Last updated on April 12th, 2013 at 10:29 pm
In the wake of Republican lawmakers’ silence following President Obama’s pledge to give back 5% of his salary in solidarity with federal workers furloughed due to the sequester, Republican commenters lost no time in denouncing it as a meaningless gimmick. ‘What will $20,000 do for the debt,’ they screamed.
Speaking of gimmicks, today Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus bashed the President for wasting money by having dinner with Republican Senators, and in light of the sequester, offered to buy them pizza. He said, “(D)ue to the sequester, it only seems appropriate that they avoid the considerable security expenses of dining at an upscale restaurant… In fact, I’d like to offer to order pizza for them and have it delivered to the White House.”
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Reince Priebus’ statement statement:
“I’m glad to see that as he enters his fifth year in office, President Obama is finally trying to reach across the aisle in the form of dinners with Senate Republicans. However, I would like to offer some advice. Since the president has been complaining loudly about the cutbacks they’ve had to make at the White House—including tours for schoolchildren—due to the sequester, it only seems appropriate that they avoid the considerable security expenses of dining at an upscale restaurant,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “Instead of eating out as the president and senators did last month, I suggest they eat in. With their budgets tight in the struggling economy, many families are doing exactly that. It’s only fitting our leaders do the same with the government facing such a large budget deficit.
“In fact, I’d like to offer to order pizza for them and have it delivered to the White House. I know I’m not invited to dinner, but as RNC Chairman I’m happy to do my part to foster a spirit of bipartisanship if it means we can tackle the debt and deficit—and achieve real spending and tax reform. If we’re lucky, maybe the pizza will serve to illuminate an important economic point for President Obama: instead of redistributing the slices, the best way to make everyone happy is to make the pie bigger. It’s as true for dinner as it is for economic growth and opportunity.”
The President paid for the first dinner (much nicer than a pizza), and if Reince doesn’t like the way this next dinner is going, he ought to speak to Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), as he is co-ordinating it.
Furthermore, Talking Points Memo pointed out that the dinner is actually being held at the White House, so there will not the cost of additional security (could Republicans be any more petty? They are obsessed with this President’s security costs, while never acknowledging their part in inciting the increased need for it).
Priebus would know where the dinner was being held, if only he paid attention; but as RNC chair, perhaps paying attention to facts isn’t a part of his job description. He’s very busy creating much ado about the cost of security over a dinner with lawmakers, while his party’s elected officials try to kill the minimum wage. He should be championing the President’s exhaustive efforts to find common ground with the Republicans; but instead, Priebus is digging deep for a petty, irrelevant, bumper sticker attack line about pizza.
Still no word from Republican lawmakers who’ve allegedly been so terrified about our debt problem that they say we can’t afford to feed starving children anymore. Yet we have the money to pay their top 5% tier pay, even as the House works less hours, thanks to the Republicans’ idea of hard work.
Americans want Congress to kick in and share a few sacrifices, so the party chairman of the Republican Party that brought you the debt ceiling debacle that led to the sequester that led to the furloughed workers offers to buy pizza. This is the party that admits that President Obama did not want these cuts; while they did. So what do they do when it comes to walking their talk?
Republicans will save the taxpayer a few dollars by treating themselves to pizza once. Very serious people.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
