414-0

by JASmius

Another box for President Check-The-Box to check:

Before taking up their own budget plan for next year, House Republicans pushed a version of President Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget to the floor for a vote, and it was it was unanimously defeated, 414-0.

Republicans have opposed Obama’s budget all year, criticizing its tax increases on the wealthy and saying it lacks sufficient spending cuts. …

GOP lawmakers forced the vote on Obama’s plan as a tactical move aiming at embarrassing Democrats. The Democrats have defended Obama’s budget priorities, but they largely voted “no” Wednesday night.

Republicans said Democrats were afraid to vote for Obama’s proposed tax increases and extra spending for energy and welfare. Democrats said Republicans had forced a vote on a version of Obama’s budget that contained only its numbers, not the policies he would use to achieve them.

I'd wager the White House didn't even notice.

And why would they? Both last year's and this year's budget Regime submissions were political, not fiscal, documents, designed for no other purpose than to gin up enthusiasm in the Li'l President's tepid lunatic fringe base in advance of a highly difficult re-election bid by pandering to the nutters' unquenchable lust for Donk-empowering economic calamity and national collapse (aka "going Greek") with trillion-dollar annual deficits as far as the eye can see. It's the other side of the same reason coin from why Dirty Harry Reid's Senate Democrat majority hasn't produced a budget of its own in three years; last cycle, this one, and 2014, Dems had/have/will have many more seats at risk than the GOP (a product of big Donk gains in 2006 and 2008) in swing and "red" states, and accordingly public votes in favor of Red Barry's risible mega-debt storms are not ones vulnerable Democrat senators want to make. And if forced to, they'll vote no (like last year's 97-0 skunking) while voting yes in their black, sinister hearts. Just like House Dems did last night.

Ultimately this is all about marking time until the November election. Dem control of the Senate is not long for this world in any case, but if B.O. does get his second term, let's just say it will be very interesting to see what kind of budget he submits to a unified Republican Congress a year from now - if he submits one at all.

UPDATE: Ryan does Debbie - resoundingly:.

[cross-posted @ Hard Starboard]