Wall Street Journal:
'Remember the $400 hammer? How 'bout that $600 toilet seat?" asks a Conservatives for Patients' Rights TV commercial criticizing President Barack Obama's health-care plan. "Seems when Congress gets involved, things just cost more."
National Journal Magazine - The GOP's 'Electile Dysfunction'
King: Ohio the proving ground for GOP's back-to-future bid - CNN.com
Young Republicans Offer Advice for GOP's Future | Newsweek ...
Palin the GOP's future? Don't bet on it - Garry South - Politico.com
Cheney not fretting about GOP's future - John F. Harris and Mike ...
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"Republicans say government doesn't work, then get elected and prove it."
I believe that Harry Truman was the first to use that line (and it is still correct).
But WHY is it correct? Is it fixable by changing parties, or is it fixable by limiting government size and meddling?
When your guys grow government by leaps and bounds then I'd say it's fixable by changing parties.
And what meddling would you limit. The repeal of Glass-Steagal and bank de-regulation led to the economic collapse. A weakened SEC enabled Bernie Madoff, Cutting FDA staffing led to more contaminated food incidents. Mine accidents increased when industry friendly directors prevented safety enforcement. Removing consumer product safety commission inspections ensured lead paint in child's toys.
Cutting back on auditors ensure that private sector vendors to government will try to bite the hand that feeds them. James Madison - once said "If men were angels, government would be un-necessary"
Here are some highlights from the Reagan years, all this stuff can be googled.
2/4/85 Sen. William Cohen and Sen. William Roth reveal that the Navy has been paying $640 each for toilet seats that sell to consumers for $25.
3/1/85 In an effort to wind contra aid, President Reagan says the Nicaraguan rebels are "the moral equival of our Founding Fathers." Historical novelist Howard Fast calls this "an explosion of such incredible ignorance that...he is not fit for public office of any kind."
4/16/85 As the contra aid vote approaches, President Reagan claims he "just had a verbal message delivered to me from Pope John Paul, urging us to continue our efforts in Central America." The Vatican quickly issues a denial.
4/18/85 While Michael Deaver is in West Germany searching for an "appropriate" concentration camp for the President to visit, President Reagan defends his visit to Bitburg by claiming the German soldiers "were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."
6/5/85 David Stockman observes that if the Securities and Exchange Commission had jurisdiction over the way the executive and legislative branches of government have handled the deficit, "many of us would be in jail."
http://www.quickchange.com/reagan/1985.html
"66 Things to Think About When Flying Into Reagan National Airport"
http://www.thenation.com/doc/19980302/corn
"The firing of the air traffic controllers, winnable nuclear war, recallable nuclear missiles, trees that cause pollution, Elliott Abrams lying to Congress, ketchup as a vegetable, colluding with Guatemalan thugs, pardons for F.B.I. lawbreakers, voodoo economics, budget deficits, toasts to Ferdinand Marcos, public housing cutbacks, redbaiting the nuclear freeze movement, James Watt.
"Getting cozy with Argentine fascist generals, tax credits for segregated schools, disinformation campaigns, 'homeless by choice,' Manuel Noriega, falling wages, the HUD scandal, air raids on Libya, 'constructive engagement' with apartheid South Africa, United States Information Agency blacklists of liberal speakers, attacks on OSHA and workplace safety, the invasion of Grenada, assassination manuals, Nancy's astrologer.
"Drug tests, lie detector tests, Fawn Hall, female appointees (8 percent), mining harbors, the S&L scandal, 239 dead U.S. troops in Beirut, Al Haig 'in control,' silence on AIDS, food-stamp reductions, Debategate, White House shredding, Jonas Savimbi, tax cuts for the rich, 'mistakes were made.' "
OpEd writer Joe Strupp wrote "...the overwhelming praise for a president who plunged the nation into its worst deficit ever, ignored and cut public money for the poor, while also ignoring the AIDS crisis...slashing federal grants for poor students and cutting survivor benefits for families of the disabled."
http://www.actupny.org/reports/reagan.html
Brilliant!
The moral of the story is that government is a necessity; to have smart, effective government it sometimes becomes necessarily "big;" and we should never let conservatives get their hands on the reins of government again.
You might read the cautionary tale, "The Best and the Brightest." Having big government is necessarily, per se, ipso facto, of itself, a guarantee of problems no matter how "smart" the people running it. The collective wisdom of multi-thousands of people operating in their own self interest in a free economy is always going to be SMARTER than the smartest government bureaucrat--or president.
Apt moniker
What? Your babbling!
Babble, does your "big is bad" slogan also apply to the big banks banks and insurance companies which were to "big to fail"? In a laissez faire regulatory environment, they grew, and grew until they failed. Greed helped. Governments, at least, have to face the voters at regular intervals. Insurance companies and banks seemed to be accountable to no one. Odd thing, that.
I don't agree that "the collective wisdom of multi-thousands of people operating in their own self interest in a free economy is always going to be SMARTER..."
If that were an efficient way to go about doing things, then we should rescind all laws, and let people do as they wish. Imagine the highway system like this.
Imagine an army sent into battle with this system; each soldier operating in his own best interest.
We sure see that will all the economic depressions and recessions this country has gone through.
History refutes your theory.
The Republicans don't like the Constitution, they'd prefer to return to the good ol' days of the Articles of Confederation. The AoC lasted two whole years after the end of the revolution at which point it was obvious that they weren't working. Hence the Constitutional Congress.
That's just plain 180 degrees from reality--150 degrees, anyway. It is Democrats who prefer to, by explicit policy, ignore as much of the constitution as gets in their way.
What? Your babbling!
I hear this brought up frequently by the GOP, but I never hear any evidence of this. Care to enlighten me?
Any reading of the administrations of Nixon, Reagan, Bush act 1 and Bush act 2 show you don't know what you are talking about.
This is an absolute must-read, especially for people who routinely have to debate the whole "government always screws up" crowd.
' Among former President George W. Bush's gravest and most characteristic blunders, of course, was his administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, when the nation learned the true price of government by crony and contractor. But for conservatives, that is too nuanced a view. The real lesson to learn from Katrina as we debate health care is simply that government can never work. "The federal government would run a health care system -- or a public plan option -- with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the post office, and the incompetence of Katrina," carps the official summary of the Republicans' Patients' Choice Act. '
These days, about 20% of US believe this BS, approve
of GB, buy into what the Repos are selling. They are
hardly a force to be reckoned with anymore.
Katrina was government by government. It had nothing to do with which party was in power.
The Democratic governor and mayor screwed up and it was NEVER the federal government's responsibility or plan to be first responders to emergencies. Note that, in Mississippi, the handling of the same catastrophe, more or less, went much better.
What? Your babbling!
Mississippi had a Rep governor and got more aid per person than Nola. Miss was hit only by the hurricane. Nola survived Katrina, that's a fact. It was the flood, that Miss did not have, that was the problem. The Friday before Katrina hit the Dem governor signed a document asking Feds for help. Federal government was legally responsible to be first responder.
Bush ignored Nola because Dem governor would not turn over remainder of her NG to Bush. This caused WH to cancel, on 10 minutes notice, a news conference in which Bush was to play C in C again.
Mayor of Nola was DINO. He was elected by white business community and was often called "Ray Reagan."
You in the market for an Arabian stallion, dude?
FEMA is there to plan for such emergencies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has this basic mandate, which can be read on their website: Agency of the US government tasked with Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery planning.
The Federal government was asked for help before the disaster even started, yet Bush denied he was asked, only to have a tape show up exposing his lie.
Another stupid comment, when a storm hit Florida W. flew down there to hand out water with his stupid brother, the photo-up administration. The lack of empathy and patriotism from the right wing never ceases to amaze me.
I like to watch a BBC program called "Top Gear" a very witty show about cars and generally larking about as they describe it. In recent program they bought cars in Miami, with the goal of driving through the deep South to New Orleans. After almost being stoned in Alabama, they finally got to New Orleans. One of the shows three host was stunted at the condition of the city 2 years after Katrina, he said "America being the richest country in the world, how can American's sleep at night knowing this was here".
Brownie, is that you?
Heckuva job!!
On the 'Katrina Response' matter, presumably the federal government (and
even the state government) would have done MUCH better if the Nat'l Guard
wasn't busy elsewhere, overseas, in no position to be doing their customary
disaster-response duties to the required extent. Which is just indicative of
GOP notions of governmental priorities: all wrong.
They're at 20%. They're not going to be doing better any time soon. They're irrelevant.
As long as the GOP clings to the legend of Ronald Reagan, which is more myth than reality, the further they will slip from relevance.
Ronnie, Ronnie Raygun
King of the wild frontier
Only the greatest president of this century.
What? Now your really babbling! Delusional. In bad shape.
That's very depatable, "Reagan is a dumb son of bi#@t" Richard Nixon.
The man who ran up the National Debt 189%, funded terrorists, sold weapons for hostages (Iran, under an embargo by Reagan no less, got the weapons and Reagan didn't even get a hostage), etc. Reagan was so corrupt that his friends companies were able to sell $5 toilet seats to the military at $400 a crack - he was the greatest failure of a president last century - or do you not realize we are in the 21st century now?
It was actually the last century.
Better than JFK?
Better than Truman?
Better than FDR?
You really ARE babbling.
The Amiable Dunce was pleasant enough (at times), but he got us into this deficit mess. It's philosophy: keep lowering taxes because, just like MAGIC, revenues increase!!!
Q: At what point do lower taxes become self-defeating in terms of revenue?
NEVER! cry the Trickle Downers. Let's take taxes down to ZERO!
It's why Bush Sr. called it "Voodoo Economics"
a legend in your own tortured mind...just sayin
Reagan is undoubtedly one of the worst presidents ever. A stupid man elected by an even more stupid electorate.
This is a great piece, I have to agree this is exactly what they do blame everything on the Government,
so they prove their own point the Rethugs don't know how to Govern, but they sure enjoy that
Government pay check and health care!
They cut off your leg, then complain when you don't take gold in the 100 meters.
I know a few conservatives who read The Wall Street Journal.
I hope they don't recognize the name of Thomas Frank, and do manage to read at least part of this article (before savagely turning the page in disgust.)
Sure! Conservatives consider both sides, unlike the left wing who refuses to discuss WSJ articles on these pages other than to make nasty wisecracks.
What? Your babbling!
Anyone who can consider both sides of an issue is to be commended.
In fact, it's one of the reasons why I supported Obama when he was running for President. He seemed to be more three-dimensional than most people who run for office. He still does.
Conservatives consider both sides, are you kidding, you should talk to my wing-nut brother-in-law some time. As a sales rep. he drives around all day, listens to Rush and repeats everything Rush says. His ultra conservative family, between divorce and closet drinking is the most dysfunctional mess, I've ever experienced. My wife's sister who is very conservative can't do gatherings with his family anymore, it's an ordeal.
Part of the reason WSJ is not cited is it charges for access to it's content. Typical capitalist elites.
History shows otherwise.
But the Republicans are still trying to sell the idea that our government can remake the middle east into a democratic utopia.
Using the military, which is one of the few government agencies that the Right believes in. I might point out that the $400 hammer and the $600 toilet seat stories came from the Pentagon.
The $600 toilet seat was, in fact, a custom molded fiberglass shroud for the toilet mechanism in a P3 Orion aircraft. YOU try making one of those for less than $600!
No, NOT utopia. Utopian dreams are liberal fantasies. Conservatives are more grounded in reality.
If we CAN'T make democratic changes (and we do have a good start now, as the Iraqi democracy is infecting Iran), we may some day have to convert the Middle East to nuclear glass. The terrorists are not going to play nice just because Obama is Prez!
What? Your babbling!
Confused. Out of touch!
Let's hope that converting the "Middle East to nuclear glass" is permanently off the table.
That's insane.
More babblegab.
What happened to George Bush than? His speeches sounded more like Paster and Chief than Commander and Chief. I guess you haven't read the PNAC memorandums, signed by just about every wacky neo-con elite there is, including Dick Cheney and Jeb Bush, they advocated regime change by force of arms in more than 7 countries, this is not conservatism my friend. People used to call this Wilsonian, except Wilson tried to stay out of WW1, and pushed for the League of Nations to try to prevent another world war. Latter Republican presidents didn't support the league and it eventually fell apart, as did world peace.
That's really funny considering right wingers don't respect democracy here. I cringe when people like Can'ter and Rush claim there speaking for the American people. I wish I had a nickel for every Republican caller to C-Span pronounce were not a democracy were a republic, maybe where they live, it's not like there Representatives act in there best interest or anything.
Excellent article. It is amazing how the GOP's ideology manages to be both self-fulfilling and contradictory at the same time.
They put incompetent people like Bush and Palin in charge who bungle their way into justifying their own anti-government views. Yet they seem to believe that the government is capable of running the military well, and they willfully ignore the incompetence of their own leaders who manage to screw up military operations as Bush has done in Iraq.
This is true of Democrats, too. They pander to the poor, but never decrease the numbers of the poor. They rant against big business, but dole out favors to THEIR favorite big businesses. The solution is 1) Smaller government--the less it can do, the less harm it can do. 2) A tax plan that does not permit granting tax favors! The Linder-Boortz FairTax Plan would be the best possible in this regard. 3) Rescinding the income tax. 4) Repealing the 17th Amendment. We need statesmen who represent states in the Senate, not super-panderers.
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Senator Inouye Helped His Personal Bank Get Bailout Money
Headline on HuffPost.
Yep, it helps them have a smaller political tent each and every day that goes by.
Well said.
Duke Cunningham continues to rot in prison. I salute GOP dysfunction.
Besides, as we can now see, bungling Katrina recovery or Pentagon procurement pays conservatives huge dividends. It gives them potent ammunition to use when the liberals have returned and are proposing another one of their grand schemes to reform health care.
This is the perverse incentive that is slowly remaking the GOP into the Snafu Party. And in those commercials and those proclamations we should also discern a warning: That even if Democrats manage to set up a solid health-care program, conservatives will do their best, once they have regained power, to drop it down the same chute they did the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Of course they live for dysfunction.
In a functional society, aid for the poor goes to the poor.
In a dysfuncttional society,
aid for the poor goes to the criminals.
You understand. . .
Well-put.
The best description I've recently heard for the GOP is "rebels without a cause" perfect on so many levels.
“What're you rebelling against, Johnny? “
“Whaddya got?”
Excellent Op/Ed.
And yet, this public option that will be so completely incompetent and wastefull will none the less be so incredibly efficient that it will put all private insurance out of business.
There is nothing worse than a pessimistic defeatist. If we were at war, I would not want you in my foxhole. You don't understand how to get the job done, and you would endanger my life.
I want the one who can analyze the situation we're in clearly, gives us a better chance of survival.
You do know that Adolph Hitler used the same term, when his own top army officers warned against opening a 2nd front in the East. He call them defeatist and we all know how that ended, an entire German army group destroyed and the fall of Berlin.
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First Posted: 07- 1-09 12:14 AM | Updated: 07- 1-09 12:19 AM