Long Calls for "Extreme" Cuts to Federal Budget

Billy Long found the time in his very busy schedule promoting meaningless holidays to speak with the National Journal in Washington this week.  In his interview, Long delivered a number of his vapid Billyisms, and even declared,"I'm probably more tea party than the tea party."  I have no idea what it means to be "more tea party than the tea party," but it sounds unpleasant. 

What really caught my attention was this exchange at the end of the interview about an upcoming vote on raising the federal debt ceiling. 

NJ Will you vote to raise the debt ceiling?

LONG We are going to have to get some extreme, not extreme—we’re going to have to get some good-sized spending cuts before I’d even look at it. It’s going to be another negotiating thing.

The next time the News-Leader or another southwest Missouri news outlet works on something other than a puff piece about their new Congressman, it might be worth asking what sort of "extreme," er, really terrible cuts Fed Up Billy wants to see. My guess is that he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about, but know that it sounds good to say that he really, really wants less spending. 

Long is a wealthy man, and will continue to receive a healthy income as a Congressman. But the median income in Long's 7th Congressional district is $39,535, the kinds of radical cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, education and other social safety nets already supported by Long would dramatically impact the lives of his constituents. (They're also terribly unpopular, even among Republicans and self-identified tea partiers.)  If these extreme proposals aren't "extreme" enough for Long, then... yikes!

(WARNING: NJ reporter Ben Terris writes at one point in the article that Long "is developing a reputation as a straight-talker" in Washington, which may very well cause you to vomit on your keyboard.) 

h/t Turner Report