[rabscuttle385]

FTA:

When Bush took office, the federal budget totaled $1.9 trillion. This year it will top $3 trillion, with a deficit of nearly $400 billion. And that was before the massive bailout of Wall Street.

Under President Bush, domestic discretionary spending has increased faster than under any president since Lyndon Johnson launched the Great Society.

Not a single major government program or agency was eliminated.

. . . . .

This increase represents the largest five-year expansion of the welfare state since the Great Society in the 1960s. Spending on these social programs is up an inflation-adjusted 22 percent since President Bush took office...

. . . . .

By almost every measure, government grew bigger, more expensive and more intrusive under President Bush and the Republican Congress.

McCain may have rhetorically criticized government spending, notably earmarks, but he consistently backed bigger and more activist government, whether backing the Wall Street bailout or calling for a $300 billion bailout of delinquent mortgages. By most measures he supported only slightly less government spending than did Obama.

. . . . .

Polls show that Republican losses were heaviest among upscale suburban voters who tend to be economically conservative but socially moderate. These formerly reliable Republican voters did not suddenly decide that they wanted a bigger, more expensive and more intrusive government. Faced with the big-government status quo or big-government "change," they opted for change.

John McCain and George W. Bush lost this election.

But a rejection of Reagan-Goldwater style small-government conservatism?

Not in the least.

Thanks for nothing, RINO Socialists!

[rabscuttle385]

*Ping!*

[pissant]

McCain had an opportunity to really be a maverick and a fiscal hawk. Instead, he was the bailout’s biggest cheerleader.

[rabscuttle385]

*Ping!*

[rabscuttle385]

Mike Tanner is a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.

FYI

[BufordP]

Eight Wasted Years ...Margaret Thatcher used to talk about the “ratchet effect.” When the Left gets power, she said, they drive everything Left; when the Right gets power, they slow the Leftward drive, perhaps even halt it for a spell; but nothing ever gets moved to the Right. U.S. politics in the 21st century so far bears out this dismal analysis. What does the Right have to show for eight years of a Republican presidency? I supported George W. Bush in 2000 because I thought he had a conservative bone in his body somewhere. I supported him in 2004 because I thought him the lesser of two evils. At this point, I wouldn’t let the fool park his car in my driveway. Bruce Bartlett was right, every damn word... Bill Gertz interview on Hannity and Colmes Gertz: Well he casts himself as a compassionate conservative and I argue that he's neither. That his administration is neither. He's done tremendous damage to the conservative movement...

[IronJack]

Tuesday’s massive Democratic landslide cannot be seen as anything but a repudiation of the Republican Party’s tenure in power

Yes it can. It can be seen as purely fictional. There IS no "massive Democratic landslide."

Obama won by 6 points.

Reagan '80 and '84 were landslides. Nixon '72 was a landslide. Democrats don't win in landslides. They squeak out a win, usually by stealing votes and always by lying through their whore handmaiden media.

Landslide? Hardly.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

"McCain may have rhetorically criticized government spending, notably earmarks, but he consistently backed bigger and more activist government, whether backing the Wall Street bailout or calling for a $300 billion bailout of delinquent mortgages. By most measures he supported only slightly less government spending than did Obama."

BUMPED for The Truth!!!

[rabscuttle385]

The Juan McCain Truth File. "I have great respect for Al Gore." —John McCain, October 2, 2008 FR Keywords: mccaintruthfile, mcqueeg, mcbama Please tag all relevant threads with the aforementioned keywords. This can be a very high-volume ping list at times. To join the ping list: FReepmail rabscuttle385 with the subject line add  mccaintruthfile. (Stop getting pings by sending the subject line drop mccaintruthfile.) Republican Commissar’s Warning: By joining this ping list, you may be subjected to the delusional rants and ramblings of McCainiacs, of "moderate" Republicans, of pragmatic conservatives resigned to voting for the lesser of two Democrats, and of countless GOP shills who simply want to meet a new overlord.

[lonestar67]

Bolten : In the last budget year of the previous administration (2001), discretionary spending unrelated to defense or homeland security soared by 15 percent. With the adoption of President Bush’s first budget (2002), that growth rate was reduced to six percent; then five percent the following year; and four percent for the current fiscal year.

President Bush massively increased security spending to defend a nation of ingrates against terrorists who really do want to kill us all. He cut the discretionary program growth considerably.

He has been a budget hawk, Now, you reactionaries will get to see how government spending can really get out of control.

[edcoil]

“Republican Party’s tenure in power”

There has not been a “Republican”n Washington DC since 1994.

[CottShop]

This wasn’t a ‘repudiation’ of anything- it was the country feeling a financial crunch- getting scared, and whining for their momma to take care of them- ie: Big government paying for EVERYTHING- their mortgages, their healthcare, their taxes etc etc etc. Barack Obama played on the ‘redistribution’ feelings of the majority, and he won the election largely based on thefact that people have becoem LAZY and don’t want ot be responsible for anythign themselves anymore- they want big government to pay hteir way in life- plain and simple- a recent poll found that over 60% of the public thought the rich should pay more taxes to ‘spread the wealth’ (which of course hte government will be in charge of distributing)

Repudiation? No- It was a generation of spineless folks who have no sense of shame of self-worth and hwo want to lay in the cradle for as long as they can while big government bottle and spoon feeds them

[fortheDeclaration]

Amen!

[Jim Noble]

The American people did two important things in 1994.

They sent a large GOP majority to Congress to abolish the Department of Education. And in California, a large majority voted to deny free money to illegal aliens.

The representatives they elected to accomplish these simple tasks spit in their faces.

When the shooting starts, the genesis of the coming war will be seen to be the repudiation of democracy by the knaves who were elected to do the people's business, and who failed.

[The_Reader_David]

Among the few things that suck more than socialism run by socialists is socialism run by ‘conservative’ Republicans.

[E. Cartman]

“Bushonomics” will soon be joining communism on the ash heap of history.