Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Paul Duke intro commentary. As we ve said members of Congress have been studying President Reagan s proposed budget all week. Trying to figure out what the numbers add up to. Our commentator, Otis Pike believes they would be better off if they stopped reading and started listening.
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Commentary by Otis Pike on subject of the budget. The numbers in the budget are interesting, but you can learn more from the sounds of the budget. For openers you know its bad news by the way the administration tries to sneak it quietly to Congress. No Joint session with the President, proudly presenting his budget to Congress. Instead, it was first whispered to select groups of Republicans behind closed doors. These trusted lieutenants silently leaked the budget to members the media, knowing full well that they can t keep anything quiet. After two days of the media trumpeting the 758 billion dollar total and 92 billion dollar deficit, the President passed it quietly up to Congress. Hoping no one would notice. The next sound you heard was weeping and wailing from Republican Senators and Representatives you have to run this year. They made small noises about how it was all Jimmy Carter s fault. But those faint sounds were drowned out by the weeping and wailing. The Democrats joined in with moaning and groaning about how the budget was unfair. A rich man s budget for the country club set. They kept singing the song about how awful, how dreadful, how terrible the deficits were. They were plenty loud, but the harmony was poor, for their still learning the deficit song. There was one sound everyone listened for but no one heard. No matter what a good ear you have, there was no sound from the Democratic leadership about how the Democrats would change that awful, terrible, dreadful budget. Would they cut defense spending? Would they raise taxes? What would they do about Social Security and Federal Employees? What was their plan to balance the budget? Simon and Garfunkel had a song about that sound. They called it The Sound of Silence.
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
Paul Duke signs off. But in the days ahead, the sound of silence is likely to be broken many times by the sound of acrimony. Meanwhile, the lawmakers are taking ten days off to consult with their constituents on the budget. From my colleagues Linda Wertheimer and Cokie Roberts, I m Paul Duke and on Capitol Hill, we ll see you next week.
Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
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Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
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Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
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Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
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Lawmakers - February 11, 1982 - Commentary
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