Your post highlights the root issue with government spending. Nearly everything the federal government does can be rationalized (not saying you believe the drug benefit was justified).
Congressmen and senators are probably inundated with requests for help. Take unemployment insurance for example. There are plenty of unemployed, and there’s no doubt many are helped by the insurance. Statists, you see, always have a list of reasons why the government needs to act.
Conservatism is more nuanced. Using the unemployment example again, I don’t know of many conservatives who aren’t also concerned about unemployment. It would be easy to hand out checks, but that only addresses the immediate problem and creates an array of problems later on, like how to pay for it.
So my point is there’s always a reason for expanding government, and both parties have done virtually nothing to reign in the constant expansion of government. For all those posters who claim Republicans are better, the Democrats don’t run as the party of small government. It’s the Republicans who claim that but never deliver.
Both parties are poisonous. The Republican dose is smaller, but the only difference is between killing the patient with a massive dose now versus killing him with a smaller dose later. That’s why I say a whole lot of politicians in both parties need to be retired, and that’s what irks me in particular about Republican Party apologists (not saying you’re one, but take a look at some of them on this thread).
Fundamentally, it is not all on the politicians. The people have serious issues in understanding. They want stuff for free, and they want it paid for by someone else. While campaigning, it’s a lot easier to cater to people’s base desires without educating as to why those desires can’t be.
Blaming the GOP for giving people what they ask for may well be correct, but isn’t necessary fair. At least the GOP periodically tries to educate people as to why they can’t have all the stuff they want. The Democrats make no such pretense and regularly lie about it, claiming that it can all be free while the rich pay for it.
Like I often say, I only have to cite examples at Tea Party rallies with people holding “Don’t Touch My Medicare” signs to explain the situation. It’s not the GOP’s fault that people don’t grasp the internal inconsistency which allows things like that to happen.
Until the voting populace decides to grow up, and actually accept that money doesn’t grow on a tree out back, we’re going to both have plenty of Democrats elected, and see the GOP pander to the freebie seekers because that is what is needed to get elected in some areas.
I will bring this back to blaming FDR who broke the dam on this. Before he and his supermajority in congress changed everything, the politicians at least understood the constitution limited their power. They also knew that the Supreme Court would stop them if they did get to big for their britches. When FDR managed to stare down the SC, it was all over.