OPINION: The GOP’s door of no return

Feb 15th, 2011 2:44 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Check out Michael Gerson’s op-ed in the Washington Post today, “The GOP’s door of no return.” Reporting live from Senegal, he calls for American politicians to support aid to the developing world.

Here’s an excerpt of his piece:

“As I was visiting hospitals and health huts in Senegal, I was also receiving e-mailed updates on House GOP budget cuts. The Global Fund, down 40 percent. Child survival programs, which include anti-malaria efforts, down 10 percent. AIDS relief, down 8 percent. Development assistance, down 30 percent.

These reductions were intended to be symbolic, but what do they symbolize? Fiscal responsibility? Hardly. No one can reasonably claim that the budget crisis exists because America spends too much on bed nets and AIDS drugs. Our massive debt is mainly caused by a combination of entitlement commitments, an aging population and health cost inflation. Claiming courage or credit for irrelevant cuts in foreign assistance is a net subtraction from public seriousness on the deficit.

So, do these cuts symbolize the Republican rejection of fuzzy-headed liberalism? Actually, the main initiatives on malaria and AIDS were created under Republican leadership. They emphasize measured outcomes and accountability. If the goal of House Republicans is to squander the Republican legacy on global health, they are succeeding.”

Read the full article here. And in case you didn’t get a chance to read his blog post yesterday, he’s on a trip to Senegal with Malaria No More, visiting US-funded projects that are helping to fight malaria where people need it most.

TAGS: FY2011 US budget, FY2012 US budget, Policy News, Senegal