I wish the Republicans DESERVED more economic input

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

One of the tragic features of the contemporary scene is that Republican lunacy is depriving us of a rigorous economic debate.

The administration is doing a lot of good thing on the economic front and making a lot of errors on the economic front. Unfortunately, we are denied a lot of the kind of push-back an invention we need to get to better solutions because the other side's economic positions are roughly as respectable as evolution denial.

Obama and Democratic legislators pretty much follow conventional economic thinking. The Republicans offer alternatives like cutting government spending that are simply flat-earth insane in the context of the discussion.

So we proceed without credible opposition. The one-sided debate ends up robbing the process of creativity and, if I may, audacity.

It's not that any Republican ideas should be adopted, merely that if there were some Republican ideas the debate would be more robust and probably more open to unconventional thinking.

What we have now is like preparing for a debate by doing practice sessions of arguing with a chicken. That probably does not lead to better debate performance. Arguments go untested. Even shaky answers seem acceptable because,... well, because you're arguing with a chicken!

Well, it's hardly the first time the pugs have degraded the quality of American thought, debate and policy.

[Liberal Gramma]

1. The Republican Idea Machine:

On the economy: tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts
On energy policy: drill, drill, drill
On foreigh policy: Do as we say, not as we do
On education: school vouchers and creation-based science
On health care: I can afford it, why can't you?
On job creation: Further enrich the wealthy so they can hire more maids and gardeners (that's us)
On torture: Call it something else, but do it
On terrorism: 9-11,9-11,9-11 justifies anything we want to do

[Uzybone]

2. So do I

Competition (or at least the threat of it) always makes things better.