As Congress gears up to pass another spending "stimulus" bill, there's one political silver lining: Democrats are being forced to abandon the pretense of fiscal conservatism known as "pay as you go" budgeting.But this isn't really new, they have already given up on it, I don't think they ever were really committed to it and the electorate certainly didn't hold them accountable for it.Late last week the leader of the House Blue Dog Coalition, Tennessee Democrat Jim Cooper, announced that with Barack Obama about to enter the White House, "I'm not sure the old rules are relevant anymore." Why not? Because, Mr. Cooper said, "It would be unfair to the new President to put him in a budget straitjacket."
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Michele: But this isn't really new, they have already given up on it, I don't think they ever were really committed to it and the electorate certainly didn't hold them accountable for it.
LOL. Hello...he hasn't taken office yet. Now, let's see, the Republicans took a huge surplus and turned it into the largest deficit in our history, but Obama is a hypocrite? The economy is in its worst crisis since the depression, but Obama has to fix everything before he gets to office? He isn't allowed any leeway?
McCain's plan was to freeze domestic spending, cut taxes, increase military spending, continue to spend 12 billion a month in Iraq and find $700 billion in fraud and waste in medicare and medicaid. Since the Republicans have been running those programs for nearly the past 8 years, why would anyone think they could fix them now? I think the electorate did take the plans into account.
Let's see, what do you call someone who does one thing and then criticizes someone else for doing the same thing? No wait, this is criticizing someone for doing what someone was doing before the other person does it.....Hmmm....
You've got to be about as surprised as Col. Renault was about the gambling in "Casablanca."
How many times during the campaign -- heck, in the comment page ON THIS BLOG -- has the term "Keynesian economics" been used?
LOL @ Republicans whining about economics and trying to lecture anyone on fiscal responsibility. If you guys cared so much about fiscal responsibility you'd actually govern that way instead of just running on it in an election.
After the craven way the GOP has looted and plundered this country for the past few years, and the consequences of their greed, which we're now seeing on Wall Street, it will take dramatic steps to clean up their mess.
Amen, Minnie. Anyone who has a secret plan for getting us out of this hole the Republicans have dug WITHOUT any government spending should nominate him or herself for the Nobel in economics, post haste.
And let's see, who was the last President to leave us with a surplus when he left office?
Hmm . . . that would be . . . a Democrat.
And who blew through that surplus in his first year in office by slashing taxes on the wealthiest 1-2 percent? Hmmm . . . oh yes . . . that would be a Republican.
And who's leaving office with the biggest deficit on record after wrecking the economy, putting us in hock to Red China and wasting billions a month on a stupid war that should never have been fought?
Hmmm . . .
Haven't you gotten the message yet, Republicans? YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIBILITY IN THE EYES OF THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS. YOU JUST HAD YOUR A**ES HANDED TO YOU ON A PLATTER. WISE UP OR YOU'LL BE LUCKY TO GET A REPUBLICAN ELECTED TO DOG CATCHER BEFORE THE NEXT CENTURY ROLLS AROUND.
Paygo was never here.
The Repubs have been in charge for the last few years. They are the ones who turned a surplus into a huge deficit, and doubled that national debt.
80% of the national debt was run up under Reagan, Bush and Bush. And now their followers have the nerve to lecture about fiscal prudence.
This is like having Amy Winehouse and Courtney Love haranguing you on the virtues of living drug-free.
This is like Dick Cheney teaching a class on hunting safety.
Now, as Paul Krugman just said, Obama has now choice but the Keynsian one, and the deficits are going to be huge for a while.
I , and most of the country , will not be amused by Republicans who suddenly remember fiscal responsibility now that they don't have to do anything about it. I foresaw this. I knew that the Repubs would be talking about fiscal restraint- the second they didn't have to live up to their sermons.
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