No Runny Eggs

After getting a taunting from President Obama in his press conference:

“To a bunch of the critics out there, I’ve already said, show me your budget! I’m happy to have that debate.”

the Republican leadership responded with this document entitled “The Republican Road to Recovery.”  Numerous bastions of the right, including Redstate.com, have linked to this document and thrown a reply taunt along the lines of, “Ha!  You wanted a budget?  Here it is.  Let’s start the debate!  Are you chicken Mr. President?”

What?  You’re kidding me right? (Hey, those of you on the left who have accused me of inconsistency, pay attention)

How many times have we on the right, ridiculed, rightly so, President Obama or one of his minions (paging Mr. Geithner) for tossing out a list of platitudes and calling it a plan?  Geithner got hammered for twice attempting that approach.  Obama got hammered for taking that approach with his stimulus plan and his budget proposal.  After pickling the left for taking the nonsubstantive approach, the Republican leadership decides that they would take the same approach and theirs should hailed as a plan worthy of debate?

Dear Republican leadership:

Shrinking government, simplifying taxes and disposing of stupidity like global warming taxes are the equivalent of motherhood and apple pie to conservatives.  We’re with you.  However, addressing higher fixed costs of government (non discretionary spending) with statements like:

Republicans seek to ensure that the federal budget cannot grow faster than families’ ability to pay the bill.

addressing health care challenges with:

Republicans seek to provide universal access to affordable health care and to address Medicare and Medicaid’s trillion dollar unfunded liabilities with common-sense reforms that ensure our children and grandchildren can secure benefits in the future.

and laying out an energy policy with:

Instead of taxing all energy users with a new energy tax that will cost up to $3,128 per household, Republicans want energy independence with increased exploration and the development of new renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

while providing scant if any detail about how you would actually accomplish your stated goal, does not pass muster to even be called “A plan.”

Worse, the Republican “plan” has hardly a number in it anywhere.  There is no information showing what the Republican’s “plan” spending would be, no information showing what the revenue would be and no information showing how their plan would lower or eliminate the massive debt that the Obama plan has us headed toward!

Sadly, the bulk of this plan looks far too much like what we have come to expect from the current Republican leadership.  If you read the document you will see that well over half of the document is used to complain about what the Democrats are doing.  Actually, if you just count columns, I come up with something like 2/3rds of the document being anti something rather than for something.  I certainly understand the need to frame the problem.  However, people are looking for answers and solutions.  Answers and soltuions do not have sentences that start with “The Democrat’s” or “The President’s.”  To make it worse, the few scarce numbers that are provided in the document are mostly numbers pointing to the President’s plan.

This “plan” points out, in spades, the reason that the Republicans had trouble in the last election; they are not leading the parade, they are nothing but bystanders armed with rotten tomatoes, watching the parade go by.

If this is the best this group can come up with, well, I think it’s time to enroll in some French classes.