Mark Meadows says Washington Swamp ‘Obviously Deeper' | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post, by Ray Nothstine, in the Civitas's online edition.

    Appearing on CBS Face the Nation Sunday, North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows addressed the new federal budget deal in Washington saying the swamp "is obviously deeper."

    When asked if the Republican leadership caved when it came to controlling spending Meadows didn't really pull any punches:

• Without a doubt. I mean without a doubt. Our original play was to make sure that we funded the military, we kept other spending flat. That's what we passed, and yet what we got put on the House floor just a few hours later was this unbelievable budget deal that spent American taxpayer dollars.

    The new spending bill means permanent $1 trillion deficits are now the norm. On Twitter Meadows had this to say:

    After this week, it would be the easiest thing in the world for limited government conservatives to disengage. I share your disappointment. But I'm asking you: please stay active. Please keep fighting for the principles you believe in. This country is too great to do otherwise.

    If you want to stay engaged on the importance of limited government and fiscal responsibility, be sure to check out the upcoming Conservative Leadership Conference in Raleigh on April 13, 14.

    In contrast to Meadows, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis attempted to rebuke Kentucky Senator Rand Paul after he held up the Senate for a short period to remind Republicans of their spending hypocrisy. "Do you want to be a senator who wants to make a point or do you want to make a difference?" declared Tillis. During his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Tillis, like most Republicans, chastised his opponent for doing nothing to stop the record-setting deficits and debt under President Obama. Now he appears unable to muster up enough courage to halt the reckless and irresponsible spending in Washington. In fact, he attacks the one senator with the courage to warn the nation of Washington's reckless and unsustainable spending.

    I own a great book titled "Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot" by Medal of Honor recipient James B. Stockdale. He passed away in 2005 but you might remember him as Ross Perot's running mate for the presidency in 1992. Stockdale has an especially prescient quote in that book worth sharing given what is occurring in Washington:

• Those who study the rise and fall of civilizations learn that no shortcoming has been surely fatal to republics as a dearth of public virtue, the unwillingness of those who govern to place the value of their society above personal interest. Yet today we read outcries from conscientious congressman disenchanted with the proceedings of their legislative body and totally disgusted with the log-jamming effect of their peers' selfish and artful distancing of themselves from critical spending cutbacks, much needed belt-tightening legislation without which the long-term existence of our republic itself is endangered. (p. 74)