It can be tough to keep track of what congressional Republicans think of the deep, across-the-board sequestration cuts on any given day. They came up with the idea, then condemned it, then embraced it, then blamed President Obama for it, then celebrated it as a “victory.” The rhetorical trajectory of post-policy talking points can be a little confusing.
This week, however, the GOP is back to not liking it.
Political finger-pointing over Federal Aviation Administration furloughs intensified Monday, with congressional Republicans orchestrating a Twitter campaign aimed at blaming the Obama administration for flight delays.
The FAA began furloughing air-traffic-control operators Sunday, insisting budget cuts mandated by the sequester (PL 112-25) leave no alternative…. GOP lawmakers launched a coordinated social media offensive on Twitter, using the hashtag #ObamaFlightDelays. The tweets provided commentary by House leaders such as Speaker John A. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster.
“Why is President Obama unnecessarily delaying your flight?” Cantor tweeted. “FAA can reprioritize.”
It’s worth emphasizing that the effects are, at least so far, varied greatly by airport — some cities saw major delays, some didn’t — but Republicans seem to believe conditions will deteriorate, and they apparently want to avoid the blame for the spending cuts they demanded and championed until very recently.
Also note the selectivity of Republican outrage when it comes to the sequester. These drastic cuts are taking a terrible toll on the nation — hurting everything from the economy to cancer clinics, the military to education — but so far, GOP lawmakers only seem to get worked up about White House tours and flight delays.
“What do tours and flight delays have in common?” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer asked the Huffington Post. “They affect [Congress’] members directly.”









