Congress doesn't need to raise debt ceiling.

There is no doubt that America is amid a great financial crisis, but while those of us in the real world are tightening our belts to adapt to the current economic environment, Democrats in Washington want permission to spend even more and add to our crippling national debt.

The conversation in Washington D.C. for weeks had centered, for the most part, on how much our leaders are willing to listen to the American people and head down the path to financial responsibility by taking steps to curtail the burden on our sons and daughters. The budget produced by the House of Representatives that passed Friday was more of a flinch than a step in the right direction. The final amount cut from spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office, was a less-than-whopping $352 million. This rate is much lower than the $38 billion advertised and the $100 billion promised earlier, to be exact the actual cuts made are just under one percent of the promise and they are just minutia compared to the $3.8 trillion national budget. To put this in comparison, the average income in Southwest Missouri is about $33,000, so the cut that Congress man is equivalent to you cutting your annual budget by about $3.05.

Now with these modest budget cuts, that were nearly to blame for shutting down the government, behind us, the discussion will soon turn to raising the debt ceiling. In February of last year, the debt ceiling was raised to $14.294 TRILLION with an unprecedented increase of $1.9 trillion dollars (over double what it had been raised before.) Currently, our national debt is approaching 96% of our Gross Domestic Product, around a 35% increase of what it was only four years ago.

Increasing the debt ceiling has been characterized by those on the left as necessary, Obama has claimed that defaulting on the debt could "plunge the world economy back into a recession" and Treasury Secretary Geithner claimed that the discussion regarding NOT raising the debt ceiling could be "catastrophic." Geithner told news sources this weekend that "Congress will raise the debt ceiling" and seemed unperturbed by anything to contrary. Now, it seems that Republican leadership may continue to pander to the left instead of fixing government spending. But what would be the implications if they refused?

Some experts suggest that the danger implied by the left is overstated and that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would simply require the federal government to use its revenue to pay the interest in lieu of contributing to our bloated budget. Options are not limited to blindly raising the ceiling, and must include either putting a hold on the ceiling or pairing the raise with large, meaningful cuts. No family could be sustained by increasing their credit limit amidst encumbering debt, especially without making a serious budget overhaul to ensure that debt is corralled. The government shouldn't be afforded the option, either.

If Republicans are serious about restoring fiscal sanity, they need to say no to increasing the United States' already-maxed-out credit. Conservatives in Washington must show leadership on this issue to regain the people's confidence that was lost in them after failing to make legitimate budget cuts.

Federal Delegation Should Butt-Out of Missouri Redistricting

For quite some time now, Missouri's state legislature has been working on the new Congressional maps based on the 2010 census data. The redistricting has not been without struggle as leadership in both the House and Senate have been bogged down trying to appease members of their own chambers and the egos attempting to pull the strings from Washington D.C.

As the AP reported last week, U.S. House members met with top ranking GOP members of the Missouri legislature. The purpose for all of this is to influence the legislators in getting the new Congressional maps drawn in a way that would optimize their chances at re-election. Aside from being an affront to standards of personal decency and ethics, the meddling of our Congressional delegation also flies in the face of Missouri's Constitution, which clearly states that "the general assembly shall by law divide the state into districts corresponding with the number of representatives to which is it entitled." Our federal delegation should have no further say in the proceedings than any other citizen of the state, and limiting their entanglement may be good for the state as a whole.

Congressmen having to maintain positive professional relationships with legislators from their district could have a positive impact on the entire political dialogue and clean up ugly election rhetoric. With Congressmen at the mercy of their state senators and representatives, we would be less likely to see personal attacks and outright lies during election season as potential candidates may actually have face consequences for what they say. Besides with the economy in the tank and three military conflicts, don't Congressman have better things to than worry about being re-elected?

Read more by William Lynch at his blog: Life as a Law Student.

Show Me!! Missouri College Republicans - Convention recap

[The entry below links to a recap, of the Minnesota State College Republicans Convention, last (April 16th) weekend. And another recent one recaps the Wisconsin College Republicans Statewide Convention.]



...And now, the Show-Me State! Missouri was the other CRNC Midwest Caucus state to have held their statewide CR Federation Convention, the weekend of April 16th.

I was glad to have been at last year's MOCR Convention; I've participated in prior Missouri GOP campaigns, and have thoroughly enjoyed me experiences, doing politics in the Show-Me State (very-different, from across the river, here in Illinois ;-)...

Here is a Convention recap, along with some recent news, from the Missouri Federation of College Republicans!!

I regret I was not in attendance. CONGRATULATIONS to new Missouri Chairwoman BRENNA MEDLIN, and the newly-elected Executive Board!!

Chair: Brenna Medlin, Saint Louis University
Vice-Chair: Matt Baker, Missouri State University
Treasurer: Andrew Schwartz, Truman State University
Secretary: Michelle Wertz, University of Central Missouri



Keep up the great work, in the GREAT state of Missouri!!

On this day...

Statement from the Missouri Federation of College Republicans, issued yesterday by MOCR Chairman Jonathan Ratliff:


As we gather this Fourth of July to celebrate our Independence Day, let us not forget the principles our forefathers held to steadfastly in their fight for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today, 233 years since the signing of our Declaration of Independence, the Missouri College Republicans continue to fight for these very same principles. We do so by helping to elect candidates who understand that life begins at conception, that liberty is the cornerstone of our great republic and that a free market is the best mechanism to lead the nation to economic prosperity and greater freedom for all. We are doing our part in the fight to preserve the ideals that make America great. The Missouri College Republicans seek to ensure that America's standing as an economic and military superpower, but most importantly as a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark world, continues to exist. Thank you all for your continued support. This weekend, take a moment to reflect upon the principles that have guided America to greatness and remember why our country means so much to so many people.