Bashir And Guest Offer Conservative Activist Ron Meyer Advice On How To Run For Congress In D.C. Suburb
Conservative activist Ron Meyer Jr. recently announced his intention to explore a bid for Congress in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. where he resides. On Friday, Meyer appeared on MSNBC with Martin Bashir where he discussed his congressional aspirations with the host and The Nation columnist Ari Melber. Meyer was advised by Bashir and Melber, as a fiscal conservative, to find ways to propose fiscal reforms that do not adversely impact the more than 70,000 federal workers that live in his district.
Meyer said that, while he was not presently old enough to take a seat in Congress, he would be by the time he would hypothetically take office in 2015. He noted that it makes as much sense for a young person to run for office as a more seasoned individual because the budget crisis is being pushed off onto the next generation.
“If we were actually to freeze government spending right now, we’d have a balanced budget in four years, according to the CBO,” Meyer said.
“So, you support the Rand Paul approach, which is to balance the budget miraculously in five years,” Bashir replied.
“I don’t think it’s miraculous,” Meyer replied. “We’re not cutting anything. We’re simply spending what we spend now next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.”
Melber alerted Meyer to the fact that employment funded by the public sector is a significant portion of the economy nationally and an even more significant portion of the economy in his district. “70,000 people – one out of every 10 people in my district – works for the federal government,” Meyer agreed.
He said that he would explain to his district’s electorate that their jobs are in danger in the event of a debt crisis because the Constitution mandates the government to service the debt, which could endanger non-mandated spending like non-essential federal workers.
“I want some of his coffee,” Melber said after Meyer delivered an especially animated response to one of Bashir’s questions. “I think you have a lot of energy.”
“Maybe something that he’s been smoking as well,” Bashir suggested.
Watch the segment below via MSNBC:
