Republican Establishment is Suffering From Political Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome:

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Tim 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

NKJV

Many of our soldiers returning from war suffer from a condition known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Unfortunately, many do not receive treatment for this condition.  It is understandable that young men and women returning from the brutality of war would suffer this condition.  I also believe that the government that sent them into combat has a responsibility to provide treatment for this serious condition just as employers in the private sector have a responsibility to provide treatment for their employees injured on the job.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

This week we discovered that GOP members in the U.S House of Representatives, especially those in the GOP leadership, show symptoms of what I call Political Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PPTSD).  This disorder is not due to exposure to the brutality of being in a war zone but the brutality of being in a political war. 

Ever since the recent partial shutdown of the Federal Government Republicans, especially those in the Republican Establishment live in fear of being blamed for another shutdown.  This fear is unfounded since it was the Democrats, and not the Republicans, that caused the shutdown.  (1)  However since the shutdown, many in the GOP are fearful about how another shutdown would make them look instead of being concerned about controlling government spending and balancing the budget.  They are suffering from PPTSD and are thus making bad decisions. 

This is the only logical explanations for why a group of representatives, representatives that ran for office promising to control federal spending and balancing the budget, would do a 180 degree turn and agree to a budget deal that insures trillion dollar budget deficits and increasing debt for many years to come.  These representatives are suffering from a serious mental condition and need immediate treatment before they inflict any more damage on our country.  If they do not do the honorable thing and get treatment, the voters will have to turn them out of office in order to save the country and insure these sick people can get the help they need. 

Of course, this Republican establishment is the same establishment that fears running a true conservative for the White House, fearing another devastating defeat like the one Goldwater suffered in 1964.  (2) (3)  Republican leaders believe Goldwater was defeated because he was too conservative and believe that a true conservative could never win the White House.  Of course, this belief totally ignores the two landslide victories of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 who won running as a true conservative.  (4) (5) 

This fear of losing elections due to running on conservative principles is causing GOP leaders to make bad decisions (i.e. the current budget deal passed in the House of Representatives this week) which according to Mike Flynn of Breitbart News does the following: 

1. The Deal Increases Federal Spending.  Discretionary spending, the only spending controlled by the Congressional budget process, would rise next year to $1.012 trillion.  Spending in 2013 was $986 billion and, under current law, was scheduled to drop to $967 billion next year.  In other words, spending will be $45 billion higher than under existing law. 

2. The Deal Increases Federal Revenue.  While the additional revenue is raised through "user fees" rather than taxes, it is generally a distinction without a difference.  One of the major sources of new revenue is an additional surtax on airline tickets, ostensibly to cover TSA airport screening.  In the last 5 years, though, TSA's budget increased 18%, while the number of passengers it screened by 11%.  A user fee is directly related to the cost of providing a government service.  Fees beyond that level are a tax. 

The deal also reportedly raises revenue by auctioning off broadcast spectrum and hiking other fees.  Details of these will emerge in the coming days, but it is important to remember that any additional revenue raised under this deal is to finance additional spending, not deficit reduction. 

3. Spending Cuts Fuel More Spending.  The deal reportedly cuts spending throughout the budget.  One of the more concrete proposals revealed so far is requiring federal employees and members of the military to contribute more to their federal pensions.  These items are obviously sound fiscal policy, but they should be employed to reduce the deficit, not fuel additional spending.  The government has a few obvious places where it can trim spending.  Devoting those cuts to increased spending leaves much tougher choices in the future. 

4. The Promised Deficit Reduction Will Never Happen.  The summary document on the Ryan/Murray deal promises that the agreement will reduce the deficit by $28 billion over the next ten years.  Never mind that this amount is a rounding error when the government will spend around $40 trillion in this time-period, it is also a fiction.  The budget document says these savings will be achieved by "requiring the President to sequester the same percentage of mandatory budgetary resources in 2022 and 2023 as will be sequestered in 2021 under current law.”  In other words, the sum total of all the deficit savings in the Ryan budget deal will come about if a future President extends part of the sequester cuts two years past they are set to expire.  Does anyone think a President a decade from now will feel bound by the words of Ryan and Murray?  (6)

This is why in the coming election in 2014 it is important to vote conservative and not just Republican.  We need fearless leaders not suffering from PPTSD that have sound minds and will make wise decisions based upon our Constitution and what is right for the country and not a fear of losing an election.  Winning teams never approach a game with a strategy of not losing but approach the game with a strategy to win.  This is what is lacking in the current GOP and what is the GOP needs to return to its winning ways. 

1. Pollak, Joel B. MEDIA SILENT AS DEMOCRATS TAKE COUNTRY 'HOSTAGE' TO DEMAND MORE SPENDING. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, October 14, 2013. [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/10/14/The-Disgusting-Hypocrisy-of-the-Democrat-Media-Complex.

2. Limbaugh, Rush. GOP Establishment Haunted by Goldwater. www.rushlimbaugh.com. [Online] EIB Network, January 6, 2012. [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/01/06/gop_establishment_haunted_by_goldwater.

3. The Economist. The right Republican. www.economist.com. [Online] The Economist, December 31, 2011. [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://www.economist.com/node/21542180.

4. US Election Atlas. 1980 Presidential General Election Results. uselectionaglas.org. [Online] [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1980.

5. —. 1984 Presidential General Election Results. uselectionatlas.org. [Online] [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1984.

6. Flynn, Mike. 4 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT RYAN-MURRAY BUDGET DEAL. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, December 10, 2013. [Cited: December 13, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/10/4-Things-to-Know-About-Ryan-Budget-Deal.