Replies

I don’t understand you post....Bush came into office in a recession, with revenue declining. He was immediately hit with the Enron scandal and resulting economic headache. 2001 also had the expenses for 9/11.

War funding was off the budget, but the comparison between its cost and the budget is still relevant.

Bush did fight the war while cutting taxes. He could only do so much with the Senate in Dem hands.

As for Newt and his bunch balancing the budget, they did it by actually cutting the defense budget for two years in a row, along with Clinton’s tax increase of ‘93. Reforming welfare helped, but was not responsible for balancing the budget.

Clinton recession: You're not telling me anything I don't already know. That doesn't excuse huge budget increases during his term. And as for Dem control? Bush had in his hand a rare opportunity other Republican Presidents would cream their pants over. What do Dems do when they get these opportunities? We're seeing it now. What did Bush do? Go back and read what Thatcher said in my previous post.

Table reduced for brevity sake.

		House						P r e s	Senate
Congress	Years	# of Congs	Reps	Dems	Majority	Others	Vacant	P r e s	# of Sens	Reps	Dems	Majority	Others	Vacant
93rd	1973-1975	435	192	242	50	1			100	42	56	14	2
94th	1975-1977	435	144	291	147				100	38	60	22	2
95th	1977-1979	435	143	292	149				100	38	61	23	1
96th	1979-1981	435	158	277	119				100	41	58	17	1
97th	1981-1983	435	192	243	51				100	53	46	7	1
98th	1983-1985	435	167	268	101				100	54	46	8
99th	1985-1987	435	182	253	71				100	53	47	6
100th	1987-1989	435	177	258	81				100	45	55	10
101st	1989-1991	435	175	260	85				100	45	55	10
102nd	1991-1993	435	167	267	100	1			100	44	56	12
103rd	1993-1995	435	176	258	82	1			100	43	57	14
104th	1995-1997	435	230	204	26	1			100	52	48	4
105th	1997-1999	435	228	206	22	1			100	55	45	10
106th	1999-2001	435	223	211	12	1			100	55	45	10
107th	2001-2003	435	221	212	9	2			100	49	50	1	1
108th	2003-2005	435	229	204	25	1	1		100	51	48	3	1
109th	2005-2007	435	232	202	30	1			100	55	44	11	1
110th	2007-2009	435	202	233	31	0			100	49	49	2	2
Legend:
^Democrats control House and Senate	^Democrats control all three				^Democrat majority	Major Events such as World Wars, Great Depression, etc.						^Democrat majority
^Republicans control House and Senate	^Republicans control all three				^Republican majority	Major Events such as World Wars, Great Depression, etc.						^Republican majority

Data Sources:
The office of the Clerk U.S. House of Representatives
Majority and Minority Parties (U.S. Senate)