Chairman of Republican Study Committee invited to address Democratic National Convention

The 9-15-05 The Hill has an article entitled "Hawks tell spenders, ‘Enough!’" that discusses a group I have followed for some time, the Republican Study Committee, or the RSC.

I predict and very much hope we will be hearing more from this caucus of more than 90 conservative House Republicans about curbing federal spending that has soared under Republican control of Congress and the White House.

This group of fiscally conservative members of the House are in the process of reasserting themselves in congressional spending decisions after an unsuccessful effort to reform the budget process this past June.

What bothers the group is the very reason that Bush needs to go, but don't expect to hear this from the Kerry campaign.

This group is appalled at the statistic that federal spending has increased 25 percent since 2001 and now exceeds $20,000 per household.

This statistic is from a study done by the well-known and highly respected conservative think tank Heritage Foundation.

As an aside, this is the group I alluded to in my campaign's deficit reduction platform that stated:

"As a third priority, Sid Cottingham will work to reduce the federal deficit that in little more than two years has gone from a surplus to a $370 billion deficit and now is projected to be as high as $521 billion this fiscal year. Cottingham will have help in this area from an increasing number of members of the President's own Party in Congress who are falling out with the current administration in the area of fiscal responsibility, and are trying to convince the President’s advisors that you can’t spend yourself out of debt." My website.

The title of this post. Oh, I almost forgot.

Earlier this summer I invited the Chairman of the RSC to address the Convention in Boston. He thanked me for the invitation and for publizing his caucus' name and efforts during my campaign for office.

However, he indicated that despite his group's to date largely unsuccessful and demoralizing effort to get the Bush administration to listen to common sense, as long as he is a Republican, he will continue to work within the GOP.

I told him I certainly understood and appreciated this position.
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Readers might recall a related 8-23-04 post entitled "But will you love me tomorrow? -- GOP Centrists to Speak at Convention, but Will They Be Heard?" containing excerpts from 8-23-04 N.Y. Times article that noted:

Former New Jersey governor, head of the E.P.A. under Bush, and GOP moderate [and Sid notes a former but wonders if still a GOP heroine] Christie Whitman says: "If [Bush] loses, it is an absolute validation of the fact that you cannot be a national party if you are excluding people.''