Harris's Unbalanced Thinking

In a November 17 Star Democrat article, and in many others, Andy Harris continues to invoke the impossible standard of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  He has used this as an excuse for his vote to default the country August 1, and invokes it yet again when predicting the failure of the Supercommittee.  He knows that such an amendment will take a 2/3 vote of both Houses (290 in the House, 67 in the Senate), and ¾ of the state legislatures, both impossible standards.  It’s little wonder that there have been only 27 amendments since 1788.

This amendment would create fiscal chaos, as annual spending would be capped at 18% of the prior year’s GDP, which hasn’t happened since 1956.  Exceeding the cap would take a 2/3 supermajority of the full membership of both Houses, more than is needed to declare war, impeach a president in the House, end a filibuster in the Senate, or amend the Constitution, which requires 2/3 of those present.  Should we need war funding, endure another Katrina, or cope with emergencies here and abroad, this amendment would deny any spending.  Little wonder conservatives like Senator John McCain called the amendment “bizarro” and Rep. Allan West called it “schizophrenic.”

I challenged Harris at a town meeting in St. Michaels last summer to defend his vote for default based on the balanced budget amendment, in an extended give-and-take.   Even other Republicans were confused with his answer, with one questioning his ability to listen to his constituents.  The Balanced Budget Amendment is really nothing but a smokescreen for his indefensible position of preserving tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and his uncompromising inflexibility to consider a balanced approach to cutting the deficit, even as some his fellow Republicans are now considering pushing their party to accepting new taxes.  The fact is that government expenses are now at 24%, with revenue at 15%, the lowest level in 6 decades.   We need to cut spending and raise revenue-there is no other realistic way to proceed.

The real constituencies of Andy Harris include Grover Norquist, Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth, and American Crossroads, all of whom support his candidacy and events, one of which I attended (Americans for Prosperity) in Grasonville.  As constituencies go, the citizens and voters of the Eastern Shore and District 1 are well down the list.  It’s not a surprise that, due to congressman like Andy Harris, Congress has a 9% approval rating. 

GOP senator and leader Lamar Alexander said November 16 that the recent GOP flexibility, minimal as it is, in considering new taxes is about “whether Congress can competently govern, whether we can face up to the biggest problem facing our country.  Both parties need to put more on the table to get a result.”

Since his election, there is no evidence that Andy Harris is interested in anything other than voting no on whatever the President or Democrats propose, and has demonstrated absolutely no leadership in creating jobs, preserving the Chesapeake Bay, or having an honest discussion about deficit reduction.  This is not enlightened, or competent governance, as Senator Alexander was referring to.  Unfortunately, this is the Congressman we have at the moment.