But The Paducah Sun Does.
Senator Jim Bunning leaves office vindicated
Last spring, in his 12th year in the United States Senate, he held up a bill to extend unemployment benefits. It was classic (Jim) Bunning, and it evoked the predictable response.
Democrats castigated him. He didn't care. Fellow Republicans criticized him. He didn't care.
In what The Washington Post called “spectacularly bad politics,” Bunning blocked an attempt by Democrats to treat the extension as an “emergency” bill, which would exempt it from their own pay-as-you-go sham. He didn't oppose the extension, he just opposed borrowing another $10 billion to pay for it.
He reasoned that, if the extension was really as important as Democrats said it was, they should be willing to cut spending somewhere else to pay for it. He even offered a relatively painless suggestion: Use unspent money from the trillion-dollar stimulus bill.
Democrats chose to play politics, using Bunning's stand to reinforce their portrayal of Republicans as heartless. This spooked fellow Republicans, who sensed an election-year disaster, and they pressured Bunning to stand down. He finally relented.
But to their amazement, the public backed Bunning. He added legions of new fans among an electorate alarmed by Washington's deficit spending. His fellow senators got it wrong. The Post got it wrong. It was spectacularly good politics. Principled stands often are.
Even The Post admitted: “The point Mr. Bunning was trying to make was a reasonable one: At some point, Congress has to stop borrowing and spending, even for worthy purposes.”
It turns out Bunning was ahead of the curve. And after observing how the voters responded, other Republicans and even some Democrats were emboldened to take a similar stand with subsequent spending bills.
Now the 79-year-old Bunning is leaving Congress after 24 years. Although he is the oldest Republican in the chamber, he was not ready to retire. Bunning was forced out by fellow Republicans, who decided his combative style and hard-line stances rendered him unelectable.
But he got the last laugh. Now Congress is full of Jim Bunnings, fiscal conservatives equally determined to end profligate spending and trillion-dollar deficits.
Bunning went from poster child for GOP callousness to taxpayers' champion. Now he hands off the baton to Rand Paul, 32 years his junior and equally committed to restoring fiscal discipline to Washington.
The two have this in common: A year ago, the party elite deemed them both unelectable.
Bunning was not without faults. He could be combative, and his intemperate statements sometimes needlessly alienated potential allies. But he was always a friend of the taxpayer, unwavering in his efforts to rein in spending and stop the growth of the federal government.
The midterm elections proved him right. Had Bunning remained in the race, he probably would have won.
He doesn't have to worry about that now. Others are taking up where he left off. Bunning now has time to enjoy his dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Kentucky owes a debt of gratitude to the Hall of Fame pitcher, whose career in public service was as distinguished as his career in Major League Baseball.
An editorial in the Paducah Sun.
Last spring, in his 12th year in the United States Senate, he held up a bill to extend unemployment benefits. It was classic (Jim) Bunning, and it evoked the predictable response.
Democrats castigated him. He didn't care. Fellow Republicans criticized him. He didn't care.
In what The Washington Post called “spectacularly bad politics,” Bunning blocked an attempt by Democrats to treat the extension as an “emergency” bill, which would exempt it from their own pay-as-you-go sham. He didn't oppose the extension, he just opposed borrowing another $10 billion to pay for it.
He reasoned that, if the extension was really as important as Democrats said it was, they should be willing to cut spending somewhere else to pay for it. He even offered a relatively painless suggestion: Use unspent money from the trillion-dollar stimulus bill.
Democrats chose to play politics, using Bunning's stand to reinforce their portrayal of Republicans as heartless. This spooked fellow Republicans, who sensed an election-year disaster, and they pressured Bunning to stand down. He finally relented.
But to their amazement, the public backed Bunning. He added legions of new fans among an electorate alarmed by Washington's deficit spending. His fellow senators got it wrong. The Post got it wrong. It was spectacularly good politics. Principled stands often are.
Even The Post admitted: “The point Mr. Bunning was trying to make was a reasonable one: At some point, Congress has to stop borrowing and spending, even for worthy purposes.”
It turns out Bunning was ahead of the curve. And after observing how the voters responded, other Republicans and even some Democrats were emboldened to take a similar stand with subsequent spending bills.
Now the 79-year-old Bunning is leaving Congress after 24 years. Although he is the oldest Republican in the chamber, he was not ready to retire. Bunning was forced out by fellow Republicans, who decided his combative style and hard-line stances rendered him unelectable.
But he got the last laugh. Now Congress is full of Jim Bunnings, fiscal conservatives equally determined to end profligate spending and trillion-dollar deficits.
Bunning went from poster child for GOP callousness to taxpayers' champion. Now he hands off the baton to Rand Paul, 32 years his junior and equally committed to restoring fiscal discipline to Washington.
The two have this in common: A year ago, the party elite deemed them both unelectable.
Bunning was not without faults. He could be combative, and his intemperate statements sometimes needlessly alienated potential allies. But he was always a friend of the taxpayer, unwavering in his efforts to rein in spending and stop the growth of the federal government.
The midterm elections proved him right. Had Bunning remained in the race, he probably would have won.
He doesn't have to worry about that now. Others are taking up where he left off. Bunning now has time to enjoy his dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Kentucky owes a debt of gratitude to the Hall of Fame pitcher, whose career in public service was as distinguished as his career in Major League Baseball.
An editorial in the Paducah Sun.
Labels: News reporting
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