There are no real principles to conservatism. There just aren't. We saw this, firsthand, during the nightmare of the George W. Bush presidency. The only thing Republicans and teabaggers want is power and control, and no amount of lying or blatant hypocrisy is too much to stop their quest. But how about intentionally sabotaging the US economy to gain power? Is that too low for the modern day right? Absolutely not.
Theda Skocpol has an interesting post at Talking Points Memo warning Democrats and progressives to wake up to what the Republicans are really doing. They do not care at all about deficits or paygo or any of the nonsense that comes out their mouths. They want power. Pure and simple. "Republicans have figured out that if they undercut economic recovery and increase unemployment rates, they will gain in the 2010 elections -- and probably have a much better shot in 2012. They want to repeat the old cycle: Republicans undercut the economy and run up debt to pay for reckless wars and upper class tax cuts, then hand the mess to Democrats just long enough for them to take a few small steps and get the blame, then Republicans get back in office as the economy recovers. Repeat same recipe after that. It works! So why should they stop doing it?"
She closes with this, "It is past time for President Obama to pin the tail on the Republican obstructionist elephant -- and do it loud and clear all the way to election day"
Absolutely.
Theda Skocpol has an interesting post at Talking Points Memo warning Democrats and progressives to wake up to what the Republicans are really doing. They do not care at all about deficits or paygo or any of the nonsense that comes out their mouths. They want power. Pure and simple. "Republicans have figured out that if they undercut economic recovery and increase unemployment rates, they will gain in the 2010 elections -- and probably have a much better shot in 2012. They want to repeat the old cycle: Republicans undercut the economy and run up debt to pay for reckless wars and upper class tax cuts, then hand the mess to Democrats just long enough for them to take a few small steps and get the blame, then Republicans get back in office as the economy recovers. Repeat same recipe after that. It works! So why should they stop doing it?"
She closes with this, "It is past time for President Obama to pin the tail on the Republican obstructionist elephant -- and do it loud and clear all the way to election day"
Absolutely.
4 comments:
Obama does not need help from the idiot Republicans to destroy the economy and jobs. He is doing that all by himself. By far the most jobs he has created are government jobs, especially in the IRS.
He will continue to do so with his pushing of cap & tax legislation.
I can understand how the Democrats don't want to discuss Pay-go, let alone abide by it, or actually explain on each bill where it is in the Constitution that their spending of the tax payers' money is authorized.
Considering that most of the economic damage occurred under the Republican's watch, they really have no room to be critical. This entire debate, from the right, seems to ignore the years 2001-2008. You all pretend that Bush's tax cuts for millionaires and two wars had nothing to do with the deficit, and that government spending only occurs under a Democratic president. The record tells a different story.
The GOP has not displayed anything resembling a new approach or that they have learned anything from their massive failure as a governing party. There is no reason that the American people should trust them again. Every single GOP proposal is just a re-packaging of Bush economics. Clearly, the GOP is trying to sabotage the recovery. America struggling is their only play to get power back. It's pretty pathetic, if you ask me.
I have no qualms about admitting that most of the Bush economic policies were foolish and a huge part of the problem.
That being said, how does Bush's foolish spending end up being so bad in your eyes when Obama comes along and out-spends him by an order of magnitude dwarving every previous presidential administration combined in his first year in office!?!? Two wrongs don't make a right, Mama always said...
As for those tax cuts Dave, once again I got one, as did everyone else that was working or had kids. I suspect you were a beneficiary of that tax cut as well. Are you rich, Dave?
Obama's bailout of rich bankers and his lack of leadership in helping the Gulf Coast region after the BP spill, and finally his cap & tax legislation that will hurt the poor the most are all examples of why the Democrats are not for the American people any more... especially the little guy whome they once upon a time championed.
Not all spending is the same to me. You say Bush spent money, Obama spends money, therefore, they are the same. I don't see it that way.
I think Bush's tax cuts (which did go predominantly to the wealthiest Americans) were very reckless, and should have been repealed once the war in Iraq started. No nation has ever fought two wars, cut taxes at the same time, and lived to tell about it. Bush proved that trickle down economics does not work. Less revenue means less revenue.
Furthermore, it matters where the money is directed. The economic stimulus was done out of necessity. Was President Obama supposed to just ignore the reality of job losses at 750K per month, the housing market in the toilet, and the domestic auto industry going under? Tax cuts for Bill Gates would not have solved the problem.
Lastly, the bank bailout happened under Bush. Nice try. That slight of hand might work on Fox News, but not with me! As for the Gulf, his leadership got victims of the oil spill a $20 billion escrow fund for damages. Would giving BP a tax cut have helped?
As for cap & trade, at least this president has a plan for cutting down on emissions and working towards getting off of fossil fuels. Drill baby drill doesn't solve anything, it just makes a nice bumper sticker.
And it is laughable to hear conservatives complaining that the little guy is being left behind. That has been standard conservative philosophy since Reagan. The more money you have, the more worth you have, that is the right wing in a nutshell. It wasn't the left calling the unemployed lazy, or welfare queens, or stupid, or any of the other awful derogatory things they are consistently called by the modern day right wing.
FYI, my taxes were lower this year under Obama than at any time under Bush.
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