GOP slams Bush policies at retreat

The Washington Times ^ | 2/6/04 | By Ralph Z. Hallow and James G. Lakely

[AntiGuv]

Sure I agree with that. I will repeat again the following which is the last I have to say on the matter:

1) Reagan inherited a much higher level of nondefense discretionary spending as percentage of GDP than did Bush (4.5% versus 3.2% ... 40% higher).

2) Reagan immediately cut nondefense discretionary spending as percentage of GDP by 4% in his very first budget, and slashed it by 22% in his first term. Bush immediately hiked nondefense discretionary spending by 9% in his very first budget, and by 26%+ in his first term.

3) You ignore the third and fourth budgets when the nondefense discretionary spending of Reagan's first term fell to 3.5% of GDP in both budgets. Nondefense discretionary spending as percentage of GDP increased to 3.9% and then to 4.1% under Bush's budgets (the latter figure will be higher).

4) You are becoming ridiculous. Please leave me alone.

[FreeReign]

You are becoming ridiculous. Please leave me alone.

You know I have not insulted you once up until know. So now you initiate an insult and you complain that you want to be left alone. That's your logic.

You're an idiot.

[daviddennis]

The problem, of course, is that the vehemence of the anti-illegal bunch is sufficient to drive other opinion off the board, even if Jim Rob and others disagree with them.

There is no censorship; there is simply naked hatred for a different viewpoint.

This is definitely a hard issue for people with low tolerence of grey areas. (Perhaps gray areas remind them too much of the perfectly nuanced, but inept, Gray Davis?)

The reality on the ground simply does not correspond with easy questions of black and white morality. This is much different from, say, the situation in Iraq, where black and white morality and the situation on the ground are very close.

In this case, there are plenty of businesses, which give American citizens jobs, which would disappear if illegal alien labor vanished. Illegals making stuff back in a factory provide jobs for people who sell stuff, and people who manage them, and people who write the invoices, collect the money and run the computers - all virtually without exception legal citizens.

The alternative to illegal labor is to have manufacturing in Mexico. I would argue that we are better off having plants in the US because US jobs are still created, at US salaries and with US working conditions.

Finally, I might note that I am now a homeowner. What drives higher real estate prices? Population pressures. What drives population pressures? Illegals coming in. The illegals coming into the flats of the Valley push prices up and let homeowners on the flats upgrade to the hills. This bumps up prices in the hills, where I live.

You can tell me the flats are a lot less nice than they used to be, but when someone's house on the flats goes from $120,000 to $500,000 in a few years, and that person can then afford to move to the hills, that's not such a bad thing, is it?

So if you own a home, and you want home prices to continue to rise, then you should support illegal aliens, love them or not. As long as they keep on moving in, my little house in the hills will become worth more, year after year.

And so will yours.

D

[FreeReign]

You ignore the third and fourth budgets when the nondefense discretionary spending of Reagan's first term fell to 3.5% of GDP in both budgets. Nondefense discretionary spending as percentage of GDP increased to 3.9% and then to 4.1% under Bush's budgets (the latter figure will be higher).

You misrepresent me again. I DID give you the third budget. And the fourth budget supposedly will have a 0.2% before GDP increase in discretionary non-DOD, non HLD spending. That's 0.2% BEFORE GDP. Do you understand that?

[Liberty Valance]

I sure hope they grilled the President on the partial birth abortion ban, those nutty tax cuts, his unbelievable stand on the sanctity of marriage and his leadership on the war on terror/sarcasm/

Best regards,
Liberty

W'04

[sauropod]

Your analysis is flawed.

It depends on the issues and principles involved.

[sauropod]

Yes it is.

[truthkeeper]

I thought it was good the Karl Rove and Joshua Bolton received criticism. Responsible criticism isn't a sign of weakness, its a sign of strength. Only weaklings prefer sycophants to give them what they want to hear. If this results in the Administration dropping ill-advised proposals, then it will have strengthened the President immensely in time for the general election. Now let's see if they do in fact take all of this to heart over at the White House.

The only thing I can add to your excellent post is a hearty "AMEN."

[JustPiper]

Growing frustration over President Bush's immigration plan and lack of fiscal discipline came to a head behind closed doors at last weekend's Republican retreat in Philadelphia.

Enough said!

[sauropod]

Pity now that you apparently think the Washington Times is an epithet.

[sauropod]

Fuzzy bunnies, kittens, clouds. We need 'em.

[sauropod]

Oh puhleeze!

[truthkeeper]

Now is the time for the party to make course corrections for November. That's what most of us are trying to do, including the congressmen so vituperatively attacked on this thread.

Applause from one of your friends from the class of '98. Thank you, Kristinn.

[sauropod]

"This part in particular is disturbing. "But he is trying to lead the country, to broaden the party." Not defend the constitution, shrink government, strengthen states rights or do the right thing but "broaden the party"."

Yes, it sure is.

[ovrtaxt]

Wow! You guys are still talking about this?! I just got in from a long day of productive tax revenue creation, and keeping my AMERICAN CITIZEN workers employed.

Hope the bleeding has subsided...

[sauropod]

"This is not the first time that Tancredo has pulled one of these breeches of confidence"

If Tancredo has done this, more power to him! A lot more than some on this forum are willing to give the country.

[sauropod]

"He has done this at the very time that the President is trying to increase Hispanic support in the party, and he has made no effort to sound conciliatory."

Whoopdie-Kerrying-Doo!

[ovrtaxt]

Hope the bleeding has subsided...

Oops, apparently not. Go 'pod!!

[cyborg]

:yawn:

[WOSG]

Publicizing this tongue-lashing that Rove got makes me SURE THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS TO VOTE REPUBLICAN.

Why?

Because the Republicans know that *we* are the voters who sent them there. When we scream, they listen. We see it already, the Bush admin making the case that they are fiscally tightfisted (I dont buy it, but it's a start).

The Democrats otoh will call use hateful and try to pass alaw outlawing our kind of speech. We'll have no voice, no power, and the degeneration of America will continue.