Attack of the Robosquirrels

Dear friend of liberty,

This week, the House of Representatives will vote on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through September.

Reports indicate the House is already looking for funding tricks so they can cheat on their sequester diet less than a week in.

And, of course, the CR still doesn't cut a penny of actual spending.

It's vital you sign C4L's "Real Cuts, Right Now" fax petition, but first allow me to explain why.

While the Republicans maintain a numerical majority in the House, voting in the 113th Congress shows that a minority of squishy, Big Government Republicans have proven themselves willing to vote with the majority of Democrats to pass unconstitutional legislation.

For years, the GOP leadership adhered to a rule that they would only bring a bill to the floor if it had the support of "a majority of the majority."

This rule worked fine for them when the majority of the GOP caucus were establishment Republicans or fiscal conservatives willing to betray their principles to "go along to get along."

But now, thanks to the hard work of Campaign for Liberty members like you, the GOP establishment can no longer count on lockstep support when they try to pass big spending bills, so they are working with liberal Democrats to pass their statist legislation.

They have already done this three times this year!

First it was the fiscal cliff, then the pork-laden Sandy "relief" bill, and most recently, reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act.

On all three bills, the majority of the GOP was against the legislation for fiscal or constitutional reasons, and in all three cases, a minority of establishment Republicans teamed up with Democrats to pass these bills over their objections, while using scare tactics to get their way.

Zachary, if this continues, I'm afraid it's going to be a long two years of coalition rule by the statists in both parties.

You and I both know there are plenty of cuts to be made in the federal budget.

But since Washington can't seem to figure things out, here are some suggestions:

**** First, the House GOP should not cave in to support ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank (which deepened the government's involvement in the financial system).

This CR funds implementation of both ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank, and a vote for it is as bad as a vote for these bills themselves!

**** Second, every year, Senator Tom Coburn publishes a "Wastebook" - a thorough study of government waste at the federal level.

Last year's "Wastebook" identified $18 BILLION in savings just by eliminating wasteful and duplicative government spending!

One example is a research grant to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for $325,000 to create a robotic squirrel named "Robosquirrel." Apparently, version 2.0 will give us a "weaponized" varmint capable of pelting rattlesnakes with stones.

This highlights an important issue often ignored in Washington: the federal government has no constitutional authority to fund science and technological research!

It's not popular to say things like the NSF are unconstitutional and shouldn't exist, but when Washington, D.C. is running trillion-dollar deficits annually, we need to reexamine government's priorities.

As Coburn's report concluded, "paying $325,000 for a robot squirrel seems a bit squirrelly."

**** Third, Senator Paul's past budgets and legislative proposals show plenty of fat on the federal budget that could be trimmed.

In fact, the first bill Senator Paul introduced last Congress would have cut $500 BILLION in one year!

You should have seen the faces on the political elite in Washington when he brought that up...

Even though cutting $500 BILLION would have only taken care of 1/3rd of the federal deficit!

I can't think of a better example to highlight the disconnect that exists between Washington, D.C. and Main Street, U.S.A.

From the establishment's perspective, every dollar spent by Washington is sacred.

Outside of Washington, however, the reality of the damage out-of-control government has created is settling in more every day.

So please click here to sign your Real Cuts, Right Now petition now and help turn the American people's desire for reform into action.

And if you can, please consider going further by chipping in $10 or more to help Campaign for Liberty reach even more people with the Real Cuts, Right Now message.



You and I sure do have our work cut out for us.

A large minority of House Republicans has shown they are eager to support the status quo on spending.

Even worse, they've proven a willingness to team up with Democrats to continue spending us into oblivion.

You and I must show them doing so will be quite costly.

That's why it's vital you sign your Real Cuts, Right Now petition to urge your representative and senators to find real savings in the budget.

And if you can, please consider chipping in with a donation of $10 or more after signing the petition to help Campaign for Liberty promote Real Cuts, Right Now.

Not next year, not ten years from now - RIGHT NOW!

Allowing the increased spending reductions from sequestration to take effect is just a head nod toward fiscal responsibility.

But it's also a smokescreen for reformers to hide behind and say, "See, we tried!"

Our legislators must be reminded that the $85 billion drop-in-the-bucket cuts are not a stopping point.

It's time for Congress to wake up and end the status quo cycle of tax-and-spend.

The first step is getting the House of Representatives to adopt amendments to the CR that enact REAL Cuts, Right NOW!

In Liberty,

John Tate
President