Molly Ivins: Stupid or lying?

[Dudley_DUright]

One of our better political commentators, Tom Tomorrow, has boiled down our entire current political debate to one question: "Are they stupid, or are they lying?" This seems to me pretty much how it goes, each side reduced to accusing the other of living in an alternate reality.

Let's see if we can't find a way to frame the question that would allow an answer from empirical evidence both sides can agree on. When it comes to many actions of the Republican Congress, there is now a substantial track record of results. The evidence is in.

For five years now, the Republicans have promised us that business tax cuts would strengthen the economy, create new jobs, spur growth, foster investment and bring beer :beer: and skittles for everyone. Over five fiscal years, the tax cuts have had a direct cost to the treasury of $860 billion — with interest, $929 billion.

Lee Price of the Economic Policy Institute points out: “The fact that all major economic indicators are higher today than in early 2001 does not mean the tax cuts have been beneficial. Since the Great Depression, the resilient U.S. economy has always had gains over such four-year periods. The appropriate question to ask is: How well has the economy performed compared to similar periods in the past? If the last four years of tax cuts had worked as promised, the economy should have done better than in previous cycles, when taxes were either not cut or cut much less." We all down for that?

Unfortunately, the EPI concludes, "By virtually every measure, the economy has performed worse in this business cycle than was typical of past ones, including that of the 1990s, which saw major tax increases."

more...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19885

Personally, I vote for lying, except for Bush who is both stupid and lying.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Both Molly and Tom have failed to consider option C:

They're stupid AND lying. How else can one explain why they continue to lie after everyone knows they're lying?

The Bush administration these days is like a 5-year-old who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and then whines, "But my hand wasn't in the cookie jar!"

So, new option! Either they're stupid AND lying... OR they think every single American citizen is so stupid that they make Forrest Gump look like Einstein.

Hmm... Now there's a tough choice.

[ClusterFreak]

4. Stupid AND Lying

Yes, quite.

:headbang:

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

5. Good point. Since when...

...are stupidity and deception mutually exclusive? They're not, and option C seems the most likely to me.

[indepat]

2. They lied and did not care what it did to the economy for tax cuts for

the most affluent and large corporations (their patrons) was job number one all along, then on with Iraq (implementation of the PNAC agenda).

[Atman]

3. What you said

The reason Bush never fires anyone and never backs down in because the results of his policies is exactly whay they were hoping for; a destablilized Middle East (constant war equals BIG BUCKS), and a bankrupt treasury which will, theoretically, force the Congress to cut all social programs except Corporate Welfare.

Bush is stupide, I've no doubt. But his puppeteers are evil mofos who are getting exactly what they all set out to accomplish.

[Catfight]

6. That's why I insist we should rename America to United Corporations. nt