Libertarians: Tea Party betrayed by tiny Republican budget cuts

WASHINGTON - According to The Hill, House Republicans have just announced that they will seek appropriations for the rest of 2011 that are $32 billion below current spending levels.

LP Chair Mark Hinkle commented, "The Tea Party supporters have been betrayed. These cuts are so small, you need a microscope to find them."

Hinkle continued, "The Congressional Budget Office just told us that federal spending was expected to be about $3.7 trillion this year. After the Republican cuts, it will still be about $3.7 trillion. The Republican cuts are so tiny, they disappear in the rounding error.

"Even with these cuts, the federal deficit will be over $1.4 trillion this year.

"It doesn't help that Congressional Republicans voted for more unemployment spending and ethanol subsidies last December, or that they want to keep increasing military spending. And they haven't come up with any serious cuts to entitlements.

"I think the Tea Party supporters were expecting real cuts, not this nonsense. We tried to warn Tea Party supporters last year that the Republicans were just trying to fool them again. It looks like we were right.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll hear Republicans say they're just getting started, and more cuts are coming...just not yet. But I hope the Tea Party supporters and other fiscal conservatives wake up and smell the deficits. Our children are going to drown in debt, and the Republicans aren't going to save them. Republicans are part of the problem, not the solution.

"Tea Party supporters and other fiscal conservatives should support Libertarians, not Republicans. Libertarians would make dramatic cuts in spending, and if angry Republicans and Democrats threatened to shut down the government instead, Libertarians would say 'Fine.'"

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.