This one was too good to pass up:
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an “ongoing victory,” and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.
. . .
Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, “Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we’ve pared it down pretty good.”
As Billmon notes, federal non-defense discretionary spending as a percentage of GDP has been higher since 2001 than it was during any year between 1997-2000.