Leading by example

You've got to hand it to Democrats. There is apparently no issue they won't use to try to scare senior citizens into believing that Republicans want them starving in the streets, begging for their Social Security checks.

On Monday, the House voted 252-159 to cut its own budget for the next fiscal year. Instead of spending more than $3.5 billion, as originally proposed, the House will now have to make do with $3.3 billion, a 6.4 percent cut.

It's a symbolic move, to be sure, but a necessary one given the nation's fiscal realities.

A handful of Democrats, however, acted as though the budget reduction might cause a national calamity. Why, some House members might have to lay off staffers who might otherwise be spending time "helping Grandma recover her lost Social Security check," argued Rep. Michael Honda, a California Democrat.

We don't make this stuff up.

We're not sure what goes on in Rep. Honda's office, but the average size of a lawmaker's personal staff has ballooned to more than 17 people. If Rep. Honda can't handle a relatively small reduction in his office budget, his constituents may well want to ponder whether he's fit to be tackling a $1.4 trillion deficit.

The fact that this vote wasn't unanimous is a disgrace.