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And the long version:

We all know that in Washington, a spending cut is just a decrease in the expected growth of Federal spending, not a true decrease in actual spending. What good are even those “spending cuts” if we brag about them one year and then effectively repeal them the next year? We continue to go deeper and deeper in debt as a country, stealing their futures from our children and grandchildren.

As we have seen in the last few days, Congress continues to pass bills that promise billions of dollars in spending cuts over the next 5-10-20 years, and then break those promises either in the next budget compromise, or by acting above the law and failing to implement the bill as passed. The Ryan-Murray Budget Compromise broke the spending cuts promised by the sequester, for a promise to cut spending somewhere else down the road.

As happily reported by the Center for American Progress, a Progressive think tank, “Many of the cuts that were legally made this year [by sequester] have not actually been implemented yet. The sequester cut $85 billion from the government’s budget authority in 2013 and will cut $109 billion in 2014 -— again, the sequester reduced actual outlays in 2013 by $42 billion, and in 2014, it is expected to reduce outlays by $89 billion.”

Plus, the compromise increased federal “fees” so they didn’t have to increase taxes -— believing, I guess, that Americans are too gullible to notice that the net is exactly the same as more dollars flow out of our wallets to the Washington spendthrifts.

They are spinning this one hard, but they can’t spin away what they have actually done.

I don’t think true Conservatives are falling for the sneaky Washington wordplay -— they are the ones who voted against this bill. But those who only claim to be conservative because it helps them keep getting re-elected are using deception to pick our pockets in order to fund their spending addiction. Incumbent career politicians need rehab, NOT re-election!!!

But the most egregious part of this compromise is that the military -— our soldiers and veterans -— were singled out to receive a cut in their promised retirement pay COLA, while current Federal employees and other Federal payment recipients, including Congress, will retain unchanged pay and benefits.

For all the reasons above and others, I could not have in good conscience voted in favor of this bill, and would have been a “Nay” in the final count.