Oh, and that deathless principle about never criticizing the Commander-in-Chief during wartime is now officially reversed, and it's treason not to criticize the C-i-C during wartime. Similarly, wishing for the failure of the country's leadership goes from being a fantasy projection to patriotism. Also, "up" is now "down." More to come.
The difference, in my eyes, is the perceived ownership of fiscal responsibility. The illusion that republicans are somehow more "responsible" isn't backed up with historical evidence. So the issue becomes WHAT do we spend money on, rather than who do we allow to spend it. That's a better debate.
Nope... neither are. But if you were to ask me whether I'd prefer one or the other spending the country's money, I'd say that I want them both to. The Republicans have dominated government for quite a while now, and it's rational to have the pendulum swing the other direction for a while. But if you want me to believe that 2 years of weak Democratic control with a Republican president is enough to repair what we've seen going on over the past decade, You're gonna lose me.
Also, do not forget that the democrats had control of the house and senate the last couple of years...
That would be 2 years.
technically they had the most power the last couple of years.
Um no. We won't bother with that pesky issue that the President's duty is to provide Congress with a proposed budget, and we won't bother with that other pesky fact he can veto any bill (and Bush used that only AFTER Democratic control was gained- meaning he never used it on any Republican passed spending bills).
Keep it real: President Bush never vetoed a single Republican spending bill. Your point about Bush not vetoing every Democratic bill is a moot one, because in several instances he had to only use the threat of veto without doing it, or due to filibuster votes in the Senate, the bill would die there.
I like this cartoon because it doesn't necessarily draw any conclusions about the fiscal responsibility of the democrats... I don't think you have to glorify one party to draw attention to the flaws of the other.
I thought that the idea was that when you hit rock bottom, you were supposed to stop digging. Nice to see Democrats no longer caring about record setting deficits.
Thank you for presenting a classic example of the Ad Hominem Tu Quoque logical fallacy.
The issue is not what I think about deficit spending but rather the fact that after 8 years of screaming about it, it is now not a problem.
And, sorry, but you don't seem to be able to recall that I've been saying we need to reduce spending and shrink the government for 8 years. I was against it when Clinton did it, I was against it when Bush did it and now I'm against it that Obama is doing it. Pretty consistent, don't you think?
"The issue is not what I think about deficit spending but rather the fact that after 8 years of screaming about it, it is now not a problem."
I didn't imply it wasn't a problem. In fact, I've been warning about it since the ill-fated, trillion-dollar invasion of Iraq. It just seems odd to me that a huge swath of right-wingers across this country have suddenly become "fiscally conservative" in the last three weeks, while having ignored eight years of the biggest-spending administration in this nation's history. Have I lumped you in with the wrong crowd?
Yes you have. Cut the federal government back to what the Constitution says it should do and cut the tax rate to about 2%. Let the states increase taxes locally for local solutions created by people in the community.
I don't even think you could adequately fund the military alone with a 2% tax rate, much less the most basic (and necessary, IMHO) federal programs. Sounds like you want to put the full brunt of medical care, education, infrastructure, law enforcement, emergency response, environmental protection, etc. on the states... or am I misunderstanding you again?
I think you are understanding me. Put it all (and the money) back into the hands of the states. There might be a couple things the feds still need to do but examples like medical care, education and infrastructure can all be better handled by the states and localities.
I can't imagine how having local control could make anything worse than having DC try to make everyone happy.
I'm in Cook Country - home to some of the highest sales, property, gas, tobacco, alcohol (and numerous other) taxes in the entire nation, and we have never had a balanced budget. Frankly, I don't know how Vivian's "cut the fed tax to a flat 2% and let the states figure out the rest" plan could possibly work, either on a state or federal level. If somebody wants to do some number-crunching to prove me wrong, I'm all ears.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 11:20 pm (UTC)I did think it would take time to top the past few years but Obama managed to succeed in this area within weeks!
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Date: 2009-02-09 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:06 am (UTC)Good 'toon. :)
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Date: 2009-02-10 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 11:45 pm (UTC)(Did enjoy the song though.)
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 11:42 pm (UTC)Oh, and that deathless principle about never criticizing the Commander-in-Chief during wartime is now officially reversed, and it's treason not to criticize the C-i-C during wartime. Similarly, wishing for the failure of the country's leadership goes from being a fantasy projection to patriotism. Also, "up" is now "down." More to come.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 11:47 pm (UTC)War is Peace!
Ignorance is Strength!
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Date: 2009-02-10 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:36 am (UTC)That would be 2 years.
technically they had the most power the last couple of years.
Um no. We won't bother with that pesky issue that the President's duty is to provide Congress with a proposed budget, and we won't bother with that other pesky fact he can veto any bill (and Bush used that only AFTER Democratic control was gained- meaning he never used it on any Republican passed spending bills).
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:28 am (UTC)Well, the ninth, anyway.
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Date: 2009-02-10 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 01:32 am (UTC)There are a lot of good things about the GOP, but fiscal conservatism isn't among them.
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Date: 2009-02-10 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 03:37 am (UTC)Getting rid of those people has proven to be a harder task than imagined.
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Date: 2009-02-10 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 03:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:17 am (UTC)The issue is not what I think about deficit spending but rather the fact that after 8 years of screaming about it, it is now not a problem.
And, sorry, but you don't seem to be able to recall that I've been saying we need to reduce spending and shrink the government for 8 years. I was against it when Clinton did it, I was against it when Bush did it and now I'm against it that Obama is doing it. Pretty consistent, don't you think?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:42 am (UTC)I didn't imply it wasn't a problem. In fact, I've been warning about it since the ill-fated, trillion-dollar invasion of Iraq. It just seems odd to me that a huge swath of right-wingers across this country have suddenly become "fiscally conservative" in the last three weeks, while having ignored eight years of the biggest-spending administration in this nation's history. Have I lumped you in with the wrong crowd?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 04:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 05:14 am (UTC)I can't imagine how having local control could make anything worse than having DC try to make everyone happy.
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Date: 2009-02-10 05:16 am (UTC)You and I both live in Illinois, i.e. you've got to be kidding. :)
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Date: 2009-02-10 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 03:53 pm (UTC)