tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post6650274465603407849..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Mitt Romney and the GOP War on BudgetingJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-4629974925105622632012-02-27T23:09:04.366-06:002012-02-27T23:09:04.366-06:00Even the stated goal of the deficit hawks belies t...Even the stated goal of the deficit hawks belies their underlying motive: repeatedly I've heard Republicans call for returning federal spending to 2008 levels (I assume they mean nominally, not as a percentage of the economy). In other words - their modest request is that the Democrats agree to kindly repeal the vast majority of this president's accomplishments (which are simultaneously non-existent, and destroying the country). Yet when they are pressed, Republicans will now eagerly admit that Bush's spending was out of control and that they opposed it quietly all along. However they seem to be content to return spending to exactly where it was when he left.<br /><br />If this basket of cognitive dissonance doesn't prove to you that concerns about the deficit only exist when a Democrat is in charge, then you're probably a Republican congressman.Jasonhttp://politicsfromthebottom.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-85556978012123408892012-02-27T14:52:27.295-06:002012-02-27T14:52:27.295-06:00Just plain thumbs-up, Scott. Well done.Just plain thumbs-up, Scott. Well done.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-81541705683308893742012-02-27T14:15:59.594-06:002012-02-27T14:15:59.594-06:00I think you missed the important qualification: &q...I think you missed the important qualification: "in fervent and often apocalyptic tones." Yes, Republicans talked about deficits during the Reagan and Bush years, but never with the kind of hysteria they used when Clinton and Obama were in power. The reason is obvious: Republicans weren't inclined to issue more than the mildest complaints while a fellow Republican was in office. So conservative commentators sniffed at Medicare D but didn't declare it to be fiscal Armageddon. The only economic policy a Republican president can implement that will lead to rabid, hysterical denunciations from his own party is an increase in the country's tax rates, as Bush Sr. learned the hard way.Kylopodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06932528611103718373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-81085961084557016242012-02-27T14:08:11.721-06:002012-02-27T14:08:11.721-06:00"Supply-side economics is a theology immune f..."Supply-side economics is a theology immune from real-world revision."<br /><br />Chait should be ashamed of himself for using coded language to suggest that Romney is a devil-worshipper.Scott Monjenoreply@blogger.com