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Bob Barr:The [Republican] Revolution Sputters
bobbarr.org ^ | 3-1-2005 | Bob Barr

Posted on 03/02/2005 11:27:09 AM PST by jmc813

In 1994, I packed my suitcase and went to Washington with dreams of changing the world. For the class of 55 GOP freshmen elected that year, the unifying goal was to bring fiscal discipline to the federal government.

For a time, that dream seemed achievable. We balanced the budget within just a few years, reformed welfare, and brought new levels of efficiency to Congress and to many agencies in Washington's byzantine bureaucracy.

Oh, what a difference a decade makes.

Here we are in 2005. Like an out of control consumer who cuts up his credit cards, pays off his debt, and immediately digs a new, deeper hole, the federal government is back in the red - big time. We're spending on everything from B-2 bombers to Viagra for Medicare recipients to indoor rainforests in Iowa.

The deficit is back with a vengeance, Social Security is slowly going bankrupt. And, once again, we're leaving our kids to pay the bill.

So, what happened to those class of '94 revolutionaries? Like me, many are now doing something else. Even the jefe maximo of the Republican revolution, Newt Gingrich, is spending his time on the speaking and consulting circuit. Official Washington has no appetite for change, so it's no surprise many of us don't work there anymore.

Other budget cutters from that class of '94 now show signs of becoming budget busters, according to a recent analysis by the National Taxpayers Union. Instead of fighting the red ink, they're seeing how much deficit spending they can direct toward their districts.

In a sense, it's hard to blame them. Playing outsider on bill after bill gets you little more than sleepless nights, bad hometown press, retribution from party leaders, difficult re-election battles and fewer lucrative job offers when you leave Congress.

The key problem is that many in Congress think of themselves as representatives but rarely as statesmen. The only way to survive over the long term is to cater to the wishes of their constituencies. And the American public has sent them the same, clear message they've been sending for generations: Open the spending tap as wide as possible, consequences (and rhetoric to the contrary) be damned.

What are the consequences? The simple fact is that if you're a taxpayer under the age of about 40, you're getting the worst financial deal that any generation of Americans has ever received from the government. Your taxes are high now, and they're only going to get higher. Your parents and grandparents will benefit from government-funded health care and retirement stipends, and you'll be left to fend for yourself. The high level of services the government currently provides will drop off as revenues decrease and spending rises. Fiscally, it's the equivalent of being the designated driver and still picking up the bar tab.

If the next generation of Americans wants to change this situation, there are at least three things they have to do. First, get involved in politics as a voter and, more importantly, as an activist. So long as our system is dominated by voters who drive late-model Cadillacs, get a 15 percent senior's discount at Shoney's and never miss an election, it's their interests that are going to get attention, not yours.

Second, don't let your opinions about a single divisive social issue - whether it's gun control, abortion or gay marriage - blind you to the reality that your pocket is being picked no matter what your ideology.

And finally, don't become so wedded to a party label that it obscures the fact that big spenders in Washington spend hugely regardless of party label.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bobbarr; gop; taxes
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1 posted on 03/02/2005 11:27:09 AM PST by jmc813
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To: qam1

This might be appropriate for your GenX ping list.


2 posted on 03/02/2005 11:29:03 AM PST by jmc813 (PLAYBOY ISN'T PORN;YES,PLAYBOY ID PORN ... ONLY PHOTOGRAPHED PORN IS PORN)
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To: jmc813

I don't like Bob Barr. He has a few points but for the most part he's just seems to be a big, loud troublemaker.


3 posted on 03/02/2005 11:29:39 AM PST by No Dems 2004
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To: jmc813

Barr would have alot more credibility if he hadn't become a paid ACLU prostitute upon leaving Congress.


4 posted on 03/02/2005 11:30:19 AM PST by peyton randolph (CAIR supports TROP terrorists)
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To: jmc813

BTTT


5 posted on 03/02/2005 11:30:34 AM PST by Constitution Day
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To: jmc813

Bob Barr, you got beat in an election by a weak opponent. Go STFU please.


6 posted on 03/02/2005 11:30:54 AM PST by pissant
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To: jmc813

I am suprised given the last paragraph this is even allowed on FR.

Of course the night in young!


7 posted on 03/02/2005 11:31:51 AM PST by Area51 (Illegal Immigration: 20 Million Mexicans can't be wrong.)
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To: pissant

So all you guys posting above me are just fine with Big Stupid Republican Government's explosive spending and record deficits?


8 posted on 03/02/2005 11:34:20 AM PST by Hank Rearden (Never allow anyone who could only get a government job attempt to tell you how to run your life.)
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To: pissant

Why should he shut the eff up? Because he's right?


9 posted on 03/02/2005 11:34:26 AM PST by Archangelsk (There is nothing more cowardly than a keyboard warrior.)
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To: jmc813
"The high level of services the government currently provides will drop off as revenues decrease "

Revenues are decreasing? Why didn't I get that memo?

10 posted on 03/02/2005 11:34:52 AM PST by bayourod (Unless we get over 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2008, President Hillary will take all your guns away.)
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To: Archangelsk

No, because he's a former politician who has no standing. Maybe we should ask Tom Foley, Bob Packwood, and Jimmuh Carter what they think.


11 posted on 03/02/2005 11:37:20 AM PST by pissant
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To: jmc813

Music to Hillary's ears.


12 posted on 03/02/2005 11:37:32 AM PST by rhombus
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To: pissant

He got beat because of redistricting. Bob is a good man of strong, constitutionalist principles. His absence from Congress is the country's loss.


13 posted on 03/02/2005 11:37:34 AM PST by karnage
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To: Area51

Is it always dark where you are?


14 posted on 03/02/2005 11:37:49 AM PST by Gumption (I'm waiting until the time is right.)
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To: jmc813
If Bob Barr is so smart, why wasn't he reelected?

</sarcasm>

15 posted on 03/02/2005 11:38:36 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: jmc813
Barr is now a spokesman for ACLU........

IMO, that means he has NO credibility at all. NONE

16 posted on 03/02/2005 11:41:08 AM PST by OldFriend (America's glory is not dominion, but liberty.)
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To: Hank Rearden

The deficit would be negligible if:

a) Bush did not inherit a Clinton recession
b) Bush did not inherit the Dot-com bubble burst
c) Bush did not inherit a series of corporate scandals/bankruptcies
d) 9-11 did not crush the economy
e) We did not have to fight a multi-front war against the terror scum.

As it is with all this baggage, the revenue post Bush Tax cut has increased quite nicely.


17 posted on 03/02/2005 11:42:03 AM PST by pissant
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To: karnage

I disagree


18 posted on 03/02/2005 11:42:26 AM PST by pissant
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To: pissant

"The deficit would be negligible if:

a) Bush did not inherit a Clinton recession
b) Bush did not inherit the Dot-com bubble burst
c) Bush did not inherit a series of corporate scandals/bankruptcies
d) 9-11 did not crush the economy
e) We did not have to fight a multi-front war against the terror scum.

As it is with all this baggage, the revenue post Bush Tax cut has increased quite nicely."

Yes, I agree.

I think if you improve the economay by lowering corporate taxes the revenues you bring in offsets some of the spending.

Allot of unforseen things


19 posted on 03/02/2005 11:46:04 AM PST by nikos1121
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To: Archangelsk
Of course he's right. The honest objective folks among us must acknowledge the truth that "...your pocket is being picked no matter what your ideology."
20 posted on 03/02/2005 11:46:13 AM PST by blaquebyrd
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