[don-o]

One of the more depressing events I have ever witnessed is the growth of spending under George W. Bush

I posted like that on the speech live thread, and got pretty beat up for my trouble.

[LearnsFromMistakes]

Originally I was going to give W a break on spending - having to rebuild the military after the Clinton years. Republicans always have some work to do after a dem admin. But the spending starting to worry me.

And why do people think more money will solve this issue? Government does few things well. There were break downs at every level, so we need to feed these monsters? I don't think so...

[raybbr]

One of the more depressing events I have ever witnessed is the growth of spending under George W. Bush. Government has grown faster under Bush than it ever did under Clinton. Republicans write the budget and it is huge.

Wait till the bots come out and tell us that "It's all about the war on terror" and Bush is no worse than Clinton on spending.

[raybbr]

I am totally disgusted with our President’s “plan” for the Gulf Coast. Here’s a different plan: quit planning. Let people live according to what is efficient and naturally rewarding. Quit subsidizing life in a hole by the sea. Quit deciding what zones will be enterprising. Quit deciding what color of entrepreneurs should be successful. Quit being the new party of Big Government.

Be a damn Conservative or watch your supporters leave you standing alone at the ballot box.

[tacticalogic]

Big government became a tactic, rather than a goal because we let "regulating commerce among the several states" and "providing for the general welfare" become tactics, rather than objectives.

[cynicom]

Anyone with brains at the time of the Bush-Kennedy education bill would have seen the spending future by Bush.

There are pubs here by the score that will denounce anyone that calls Bush a big government, big spender president.

Their argument is that the national debt is totally manageable and means nothing to the financial well being of the country.

[tanknetter]

At the moment there are more important things, and greater evils, to worry about than the growth of government.

Ronald Reagan certainly understood this. He used "big government" as a tactic ... horsetrading social programs with Democrats to win the political support and military spending necessary to drive the Soviet Union into bankruptcy.

[G.Mason]

"I am totally disgusted with our President’s “plan” for the Gulf Coast. Here’s a different plan: quit planning. Let people live according to what is efficient and naturally rewarding. Quit subsidizing life in a hole by the sea. Quit deciding what zones will be enterprising. Quit deciding what color of entrepreneurs should be successful. Quit being the new party of Big Government."

I echo this sentiment.

"Responding to charges that help would have been sent more quickly if most victims had not been poor and black, Bush noted that the persistent poverty, rooted deep in the Gulf region, was broadcast for all Americans to see."

"That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America," Bush said. "We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action." ... President Bush, September 15, 2005.

Lyndon Johnson and the failed policies of the Demacratic Party are alive and well. His new identity is George W. Bush and the impotent Republican Party.

Welcome all ye rabble of the world. Our borders and coffers are open to you.

You see, everything is free in Amerika, unless, of course, you are taxpayer.

[David Isaac]

"The Republican Party is on the verge of collapse at the moment of its greatest power. Conservatives, more than I have ever seen in my life, are considering just walking away out of disgust. Bush has sold out his faithful to try and buy the votes of his enemies. He will end up with the support of neither."


Why does the name Bush give me a feeling of deja vu (92)?

Our utter defeat comes about when there is feeling that we can do nothing, when we are screwed if we do and screwed if we don't.

There is no Republican-Democrat dichotomy. There is liberal vs. conservative and right now conservatives are taking a severe thrashing.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

And since you can just tax and borrow all the fish you need, why not pass out “free” tartar sauce while you’re at it?

The author nails it. The GOP is a joke.

[cripplecreek]

It sure seems to me that the president is handing the next election off to the democrats. I'm voting conservative regardless of party.

[dts32041]

If you are going to spend that kind of money do something useful with it, like build a canal from the gulf of mexico to the pacfic ocean put port facilities along the way and never allow a hurricane to knock out a major facility with out a back up.

Let NOLA revert to wetlands, and put the canal ten miles inside our border with Mexico.

Everybody comes out better.

No money should be thrown down an open sewer.

[NCSteve]

Excellent article. You beat me to the punch posting it.

So the party in power has changed and yet Government grows. Affirmative action and quotas grow. The border is opened ever wider. Debt grows. Regulation grows. Productive areas are still taxed to subsidize failed areas. And it’s all in a quest for one more vote. It is the pandering of ambitious whores unburdened by principle.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Every dollar spent ingratiated voters and advertised the party.

Politics is the art of stealing people's money then giving a little back to them and making them think you are doing them a favor so that they vote you back into office to do it again..

[layman]

help would have been sent more quickly if most victims had not been poor and black

Seventy percent of the victims of Katrina were WHITE, so the MSM mantra that response was slow because of race is a myth. I wish Dubya would have mentioned this in his speech.

[Quick1]

I shuddered a little when Bush said he wanted to give the military a bigger role... on our own soil. That's not what the military is for.

[jveritas]

To all the whiners about President Bush speech and rebuilding plan of the Gulf cost, WHAT IS YOUR SOLUTION?

[Regulator]

My comment on New Orleans and Spending...

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

[mountainfolk]

Thank you for this thread. My husband and I are of differing opinions about some of the solutions that the President put forth last night. He sees the Kemp enterprise zone thinking as a means to strike a blow at the entrenched Great Society welfare scam that LBJ instituted to buy votes into eternity. I see mostly a huge drain on the public treasury that could accomplish many worthy objectives but will also promote so much pork and corruption that the good may well be canceled even before rebuilding begins. I particularly am appalled at the $5,000 gift for a variety of uses, few of which will be satisfied with that amount anyway. Will this check disbursing become entrenched for every major catastrophe, tornadoes, floods, fires, earthquakes etc.? IF all of government spending increases, such as COLAS, were put on hold for a year, IF all government hiring was stopped for a year, IF all govt salary increases and promotions within the govt were put on hold for a year, and IF IF IF off sets for the increased spending were implemented, I would be inclined to take a gamble on the ambitious programs that the President will be asking congress to fund.