California Conservative

I just finished participating in a blogger conference call hosted by House Republican Chairman Mike Pence and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the vice chair of the House Republican Conference on the topic of the economy. Although the notice for the conference call said we’d be talking about President Obama’s plan, more time was spent talking about a bicameral Rpublican budget that would soon be rolled out.

Chairman Pence gave a brief update on what congressional Republicans were doing to start the call, followed by Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers. The thing that was evident from the outset was that House and Senate Republicans were united in the belief that “President Obama’s budget taxes too much, spends too much and borrows too much.”

Chairman Pence said that Republicans, both from the House and Senate, would be talking about the Republican’s alternative budget over the next 2-3 weeks, followed by the unveiling of the alternative budget. When one of the bloggers said that they were worried that the Republicans’ alternative budget plan wouldn’t be bold enough, Chairman Pence assured us that this alternative budget would be sufficiently bold, that it would create jobs and that it would have significantly different policies that would help us get on the fast path to prosperity.

John Hawkins asked an interesting question, which he has posted here:

The CBO estimated, before the stimulus bill, that the economy would recover in the 2nd half of 2009. So, do you think it’s fair to say that if the economy recovers in the 2nd half of 2009, it’s just doing what it would have without the stimulus and if it takes longer, the stimulus and the other government interference caused it.

Here’s Chairman Pence’s response:

I believe in the resilience of the American economy and I believe that this pattern of borrowing, spending, and bailout delay our way back into prosperity. If the economy recovers in the timeframe you discussed, it’ll be despite the government interference, not because of it.

It’s becoming clear that they’ve done their homework, especially with regards to a great mantra that will sink in quickly. It’s equally clear that the alternative budget won’t be a ‘tinkering around the edges’ budget. This alternative budget will be fairly bold, especially considering the fact that Paul Ryan is the senior Republican on the committee. If there’s anything that Rep. Ryan isn’t, it’s bashful.

Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve been a Mike Pence fan for quite some time. Today’s conference call hasn’t changed my opinion on that. What’s becoming clear, though, is that Cathy McMorris-Rodgers is an impressive spokesperson for the GOP Conference.

Technorati Tags: Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, Bloggers, John Hawkins, Paul Ryan, Budget, Republicans, Tax Increases, Spending Increases, Democrats