Politics: The Sequester Superhero

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Politics The Sequester Superhero Why the Republican Party's sequestration strategy only makes Obama stronger. By David Weigel Posted Thursday, Feb 28, 2013, at 11:50 PM ET The last halfhearted hopes of a sequestration fix died Thursday afternoon, with Senate Republicans voting to give more power to President Obama. The plan was anonymously titled S. 16—a missed opportunity, after Democrats spangled their bill with stars and called it the American Family Economic Protection Act. Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey were less interested in a name than in details. Their bill replaced the meat-axe cuts of the Budget Control Act with flexibility: "The Secretary of Defense may transfer amounts appropriated for the Department of Defense by the Continuing Appropriations Resolution." This plan failed. Thirty-six Republicans and two Democrats backed it, leaving them 22 votes short of cloture. But why were most Republicans ready to put $85 billion worth of spending cuts on the president, asking his agencies to make the choices? Why not make that call for themselves? Surely they, and not Barack Obama, know which planes need to be built and which military bases need to stay open. After the vote, Inhofe reminded me that the bill would have required the president to preview his cuts for Congress. Congress could have overridden the cuts, if it came to that. "For those people who think I'm giving the president more power, they don't know me or my relationship with the president," he said. "Our bill merely gives the administration the capacity to rearrange the cuts, so that they're not so devastating." Republicans have one goal, running through all of ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate NASCAR Fans v. Flying Car Parts Kid Rock Is Cool Good Job, Fella. Here's a Water Bottle.	Advertisement
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