Station: AM 740 KVOR

Show: Jeff Crank Show

Guest: Scott Tipton

Link: http://www.kvor.com/showdj.asp?DJID=48714#podcast

Date: 7/17/2011

Time: 0:49

Topics: Tipton, budget, debt ceiling, McConnell, Ryan Plan, Cut Cap and Balance

Click Here for Audio

Crank: Are the Republicans in the House going to hold firm? That’s my first and most important question to you.

Tipton: I think no question. That has been the frustration of the President. We have put forward the word to him that at every level there will be no tax increases. We cannot afford to have job killing tax increases being able to fit the President’s agenda. As you were noting when you were opening up this segment, the President has the ability. I actually visited with Secretary Geithner on one of my committees and challenged him with this, that we have the resources to make sure that our seniors citizens are whole, that we are going to be able to pay our active military, be able to pay our military subcontractors as well.  There isn’t money to fund everything but the essential services, we have it. It is not actually a drop-dead date on August 2^nd. But the President is completely immovable. He wants to be able to have his way. But here is the frustrating point Jeff, they haven’t put forward a plan. We passed the Ryan Plan, the Republican Plan. We put an idea out on the table that was demagogued by the President.  The Senate has yet to even pass a budget. We are the first Congress, the 111^th Congress didn’t even pass a budget. So we have the Democrats, the President, the Democrat controlled Senate that they are completely bankrupt of ideas. We are putting ideas forward to be able to get the American people back to work. To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington. But you can’t negotiate with yourself. Particularly when someone is more worried about the next election rather than the next generation.

Crank: Well, he really has failed to lead on this. We can’t forget that is was just a few short months ago that he had an opportunity to put forward a bold budget and what he put forward was business as usual. A budget that had deficits as far as the eyes can see. And it was only the Ryan Plan, when it came forward, that was bold and got us on a path to a balanced budget at some point in the future. This President, and frankly Democrats in Congress and when we are finished with the interview with you Congressman, I’m going to play a video from Congressman Xavier Becerra, they have no desire to have a balanced budget amendment. They have no desire to ever live within our means. It is becoming very clear to me.

Tipton: Well it is. In fact, I visited with Congressman Jason Chaffetz and working with him. A bill has been introduced actually yesterday and it will be voted on on Tuesday and it’s called the “Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011.” This will get us on the path to fiscal sanity. We have 49 states, Colorado thank god, we have a balanced budget requirement in this state. This act will get something that Washington continues to argue against and the President continues to argue against of having a balanced budget. The President’s statement is we just need to do our job. Well, he is the poster child of not doing the job. We need to have this type of legislation move forward and actually build for our future generations. Once we have that requirement in Washington to literally be able to balance our budget, Congress, much like our state legislature, is going to be forced to literally make those tough decisions.

Crank: Well, Cut Cap and Balance is a great plan and the House I know is going to take that up. It includes a vote on the balanced budget amendment, cutting spending this year and then capping it in the future. Those are great things. I noted by the way Congressman, Senator Mitch McConnell’s plan, which I don’t like and I call that one “Cut Run and Hide.” Which is exactly what is it. Which is you want to not have members of the Senate make these politically tough votes on raising the debt limit. So it is a real stark contrast and I think that McConnell make a great mistake doing that. Immediately you saw the media say, oh there is a fracture in the Republican Party. There is no fracture. That was one person going off the reservation. That plan has no chance of passing the U.S. House. Am I correct?

Tipton: Exactly. I would not vote for McConnell’s plan. And as you note, it is going to be giving discretion to the President to be able to make those choices. We know what choices he would make. It isn’t a realistic plan. We are again leading the way. We are putting forth a legitimate plan and we need to have some partners that are willing to at least stand up and address the real issues. We aren’t seeing it in the Senate. We aren’t seeing it out of the President. The American people expect more.

Crank: Yea they really do and I just hope that we don’t have a few Republicans, let hold the line much like what was done on health care, where really every Republican stayed firm and solid on that point and that we don’t have people getting nervous. This President and the media is very complicit in this, trying to equate a vote on the debt limit increase to the US government defaulting. Those are two very different things and we need, I think as Conservatives to do a better job at education that those are different things. Just because the debt limit isn’t raised does not mean that the United States Government automatically defaults on its obligations.

Tipton: No it doesn’t. The revenue that is going to be coming in just over the balance of this month not only has the ability to cover the other areas we talked about just earlier but also be able to pay all of our interest payments as well. We have numerous economists, and I think maybe the most telling thing that ought to be driving most of our decisions finally came out of S & P and Moody’s, the rating organizations. It isn’t a matter of just increasing the debt ceiling. They say that there has to be real reform, real cuts up to $4 trillion, so that they can give a triple A credit rating to the United States. They understand, finally, at these credit rating agencies that if we don’t get our fiscal house in order we are in the pathway of Greece. And we have to be responsible with taxpayer dollars. We have to be responsible making sure that we are not living outside of our means. You do it in your household. I do it in mine. Small businesses across the country do this. And government needs to do it as well.