ANOTHER EPIC FAIL WEEK FOR GOP?

Via the Washington Post, here's what House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va) had to say last week about the budget battle, and how we create law in America:

"What this bill says is it reiterates again the deadline, and that the Senate should act before the deadline, and that's what the American people are expecting ... The bill then says if the Senate does not act, then H.R. 1 [the House-passed bill that cuts $61 billion from the budget] will be the law of the land."

Huh?

If the Senate doesn't act on piece of legislation that the House passes it becomes "the law of the land"? I don't know which Constitution Eric Cantor is reading from but the last time I looked you still need the Senate and the President to agree to a piece of legislation the House passes before it becomes law.

Strike one.

But Cantor wasn't done.

If H.R. 1 isn't taken up by the Senate and "the Senate brings about a shutdown" Cantor told everyone that H.R. 1 "says" House members "should not get their pay." This is fine by me. I'm all for blocking the pay of anyone who doesn't get their job done.

Except for one thing ... Eric Cantor and other Republicans overwhelmingly voted "No" on another bill (H.R. 1255) that specifically denied pay to members of Congress and the President every day they can't come to an agreement on the budget.

Put another way, if the rest of the federal government is shut done Eric Cantor and everyone in Congress still get paid.

Another swing and a miss.

But we shouldn't be surprised. Coming from a group that stumbled big time during their first week in power, then embarrassed themselves by trying to redefine rape in early February ... only to follow this up by immediately failing to get the votes necessary to extend three Patriot Act surveillance tools critical to our nation's post- 9/11 security ... we should be accustomed to this level of political buffoonery by now.

Seriously. What more can you expect from a party that presents budgets with no numbers, and then makes "fact challenged" Paul Ryan (R-WI) their go-to-guy on the budget?

Whatever we get from Budget Battle 2012 this Friday something tells me no one's going to be happy. Least of all the Republican Party.

- Mark