Those Failed Policies of the Past

The Virginian ^ | 6/22/2008 | Moneyrunner

[moneyrunner]

“The failed policies of the past” is code for the Democrats running against George Bush even though he’s not on the ballot.

But if McCain is smart – or can rent a brain – he would jump on that formulation and remind people day after day what the failed policies of the past really are.

Let me count the ways. Jonah Goldberg refers to the failed energy policies that have resulted in $4 per gallon gas.

Nearly 30 years ago, Jimmy Carter’s windfall-profits tax kicked in, making domestic oil exploration more difficult and expensive. In 1981, Congress passed a moratorium on offshore drilling that has stayed in place ever since. In 1990, the first President Bush signed an executive order reinforcing the ban on coastal oil exploration. And, until this week, the current President Bush supported the ban.

And yet, no cheers for Bush when he abandoned his failed policy of the last eight years. Instead, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid sniffed that these were more of the same “old ideas.” Odd.

And when John McCain similarly reversed himself, the Democrats whistled the same tune again.

“John McCain’s plan to simply drill our way out of our energy crisis is the same misguided approach backed by President Bush that has failed our families for too long and only serves to benefit the big oil companies,” declared the Obama campaign.

Now, it’s fair to say that more drilling is the approach President Bush wanted. And it’s even defensible for Obama to call it misguided. But the salient fact is that Bush didn’t get what he wanted because he was constrained by the real failed policies of the past.

Indeed, we constantly hear we can’t drill our way to lower gas prices, but how does anybody know when we haven’t even tried?

[moneyrunner]

Obama has a plan for everything, and everything he proposes has been tried and found wanting either in the United States or in other countries. And everything that he proposes is a top-down one-size-fits-all solution crafted in Washington. This is not just a failed policy of the past, it’s a failed policy of the far past; a policy that not only tells you what you can’t do but one that tells you what you must do.

EVERYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY in Obama’s world.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Could it be that sometimes a new generation of young people comes of age, and doesn’t know their history, or the history of failed liberal policies? Or know the history of different programs that have tried and failed to solve some of our vexing social problems?

Then, someone like Obama comes along, and inspires these young people with warmed over platitudes. They don’t know or understand that socialism is hardly a new concept, and that while it sounds compassionate in some ways, in practice, it creates other problems.

[raybbr]

"The Great OZama has spoken..."

[pabianice]

I do not understand why McCain does not begin every sentence with, “Once again we see the work of the failed Pelosi-Reid Congress...”

[Semperfiwife]

History is NOT taught in the public school system. what passes for history is how bad we treated the Indians, and everyone else Americans have come in contact with. No one remembers riding in a horse and buggy (which won’t be allowed either as transportation, so messy). Your boots are made for walking, and that’s just what you are going to be doing. This is universal health care... get off your duff and walk to work. We will be healthier for it!!!

[Will88]

This summary of past policy on new drilling implicates Republicans even more in our current problems. But for wanting to drill in ANWR by W, there hasn’t been much difference in the past policies of the two parties. It seems both Bush presidents supported the moratorium on offshore drilling. We know W and Jeb got together to ban drilling off Florida only a few years ago.

This begins to sound like: which party screwed up the most concerning domestic oil production, not that one had good policies and the other bad. Sounds like bad and worse.

[philetus]

This begins to sound like: which party screwed up the most concerning domestic oil production, not that one had good policies and the other bad. Sounds like bad and worse.”

I don’t believe either party screwed up’
I think it’s willful,calculated, and treasonist.

[wo fat]

bttt