquire to supplement its Korean War-era firefighting fleet” and “ Further cut the U.S. Forest Service's Wildland Fire Management fund, which pays for hotshot crews and helping clear brush and fuel from our forests.” So yeah, while Malkin was making a big deal about there not being enough planes when her city was on fire, she’s suddenly silent—no, actually making light of the coming budget cuts.


'Rich' photo (c) 2012, Images Money - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
The true "God" of the GOP
This is my problem with Republicans; they scream and cry for budget cutting—until it actually effects them. When Malkin’s city was on fire and she was being forced to evacuate, cuts to the nation’s firefighting capabilities was unacceptable.  Yet, when there is no eminent threat to herself, she’s fine with similar cuts. Republicans talk all the time about cutting spending, yet it’s spending that will never affect them.  Its millionaires and billionaires calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, its guys making seven figures saying that a minimum wage increase won’t help Americans, and its people claiming they care about clean water and air yet then want to eliminate the laws that actually forbid polluting. If you vote republican, please wake up. The GOP doesn’t give a sh*t about you.  They only care about pleasing the selfish, greedy, rich people that put them into office via humongous campaign contributions.  For instance, Republican governors nation-wide are proposing tax-cuts that will—surprise, surprise—overwhelmingly benefit the rich.

Republicans want to have it both ways, to cry out against “excessive spending” then make a bid deal anytime budget cuts actually affect them. They want to have their cake and eat it too.  It’s about time Americans starting calling them out for it.

**Update** 

June 12, 2013, portions of Colorado are up in flames yet again, and where is Malkin? Blaming the government of course, saying nothing of the budget cuts she herself supported, ironically wondering why the government can't spend money any faster??



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