Spinelessness

It is a little known fact, sad to say, that Congress - specifically the House of Representatives - initiates all spending bills.  The President and the Senate can suggest to their hearts' content but it is the House that gets first crack on all spending priorities.  As such, the House has as much, if not more power, than the President to choke off or expand spending.  The Republicans have controlled the House since January of 2011 and yet the spending is still wildly out of control.  How can that be?  Spinelessness.  The Republicans have passed budgets (as required by the Constitution) only to have the Senate refuse to pass a budget.  Thus, the continuing resolution is passed to maintain current spending in all things.  This means that the Republican House has been extending the Democrat budget of 2009 for the past two years and the foreseeable future.  Why?  Spinelessness.  Sure, in the wake of the 2010 shellacking, the Republicans may have thought it wise to bide their time for a Republican President in 2013 to address the looming debt crisis.  Well, that didn't pan out.  It is time to force a new budget with new priorities to be passed.  The Republicans have the House for the next two years and it is always best to do anything unpopular in the odd years (i.e. those where there isn't an election).  So, as I suggested in 2010, the Republicans need to choke off the spending, shutting down the government for as long as it takes to prevent the painfully obvious fiscal collapse that is even now visible on the horizon.  But they won't!  Why?  Spinelessness!  No, they will raise taxes just like George HW Bush did.  They will do this in exchange for 'promised' cuts that will NEVER materialize.  It happens again and again and yet they NEVER learn.  If we don't go off the fiscal cliff with the New Year, it will almost certainly be because the Republicans caved so tremendously that the President couldn't refuse and a clear sign of spinelessness.