Red George: Meet America's most profligate president since the Vietnam war

The Economist ^ | July 3, 2003

[EggsAckley]

What? No Barf Alert?

[Texas_Dawg]

What? No Barf Alert?

Are you kidding? FR is paleo-ville central.

[sarcasm]

Do you have a problem with the truth?

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

I'm still hoping the prescription drug bill falls apart in conference committee.

With only a 216-215 margin in the House, the conference bill can't move much toward the Senate version & still pass the House.

At least that's what I'm hoping.

[billbears]

The Republican Party's conservative wing stands to lose the most from this. Some conservatives credit Mr Bush with an ingenious plan to starve the government beast: the huge tax cuts will eventually force huge spending cuts. But this is rather like praising an alcoholic for his ingenious scheme to quit the bottle by drinking himself into bankruptcy

I've heard this argument myself before and the assessment of it is quite true. Meet the 'new' Republican Party, Democrat-lite. Boy howdy, I sure I'm glad there was that big push back in '02 to 'win back the Senate'. The changes between the government before and after are so evident < /sarcasm>

Oh, I suppose we're going to have to wait for the second term for Bush to get up the steam to actually do something conservative huh?

[billbears]

Republicans have always been the party of big government, Abe Lincoln formed the party for big government and national state planning. For Abe, canal subsidies, rail subsidies, federal funding of telegraph, federal funding of the state college system, farm sudbsidies to promote western expansion

Well that's not what Back to Republican Basics told me!!!

[Texas_Dawg]

While the increase in spending, there's a few things to consider here: 1) All these office-holders are doing it, not just Bush, but 2) that doesn't excuse his part in it, but 3) he has gotten 2 solid tax-cut bills passed, meaning 4) the increases in spending will run up deficits but people will still keep more of their own money, and 5) Federal deficits don't really bother me, as long as taxes are being cut, and I hope the deficit gets so large the federal government goes out of business.

[OldFriend]

I thought tax cuts bring revenue TO the treasury. Which is it???? It costs or it adds?????Can't have it both ways.

Further to ignore the fact that during Reagan's presidency huge revenues came to the government which then spent more than it gained.

The first President Bush vetoed dozens of bills.

Reagan signed TAX FAIRNESS which just cost Americans billions in lost deductions.

Revisionism doesn't become us!

[Princeliberty]

Actually Harding and Hoover were big Government
Guys too.
And McKinely was a good guy.

[SC Swamp Fox]

yup.

...and next November, I will consider my options and vote for Bush.

[GaConfed]

It's looking more and more like the top section of my ballot just might be left blank in November, 2004.

[sarcasm]

I notice that you avoided mentioning the massive spending increases under Bush.

[Torie]

Americans want subsidized drugs. The trick is to do it in a larger context of getting market mechanisms to work better in the medicial industry. Another scandal, ingored by Bush, is that the US is subsidizing drug research for the world. We need to have a most favored nation pricing policy, so that drug companies must sell at prices in the US at the same price they sell to to monopsony buyers in Europe, adjused for the cost savings associated with volume discounts.

Bush was not elected as a movement conservative. There is not a majority constituency for a movement conservative, and probably won't be one absent a crisis situation. You are expected Bush to be something he was not elected to be, and did not run on as intended to be.

For Bush to say screw you to those who want subsidized drugs, we can't afford it, and you don't deserve it, in the context of tax cuts, is a way to lose. Of course, they should be means tested, and the GOP plan does that in a half hearted way. Kennedy hates that, because he wants this to be a way station to single payer universal health care.

If you don't like it, change some minds out there in the public square, and stop complaining at Bush plahing with the deck he was dealt.

[Texas_Dawg]

It's looking more and more like the top section of my ballot just might be left blank in November, 2004.

Maybe you can get David Duke or Pat Buchanan to run so you won't have to do that.

[Torie]

If you want lower spending, elect a Dem as president with a GOP Congress. It works every time.

[Texas_Dawg]

If you don't like it, change some minds out there in the public square, and stop complaining at Bush plahing with the deck he was dealt.

Are you asking paleos not to cut off their noses to spite their faces because they didn't get every single thing they wanted in a democratic system? Come on...

[sarcasm]

Exactly how many times has there been such a situation in modern times?