(no subject)

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

Comments

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

It's funny because they want to 'earmark' 'pork' in order to prevent 'outbreaks' like 'swine flu'.

Oh ho ho.

[ygrii-blop.livejournal.com]

Where was all this concern for the budget just a few years ago? You know, when that other fella, whatsisname, was in office. Who was that guy again? Jeez, his name is on the tip of my tongue....

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Clinton?

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

There was just as much outrage. Guess you don't remember.

[blueduck37.livejournal.com]

Cribbed from Matt Taibbi, the following pertinent questions...

1. If you’re so horrified by debt and spending, where were your tea parties when George Bush was adding $4 trillion to the federal deficit?

2. If you’re so outraged by the bailouts, where were your tea parties when the bailouts were first instituted by Henry Paulson and George Bush last fall?

3. If you’re so troubled by pork, where were your tea parties when the number and cost of congressional earmarks rose spectacularly in each year of Republican congressional rule between 1996 and the end of the Republican majority in 2006?

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

1. You mean when McCain wanted to take time to delve into the issue while Obama wanted a quick and fast vote? I was pissed then and I'm pissed now, just as most conservatives are.

2. I was pissed then and I'm pissed now, just as most conservatives are.

3. See #2.

But thanks for your faux remarks. Please play again some other time.

[blueduck37.livejournal.com]

That doesn't answer the questions at all! Simple declarative answers of "Umm, I was totally mad then!!" with no actual proof isn't an answer at all.

Again, the questions were-

1. If you’re so horrified by debt and spending, where were your tea parties when George Bush was adding $4 trillion to the federal deficit?

2. If you’re so outraged by the bailouts, where were your tea parties when the bailouts were first instituted by Henry Paulson and George Bush last fall?

3. If you’re so troubled by pork, where were your tea parties when the number and cost of congressional earmarks rose spectacularly in each year of Republican congressional rule between 1996 and the end of the Republican majority in 2006?

I don't think anyone reading this would consider you to have given a serious answer to any of this. We're talking over the previous eight years of the Bush presidency and the 12 years of a GOP Congress, and you're just talking about the last few months. That's not what the questions are asking.

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

asked and asnwered. Just becuase you don't like the answers is not my problem.

Besides you should love Bush just as much as obama. You did support bush's spending right?

President Bush expanded the federal budget by a historic $700 billion through 2008. President Obama would add another $1 trillion.

President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obama’s budget would add $4.9 trillion in public debt from the beginning of 2010 through 2016.


I'll wait for your faux reply.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

Asked and answered with "Harrumph!" and changing the subject. Par for the course I guess.

[blueduck37.livejournal.com]

You're still not answering the questions.

[ygrii-blop.livejournal.com]

Q: Where were your tea parties then?

A: I was angry.

You answered this how, exactly?

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

It was a self-paralyzing anger.

Correcting revisionist conservatives....again.

[texas-reddmann.livejournal.com]

In 2000, the national debt was 5.674 Trillion dollars. In 2008, the debt hit 10.699 dollars. Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt#History), via Government documents (http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm). (When trying to refute someone, it helps to have real numbers, and sources, not what's pulled out of your ass.)

That's a 5 trillion increase, not 2.5 trillion. Thanks for admitting that Bush at least shares responsibility for the additional debt in 2009, since it's spending to fix what his policies screwed up, and bailouts he requested. Adding 4.9 trillion by Obama sounds like he's right on line with "conservative" numbers, and if you remove the stimulus bill numbers but add everything else from 2009, it'll be the same.

So where were your protests then? Why was it peachy when the Bushie was doing it? If you really want to prove your point, show us a post anywhere in 2000-2008 where you disagree with one of the Bushie's budgets. Put up or shut up.

[texas-reddmann.livejournal.com]

Hey, didn't you get the memos? We're not supposed to refer to them as "crap" anymore. They're "talking points provided most graciously by the smartest people in the whole universe whose feet we should all kiss."

Oh, wait. Never mind, they're crap.

[annainthecity.livejournal.com]

I really don't remember, and I pay pretty close attention. Can you provide some proof that there was just as much outrage? Preferably from Republican/conservative sources?

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

Looks like you don't follow things closely at all.

This year's CPAC, an annual conference that's ground zero of the vast right-wing conspiracy, pulsated with the usual antipathy toward liberals, gays, secular judges, environmentalists and Europeans. Yet many attendees also bristled with a more uneasy anger, one directed at their erstwhile allies in the White House. Conservative activists, especially older ones, felt betrayed and disappointed by Bush's immigration policy, his expansion of the federal government and his promiscuous spending,

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/01/27/cpac/index.html

Now why don't you show how the liberals who aren't showing any outrage at obama's socialist spending were silent during bush's military spending?

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Now why don't you show how the liberals who aren't showing any outrage at obama's socialist spending were silent during bush's military spending?

But I like socialist spending. Health care, better schools, and the like are things I support.

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

So then bush's spending was good

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

I don't recall George Bush pushing for universal health care or a better education system.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

You wanna show us where much of Bush's spending was for infrastructure or social programs? 'Cuz I may be y'know, completely fucking insane, but I don't remember any of that.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

More spending isn't necessarily going to get you either.

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

True, there is always the option of using magical giggle dust which can just will government funded programs into being.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

You're the one in favor of using magical giggle dust, just by a different name. Tell me, if more money translates to better government, how do you explain the state of the U.S. education system?

You talk as if creating more government funded programs is inherently good. If your goal is only to pay the salaries of government employees, then Mission Accomplished. If you want to accomplish something that will benefit the public, there are other ways.

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Tell me, if more money translates to better government, how do you explain the state of the U.S. education system?

I don't know where I said money translates to better government. Only a silly person would think that by inherently giving something money it would work. A more stable person might consider the actual program itself.

I don't support NCLB, so naturally I wouldn't want to see that get more money unless it got a complete overhaul itself (starting with not penalizing schools for having students with the audacity to fail an exam). I'm expecting new ideas from the President.

You talk as if creating more government funded programs is inherently good.

No, I talk as if I support creating government funded programs that I agree with and feel will do good.

If you want to accomplish something that will benefit the public, there are other ways.

Then I look forward to your opinions on how to give Americans affordable healthcare and all students an affordable education.

[annainthecity.livejournal.com]

What mylaptopisevil said.

As far as military spending goes, there were plenty of liberals outraged at Bush's military spending but were repeatedly called traitors and told that any cuts to said spending would equate to taking armor away from the troops. Nor do I remember seeing a lot of Republican outrage at military spending increases. The very article you cited talks about conservatives being pissed at increased entitlement programs and immigration, and conservatives are always pissed about that.

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Shit the President is being called a traitor now because the people working the military budget wish to discontinue developing lasers for planes and instead focus on body armor for ground troops.

[latenightapathy.livejournal.com]

One article with a few passing mentions--nothing in depth, and certainly no passionate railing against Bush's spending--of disappointment or mild anger over spending at one conference within eight years of the Bush administration does not a history of outrage make.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

So I can scroll back through the political groups and read your personal objections to Bush's insane spending and borrowing.

I'll get right on that.

[jlc20thmaine.livejournal.com]

Aren't you busy counting global warming scientists? What number are you on?

[xforge.livejournal.com]

Fuckinscrotumsayswhat?

[ygrii-blop.livejournal.com]

Show me.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

to be fair, they -are- two different kinds of spending.

One of them throws money away on programs that do nothing, hurt mainstreet and end up making american's less safe.

Then there are Obama's spending programs.

[blueduck37.livejournal.com]

Pork (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/27/gop-stripped-flu-pandemic_n_191732.html)! Big government (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/26/rick-perry-after-secessio_n_191521.html)!

Let me try.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

Anti-government ideology! (http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/04/28/1976_swine_flu/)

[somastoner.livejournal.com]

*yawn*

[latenightapathy.livejournal.com]

Riiiiiiiiiight, the Republicans never slipped (http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=2433) any (http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=republican_pork) 'pork' (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20380-2004Aug20.html) into (http://www.freetimes.com/stories/11/36/guest-column-republican-pork-robert-b-reich) bills (http://www.robertreich.org/reich/20031224.asp) in Congress (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49837,00.html).

Hell, I just did a better job than you at showing anger by conservatives. But still, it doesn't even come remotely fucking close to what conservatives are saying and doing about Obama's spending. And given that most of the spending Obama has put into place isn't pork so much as slowing-down-the-tanking-of-the-economy, it's ridiculous that you'd criticize him more than Bush and the Republican leadership. Mind you, I don't even like Obama, but jesus christ, at least use some simple logic and reasoning skills when you're making an argument.

[torasama.livejournal.com]

^

[rumorsofwar.livejournal.com]

Remember when the funding that the Dems wanted for dealing with crises like this was called "pork" by the Republicans and cut from the budget? I appreciate the irony.