Bob Casey Jr.’s inability to answer Tim Russert’s question last week — “name one federal program you would cut” — is a clear indication that he would fit in very nicely with fellow liberals in the United States Senate.

Robert Novak:

“There are lots of ways to cut,” said Casey. He quickly added “the first thing you have to do” is raise taxes on the top 1 percent of income by rolling back Bush tax reductions. He suggested closing “some tax loopholes” — mentioning only “offshore tax loopholes” (an issue ignored since Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign). Drawing on experience in Pennsylvania state government as former auditor general and current treasurer, Casey said, “Sometimes you try to limit the number of consultants.”

That dismal response will not lose for Casey what has been considered the surest Democratic chance for a Republican-held Senate seat. The problem facing Democrats is the dilemma if they gain control of the government in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Casey, a moderate liberal, is typical of Democrats unwilling to downsize social welfare programs. After pummeling Republicans about budget deficits, their only recourse is higher taxes — a course fraught with political and economic perils…

…Only when Russert asked his balanced budget question did Casey justify his reputation as a less than stalwart political debater. All he could think of immediately was “to repeal the tax cut for people making over $200,000 a year” — a tax increase for the rich. Russert responded that would bring in only $56 billion a year against a deficit of over $200 billion. However, its negative effect on the economy probably would produce much less than the estimated revenue. Not surprisingly, the recap of the debate playing on Casey’s website eliminated the entire dialogue about spending…

…Casey is in the same niche with fellow Democrats in proposing large amounts of new spending for domestic social welfare programs. He has supported Kerry’s 2005 “Kids Come First Act” costing $100 billion over five years. Last Oct. 14, Casey advocated for nearly $300 million more in small business funding than President Bush proposed. On March 18, he called for $8 billion more in pre-kindergarten programs.

Again, Chris Matthew’s reaction seems appropriate:

This entry was posted on Friday, September 8th, 2006 at 8:28 am and is filed under Dems, federal spending. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.