Patronage or Ignorance?

Representative Marsha Blackburn has dug in against any tax increases according to a recent article in the Tennessean.  In an interview on television she commented that she “wasn't sent to Washington to raise taxes.”  She neglected to point out that she was sent to Washington to govern.  Somehow in her world meeting the financial needs of government only include lowering taxes and never raising them.  Now, in this economic world she apparently inhabits, salaries for her, her fellow members of Congress, and the staff for both her and her fellow members of Congress are expected to increase on an annual basis.  Never raising taxes while increasing the pay of government employees is somewhat of an economic impossibility.  This also forgets that one of her main duties as a member of Congress is to determine how and how much tax money is actually spent in behalf of her constituents.  For her to say she would never raise taxes displays either economic ignorance or catering to those who contribute to her campaigns to the detriment of the others in her congressional district.  For too long, Republicans in general and Tea Party Republicans specifically have claimed the only job of Congress is to lower taxes and cut spending.  While this may look good on a bumper sticker this does not meet the needs of governing.  Our economic problems we face today are the result of tax cuts that were not accompanied by spending cuts.  Representative Blackburn voted to spend for wars that were unpaid for, for an unfunded prescription drug plan, and tax cuts that mainly benefited less than 10% of Americans before discovering unfunded spending on the part of government might create a deficit.  Now, when it is time to pay the costs of these unfunded programs, Representative Blackburn decides that raising taxes is a no, no.  The question that needs an answer is whether or not this is the result of economic ignorance or just political patronage at work.