And we thought Clinton had no self-control

The Washington Monthly ^ | Oct, 2006 | Joe Scarborough

[Small-L]

When The Washington Monthly reached me at my office recently, a voice on the other side of the line meekly asked if I would ever consider writing an article supporting the radical proposition that Republicans should get their brains beaten in this fall.

“Count me in!” was my chipper response. I also seem to remember muttering something about preferring an assortment of Bourbon Street hookers running the Southern Baptist Convention to having this lot of Republicans controlling America’s checkbook for the next two years.

Maybe that’s because right-wing, knuckle-dragging Republicans like myself took over Congress in 1994 promising to balance the budget and limit Washington’s power. We were a nasty breed and had no problem blaming Bill and Hillary Clinton for everything from the exploding federal deficit to male pattern baldness. I suspected then, as I do now, that Hillary Clinton herself had something to do with “Love, American Style” and “Joanie Loves Chachi.” And why not blame her? Back then, Newt Gingrich felt comfortable blaming the drowning of two little children on Democratic values. Hell. It was 1994. It just seemed like the thing to do.

The terminally rumpled Dick Armey (R-Whiskey Gulch) even went so far as to suggest that the Clintons might be Marxists, drawing an angry personal rebuke from Bubba himself. But 12 years later, it is Armey’s fellow Republicans who should be sobered by the short and ugly history of Republican Supremacy.

Under Bill Clinton’s presidency, discretionary spending grew at a modest rate of 3.4 percent. Not too bad for a Marxist, even considering that his worst instincts were tempered by a Republican Congress. (Well, his worst fiscal instincts.)

But compare Clinton’s 3.4 percent growth rate to the spending orgy that has dominated Washington since Bush moved into town. With Republicans in charge of both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, spending growth has averaged 10.4 percent per year. And the GOP’s reckless record goes well beyond runaway defense costs. The federal education bureaucracy has exploded by 101 percent since Republicans started running Congress. Spending in the Justice Department over the same period has shot up 131 percent, the Commerce Department 82 percent, the Department of Health and Human Services 81 percent, the State Department 80 percent, the Department of Transportation 65 percent, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development 59 percent. Incredibly, the four bureaucracies once targeted for elimination by the GOP Congress—Commerce, Energy, Education, and Housing and Urban Development—have enjoyed spending increases of an average of 85 percent.

It’s enough to make economic conservatives long for the day when Marxists were running the White House.

This must all be shocking to my Republican friends who still believe our country would be a better place if our party controlled every branch of government as well as every news network, movie studio, and mid-American pulpit. But evidence suggests that divided government may be what Washington needs the most.

During the 1990s, conservative Republicans and the Clinton White House somehow managed to balance the budget while winning two wars, reforming welfare, and conducting an awesome impeachment trial focused on oral sex and a stained Gap dress.

The fact that both parties hated each another was healthy for our republic’s bottom line. A Democratic president who hates a Republican appropriations chairman is less likely to sign off on funding for the Midland Maggot Festival being held in the chairman’s home district. Soon, budget negotiations become nasty, brutish, and short and devolve into the legislative equivalent of Detroit, where only the strong survive.

But in Bush’s Washington, the capital is a much clubbier place where everyone in the White House knows someone on the Hill who worked with the Old Man, summered in Maine, or pledged DKE at Yale. The result? Chummy relationships, no vetoes, and record-breaking debts.

As a political junkie who wept bitter tears the night Jimmy Carter got elected and shouted with uncontrolled joy when Ronald Reagan whipped his sorry ass four years later, I find myself ambivalent for the first time over a national election. After six years of Republican recklessness at home and abroad, I seriously doubt Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid or the aforementioned Bourbon Street hookers could spend this country any deeper into debt than my Republican Party. With any luck, Democrats will launch destructive investigations, a new era of bad feelings will break out, and George W. Bush will stop using his veto pen to fill in Rangers’ box scores and instead start using it like a conservative president should.

[oust the louse]

That is the post of the year in my opinion because W bashers will immediately salivate to criticize until they scroll down & read that post.....WELL DONE!

For what it's worth,Scarborough is a hack and a bail out artist. Somebody has something on this guy!

[LegalEagle61]

I agree with you. He is a turncoat and I used to watch him regularly, now I can't stand to.

[nativist]

Scarborough may be right but he is a freaking sellout worse than Lindsey Graham. I suppose he and Mathews and the other MSNBC whore Russert got together over a few glasses of scotch, pretended they were old blue collar union workers and hatched this scheme to keep Republican voters home in November. Ha! That shows how far out of touch with reality these nuts have become. Just because Joe Scarborough sold his conservative credentials to MSNBC for a bowl of meat doesn't mean the rest of us will sell so cheaply.

The economy is roaring, the deficit is down, jobs growth is up, gas prices are down Pelosi and Murtha want to cut and run from our fight against terrorists and Hillary Clinton wants to raise my children for me. Come on Joe go sell that crap to someone else.

[1035rep]

An attack on Republicans coming from Joe Scarborough is no surprise. His credibility as a "conservative" is long gone.

That's a fact! 

[windchime]

Great list, MNJohnnie!

This extensive list was accomplished IN SPITE OF THE LONG KNIVES in Bush's own party and cabinet, the dems, the media and every governmental agency.

[1035rep]

Great list, MNJohnnie!

This extensive list was accomplished IN SPITE OF THE LONG KNIVES in Bush's own party and cabinet, the dems, the media and every governmental agency.

Ditto! 

[Arizona Carolyn]

And to think there was a time I kind of liked Joe Scarborough.

What in the world is he talking about here?

During the 1990s, conservative Republicans and the Clinton White House somehow managed to balance the budget while winning two wars

What two wars did Clinton win?

[mrsmith]

"worried that their base may be looking at their record "

Why?

We're not stupid, "discretionary spending" includes a huge amount of security spending.

Security spending that idiots like Joe and the idiots who believe him give Clinton "fiscal conservative" credit for neglecting!

Of course we can't ignore the voters that are idiots. That would be suicide.
I understand Rove plans on showing Joe and his friends shiny objects...pretty, pretty shiny objects oh my .

[taxcontrol]

If you are even thinking about sitting out this years election, go back to Zell Miller's speech to the 2004 GOP convention. And remember why we vote.

[WoofDog123]

if you read the article, the comparison is to the 94-2000 period, when you had a gop congress and a dem president. What a dem congress would do does not enter into it because there is none, however. The point is having gop president AND congress = more spending than dem president and gop congress, which is contrary to what most here would have expected in 2001.

Check out our federal debt today vs in 2000. How much more in interest alone on the NEW debt since then are we paying each year? It is a huge amount, a decent chunk of the current deficit.

Not sure what who-and-who said about spending during katrina or what-not has to do with anything. What interests me are the NUMBERS. Do you actually listen to those people when they talk? Why?

re tax cuts - this is a positive, though it is offset to some degree by the fact he increased spending at the same time.

you can naysay or talk about what the democrats say till the cows come home, but this gop president is a huge spender on things that have nothing to do with WOT, iraq occupation, or katrina.

[MNJohnnie]

Regardless of the the supposed intent here, Joe and his pseudo Conservative cheerleaders here are actively working to elect Democrats with this nonsense. Like the phony polling data this article intent is to suppress Republican turn out. It release at this time serves NO other purpose but to actively work for the Democrats The only possible outcome of this post is to help Democrats.

Therefore Joe and his Freeper Cheerleaders here are acting as Democrat Campaigners. Screaming denials does not change the factual reality. As any real Conservative knows, actions have consequences. Joe's article here is the ranting of a political idiot who has NOT the slightest clue that NOT everything you want in politics can be done the second you want it. So what this butt clown Joe is screaming is "Whaaa! You are not doing ONLY what I want, the second I want it. Whaa!" Joe is throwing an idiotic childish tempertatrum here not writing a serious consideration of what will best help move the Conservative political ball down the field.

I know don't bother the pseudo Conservative Freepers with the facts about how the idol is just whoring for his MSNBC pimps with this article here.

On Judges alone the GOP has done more for the Conservative movement then all the Perpetual Pouters in the Junk Media ever will. On Taxes, Regulatory Burden, Border Security, War on Terror, Rebuilding the Military, Social Conservative Issues, Beginning of the Privatization of Medicare and a whole host of issue the GOP has done a ton of good for the Conservatives.

This perpetual screaming from the Far Right because their political glass is only 70% full simply has to stop. NOTHING in life is ever going to be perfect. The Fringe Whiners in the Failed Media simply need to grow up.
Gee how many times are the Always Angry going to repost this nonsense?

On Judges alone the damage the Democrats could do is incredible. As usual the Always pouting totally ignore the impact of war, recession and ballooning MANDATORY entitlement spending on the budget in that time frame. They just forget all the facts that do not fit their naive, limited hyper partisan dogma.

Here is what this clutch of Always Whining Buchannites Fringers are arguing.

"Gee After being mostly out of power for 70 years, the Republicans finally got control of 2/3s of the Government in 2003. Now, less then 4 years later EVERYTHING is not perfect. Whaa! Conservatives should take their ball and go home because the political glass is only 70% full. That will punish those bad old Republicans for not doing ONLY what WE want the second WE want it done."

This article is the usual Know Nothing diatribe from the politically ignorant. IN life all things require compromise. Real Conservatives want to move the ball down the field. Pseudo Conservatives want only 100% of ONLY their views. That sort of 100%ersim results in total political irrelevance. Joe is nothing but an politically irrelevent media whore doing his Leftist pimps bidding

[WoofDog123]

"REALLY intresting how all the hsyterics over spending NEVER bother to consider the impact of manditory Entiltelment spending has inflated spending"

not sure what is so confusing about this, from your attitude you would think it was a constitutional requirement. All congress has to do is include in the budget a clause modifying this, and bush (mr one veto) can sign it. problem solved. Obviously the GOP congress and president aren't doing this.

[PeskyOne]

Scarborough turned me off during the 2004 campaign. He sided with Democrats and buddied up to Ron Reagan, and they were both despicable with their idiotic comments. I wrote to Scarborough several times but never received an answer. Finally wrote him he needed to learn a phrase other than, "very much appreciate"....he said the same thing to every guest. I don't think he's worth watching, and IMO, he's nothing but a cheap opportunist with no core values except what puts money in his pocket. He belongs in the Kerry category...flip flop artist!

[MNJohnnie]

Tax cuts, Deregulation, Federalism, first steps in Medicare Privatization, Attempt to take some steps to start privitization of Soc Secuirty.

Those nuke your whole "big Government Republicans" premise. Looking at total spending in the midst of a war, and just after a recession, to validate your claims is nothing but intellectually dishonest statistical manipulation. Taking a set of numbers out of context to validate preconceived notions is propaganda, not intellectual inquiry.

There there is THIS data that the junk Media simply surpressed. Once again, as Bush knew, the Reagan model works.

Re: Budget Deficit Drops to $250 Billion-link

Budget Deficit Drops to $250 Billion

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714970/posts

[caisson71]

I don't watch Scarborough much anymore for a host of reasons. This Foley thing is an orchistrated event and to fall into the "oh, this is terrible and how could Republicans do this let's not vote at all because we have lost our way" nonsense ignores the big picture. Foley is gone, Barney Frank is still in office. What Barney did was far worse than what Foley might have done. What-the-hell is wrong with us? We are in a war, terrorists want to kill us every minute of every day. North Korea threatens nuclear holocost, Iran wants to eliminate all non-Muslims, etc, etc. And we're focusing on text messages and emails?

[Small-L]

Excellent list, Johnnie. Thank you! Unfortunately, the list isn't all roses. I place most of the blame on the RNC and Congress rather than Bush. The RNC in particular and the Congress in general seem to be playing to their big campaign contributor/special interest groups.

And let's not take credit for things that haven't happened yet...the Fence bill doesn't actually require a fence to be build--it may all be a pre-election smoke screen: Last-minute bill changes funding for border fence

For one, I don't appreciate pre-election games on either side, but the RP is supposed to stand for integrity and capability. I'm not seeing much of either lately.

On the subject of the economy, consider the following: From: zFacts.com:

"In 1981 the gross national debt, as a percent of the nation's annual income, reached its lowest point since 1931, 32.5%. It could have been paid off then easier than at any time in the previous 50 years. But inflation was high and Reagan mistook inflating dollars for a real growth in debt. On February 5, 1981, two weeks after taking office, in his "Address to the Nation on the Economy" Reagan said: "By 1960 our national debt stood at $284 billion. ... Today the debt is $934 billion. ... We can leave our children with an unrepayable massive debt and a shattered economy." But, the 1960 debt he said was "smaller" was 56.1% (instead of 32.5%) of our national income. As seen below Bush II has imitated Reagan and turned the debt upward once again. The White House, in OMB's 2006 Budget, predicted a 47 year high in 2006."

"The national debt peaked at 120% of GDP in 1946 due to the war effort, but Roosevelt, Truman, Ike, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon and Carter all did their part to bring the national debt back to pre-war levels. By the beginning of 1981, the national debt had fallen to 32.5% of GDP. Then, Reagan took office and the national debt took off. It rose non-stop for 12 years to 66.3% at the end of Bush's term, erasing 25 years of progress in paying down the national debt."

The economy is looking great, but is it at the expense of future generations who will have to pay for the debt?

[sitetest]

Dear MNJohnnie,

Excellent post. Thanks.

Anyone who says that the Republicans and President Bush have not done enough is correct. Not everything listed herein would be considered a credit to Mr. Bush and the Republican Congress.

But anyone who says that they're as bad as the Democrats is in grave error.

Members of Free Republic should be voting a straight "R" ticket.


sitetest

[cinives]

The Dims voted against the prescription drug plan - why ? Because the wanted a BIGGER benefit than Republicans were offering.

So - you think they'd spend less ? Hahahaha, yeah right.

I dislike what the Republicans are doing, but you think what the Dims wold give us would be better? No way.

[MNJohnnie]

Why are none of the Freeper Donner Party worried they are actively working to elect Democrats with this continual daily hissy fit about the Conservatives political glass being only 30% full?

[zeugma]

You forgot one.
* Refused to do repel illegal invaders from our northern or southern borders.