How Republicans Screwed the Pooch---by Paul Begala

[kpete]

How Republicans Screwed the Pooch
Republicans say they want to save the country from Obama’s reckless spending. But as Paul Begala argues, it’s the GOP’s policies that have driven the nation into the ground.

............................

.........it is useful to recall how we got here. This was not an act of nature. There was no unforeseen earthquake, no tsunami, no hurricane that wiped out our surplus. It was instead a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican president who squandered the surplus. In full possession of the federal government for the first time since Eisenhower, the GOP—with, to be fair, some help from some very foolish Democrats—systematically dismantled the economic and fiscal policies that produced the strongest economy and largest budget surplus in our history.

Specifically, they did four things: cut taxes (with a heavy tilt toward the rich), waged two wars on the national credit card (one of which was against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and posed no serious threat to America), passed a prescription drug benefit with no pay-for (the first entitlement in American history without a revenue source), and deregulated Wall Street (which helped turn the American economy into a casino and touched off the Great Recession).

I recap all that not to further depress you, Dear Reader. But it is striking how absent that history has been from the coverage of our current crisis. I can understand why the GOP doesn't want to remind folks of how they screwed the pooch. Indeed, they have a competing myth—that Washington went on a spending binge; radical young President Barack Obama went crazy with the national credit card. That, of course, is nonsense. But too few Democrats—and almost no media commentators—have countered the mendacious right-wing storyline.


the sad rest:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/29/republicans-on-the-debt-ceiling-screwing-over-america.html?om_rid=CZthPx&om_mid=_BONAKsB8chDdsU

[gateley]

1. Agree! Thanks, you greedy motherfuckers. nt

[Tennessee Gal]

2. An hugely significant factor in the debt ----

No one that I can recall in the past few days has mentioned that the Bush wars were off budget expenses. Obama did the right thing and put them on budget, an immediate increase in the national debt for which he was not responsible. At least he had the courage to do the right thing in that regard.

Republicans fail to mention anything about that when they moan, groan, yelp, and scream about the debt increase under Obama. This is another example of their mendacity.

[florida08]

5. yes

the tax cuts were also on borrowed money that we now pay interest on. Dumbest thing I've ever seen. At least that's what Greenspan said.
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/greenspan-chides-republicans-pushing

[Major Hogwash]

3. Well, Paul, why don't you go on tv and remind the viewers how we got here?

Instead of just sucking up to the moderator of that stupidass program!!

[Tennessee Gal]

4. What program?

Every time I see Begala he makes his points rather clearly.