Republicans: Spare Me Your Newfound “Fiscal Responsibility”

[Joanne98]

At his press conference on Monday, President Barack Obama had to remind Mara Liasson of Fox News and NPR that it was the Republicans who doubled the national debt over the past eight years and it’s a little strange to be hearing lectures from them now about how to be fiscally responsible. That interchange was my favorite part of the press conference. A savvy inside-the-Beltway reporter of Ms. Liasson’s caliber shouldn’t have to be reminded that George W. Bush and the Republican Congress were among the most fiscally reckless politicians in U.S. history.

The most inexcusable action the Republican Congress and the Bush administration took vis-à-vis the federal budget was to launch two wars and two open-ended occupations without raising one dime in revenues to pay for them. Never in the history of this country has an administration and Congress cut taxes while launching open-ended wars.

Bush and the Republican Congress didn’t think twice before throwing the entire $850 billion price tag for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars right onto the national debt. Not only did they refuse to pass new “revenue enhancements” to pay for the wars, but they also fought tooth and nail to block any legislation that would raise revenues. They didn’t budge an inch on repealing the totally irresponsible Bush tax cuts of 2001 that immediately ballooned the deficit before 9-11. Any “conservative” administration and Congress (one would think) would either raise taxes to pay for their new wars or at least roll back the tax cuts they enacted upon seizing power. In 2008, John McCain campaigned on making the Bush tax cuts permanent.

So pardon me for not being moved when I hear Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, John Boehner, and other Washington Republicans (along with the Right’s echo chamber) whining and griping about the “excessive spending” in the stimulus bill and the effects it will have on the national debt.

http://www.laprogressive.com/2009/02/12/republicans-spare-me-your-newfound-fiscal-responsibility/

[Vincardog]

1. Right FKEM

[BOSSHOG]

2. There has been an incredible case of amnesia in this very conservative community

george bush never existed and the last eight years never happened. I get the occasional "he kept us safe" (as if they were trained to say that via radio instructors.) To wit my reply pisses them the fuck off: "yeah, almost as well as Clinton did, but Clinton did it much cheaper, did not intentionally get our kids killed and he got blow jobs to boot." Pisses em off bad.

[Alcibiades]

6. Failed to "keep us safe"

on 9-11.

[BOSSHOG]

7. I thought Pride was a sin

The bastards never, ever except responsibility for anything that goes wrong. Ever.

[Lifelong Protester]

3. You hit my thoughts exactly

finally, yesterday,I heard Dick Durbin take his colleagues on the 'other side of the aisle' to task for being hypocrites, even mentioning two different repub. senators who ADDED items totaling in the billions of dollars to the package, and then claiming "Oh, it costs too much, I can't vote for that bill".


Exposure, there needs to be more exposure.These people (the repubs) aren't going to be rehabilitated anytime soon. MY apologies to Olympia Snow, Collins, and whoever had the courage to step up to be a part of the solution.

[DCKit]

4. No, no, no. It was impolite of the President to remind her of the Republic's fiscal irresponsibility

After all, we're supposed to only be looking forward, not pointing fingers or holding anyone (R) to account for what they've done to U.S..

That IS the way it's supposed to work, right?

[Alcibiades]

5. They were told that the Iraq War would cost 50-60 billion

Given that they bought that lie, their judgment on money matters is not to be trusted. EVER.

[Uncle Joe]

8. The three most tragic words in this column.

"had to remind"

The corporate media don't have to be reminded, they know, they just didn't and don't give a damn, now they're in a rush to repaint the Republicans as fiscally conservative.

I will never figure out how these pundits and reporters can parrot Republican talking points, with a straight face, while not hurling vast quantities of undigested material, whenever the likes of McConnell, Boehner or any of the other Republican Sleeping Beauties criticize this stimulus rescue package as not being fiscally conservative.

They're credibility on sound fiscal policy, is what Al Capone was to Valentine's Day.

[chill_wind]

9. Beatifully said. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

12. Thanks, chill_wind, except

I said "they're" instead of "their," I should never post before I have coffee.

[chill_wind]

16. LOL-- tell me about it...... "Beatifully".

and waaay to late to edit :-)

[glitch]

10. Is "A savvy inside-the-Beltway reporter of Ms. Liasson’s caliber" what they call collaborators now?

Mara Liasson needs to go the way of Juan Williams as far as NPR is concerned.

[Fly by night]

11. Both Juan Williams and Mara Liasson worked for both NPR AND Faux Noise at the same time?

Acolytes of the Cokie Roberts school of DINO journalism, I presume.

Just one more piece of evidence that NPR has been thoroughly infiltrated. Their "All Things Considered" has gotten painful to listen to (vis a vis rightward tilt) over the past few years.

Now I understand why.

[indepat]

13. Nary a one of the MFers were a bit concerned about the multi-trillion dollar cost

of the Iraqi bombardment, invasion, and occupation nor the millions of casualties inflicted nor the damage to infrastructure nor the looting of artifacts. Nary a one of the MFers cared a whit about any of that. :P

[Baby Snooks]

14. Neither did the Democrats...

You need to go back and check all the votes along the way. The Democrats were waving their little patriotic flags along with the Republicans.

The logic here is unbelievable. The Republicans looted the treasury so now the Democrats get to loot it?

[Alcibiades]

15. Hardly

But at least we elected someone president who had the guts to oppose the Iraq War early on!
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Baby Snooks]

18. So there were two...

I believe Kucinich also opposed it and voted against it all. I doubt Obama would have voted for any of it. So there were two.

I look at trillions of dollars, we are being lied to with regard to the total cost of the "war on terror," and wonder how much better that money could have been spent bettering the lives of Americans and Iraqis.

Instead it was used to tear two countries apart.

[Laelth]

17. My understanding of Baudrillard's simulacrum is different.

On the other hand, I too have no sympathy for Republics whining about fiscal responsibility.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Fireweed247]

19. GObama! I love it!!!!

Look at what mr. Bridge to Nowhere had to say "This is probably the most selfish vote for individual gratification I have ever witnessed in 35 years," said Young, R-Alaska. :rofl: I don't think they realize just how stupid they look!