Republicans Promise at Tea Party Rally to Stand Firm on Spending
March 31, 2011, 4:31 PM EDT
By Lisa Lerer
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Tea Party-backed Republican lawmakers promised at a Washington rally to stand firm on pledges to slash federal spending and resist compromises with Democrats, even if the result is a government shutdown.“If liberals in the Senate would rather play political games and shut down the government instead of making a small down payment on fiscal discipline and reform, I say: shut it down,” Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, told dozens of Tea Party supporters gathered outside the Capitol today.
The event marked the first official Tea Party rally since the fiscally conservative activists propelled Republicans to gains in last year’s elections. Tea Party support helped elect 87 new Republicans to the House, ending Democratic control of the Chamber.
Now, the activists are demanding the new House majority make good on their campaign promises by refusing to support a compromise budget package currently being negotiated by leaders of both parties.
As Tea Party supporters waving “Don’t Tread on Me” flags protested amid an intermittent rain, aides to House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, met inside the Capitol with Democratic counterparts to discuss legislation that could result in total spending cuts of about $33 billion in the 2011 fiscal year.
At today’s rally, a series of Republican lawmakers pledged allegiance to Tea Party principals as they stood on a small stage decorated with a banner reading “Remember your promises - - we do.”
“If we can’t keep our pledge, we deserve to be thrown out of office,” said Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican.
The spending fight, said Pence, was a “defining moment” for the new Republican House majority.
“It will be a first win for taxpayers that could set the stage for larger victories,” Pence said.
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