Rush Limbaugh Ashamed: Why Are Sequester Arguments Shaming To All?

COMMENTARY | Rush Limbaugh is ashamed of the United States for the first time in his adult lift. Limbaugh saying he’s ashamed has triggered quite a backlash, with thousands piling negative comments directed toward Rush Limbaugh on articles all over the internet. But what is it about the sequester arguments is supposedly making Limbaugh ashamed?

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Rush Limbaugh is ashamed of Americans for buying into the claims of Obama and the Democrats. But even some Republicans like John Boehner would make Limbaugh ashamed based upon Boehner’s conflicting comments. The focus of all these arguments is the automatic sequester set for March 1, which will trigger $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years (or $120 billion annually).

This writer recently covered the debt crisis in relation to the “Limbaugh ashamed” comments. The short version is that borrowing from others represents about 1/3 of the Federal budget, with income (taxes) being around 17 percent of GDP and spending about 24 percent of GDP. The 2012 Federal deficit was $1.086 trillion. There are three options: cut spending, increase taxes greatly, or a combination of the two. Republicans desire spending cuts, but Democrats are pushing for higher taxes.

The odd part about the sequester debate is that Obama originally supported the idea, demanding Republicans put sequestration of the military and Medicare on the table in order to force “both sides to negotiate the federal budget.” Obama even said he would veto any bill attempting to stop the sequester.

Now Obama is wielding the sequester as a threat, saying that unless Republicans agree to increasing taxes that he will allow the sequester to happen. Obama claims that all government services will be effected, which includes firemen, police, teachers, and TSA agents at airports.

According to a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this week, even Republican House Speaker John Boehner is saying, “There is nothing wrong with cutting spending that much – we should be cutting even more – but the sequester is an ugly and dangerous way to do it.” Of course, the Huffington Post says John Boehner originally supported the sequester as part of the Budget Control Act, which passed in 2011 with bipartisan support and a majority of Republicans.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Rush Limbaugh is derisive of these claims:

“Do you really think 800,000 people are gonna lose their jobs in the Pentagon because we cut $22 billion? Do you really think air-traffic control’s gonna shut down? Do you really think there aren’t gonna be any meat inspectors? Do you really think that all of these horror stories are going to happen? I don’t.”

The CS Monitor says the spending cuts to the Pentagon triggered by the sequester will cause Defense Department civilians to receive a 20 percent cut in pay, airports may face some additional delays, and that meat inspectors will not be effected.

Still, the Examiner agrees with Rush Limbaugh on this account:

“All Obama has to do is say the Sequester will not take effect. Instead he is demanding Republicans raise taxes again or else, damning them if they do or don’t. This is demagogic pandering, fear-mongering, and demonizing at its worst. And when Republicans call them out on it, they are met will catcalls of derision and mockery. Obama’s Alinskyite nature continues to cast a pall over the nation with his claims that Republicans want to starve children.”

They are referring to the fact that President Obama, as the Executive branch of the government, has the authority to direct how the sequester is allocated. If President Obama does not want certain essential areas of government to be affected by spending cuts, then they won’t.

Now that you see what is making Rush Limbaugh ashamed, what do you think of the behavior of our elected officials like President Obama and John Boehner?

http://youtu.be/fNBhue9OMTY