A post by Maynard
A news report of Tammy’s expedition appears here.
I want to react to a critical comment posted by a reader:
This Tea Party thing has been a gimmick from the start cooked up by conservative activists across the Country so IT IS a Liberal vs Conservative event and it is disingenuous to say otherwise. So why lie about it?
The Republican Party had absolute control over government for 6 of Bush’s 8 years where we went from surpluses achieved under Clinton to record deficits. Now we are supposed to believe these people suddenly care about deficit spending?
Many of those signs at the rally spoke to “tax fairness†or the idea that the poor of this Country don’t pay taxes (a lie, because they pay sales tax and other fees) as if this has just happened under Obama in the past three months. Why care about this now?
Many more of the signs talk about increased taxes on everyone when in reality it will be less than 1% of the population (those over $250,000 per year)… so again why the deception?
When conservative activists and their talking points actually address reality and truth, who knows, they may even earn enough credibility to be taken seriously.
Until then I’ll keep laughing.
I could dismiss this person with an insult, but there’s enough of a point here that it should be addressed seriously.
Our nation is being pushed towards bankruptcy. We simply cannot afford the trillions of dollars of debt that Washington is running up.
It’s also a grossly immoral practice, dumping the costs of today’s boondoggles onto children who have no say in the matter.
George Bush turned surplus into deficit with Republican support. Obama is proving to be an even bigger fiscal disaster than Bush. Now that Republicans have suddenly rediscovered fiscal integrity, Democrats such as this writer are laughing. This reaction is inappropriate, but I understand it.
The problem isn’t that the Republicans don’t deserve their comeuppance. They certainly do. But the Democrats who laugh need to realize that the coming catastrophe will bring us all down, Democrats and Republicans alike.
The Tea Parties are an overt reaction to taxes, because taxes are always a sensitive issue. (Although a number of voters, such as this writer, are willing to raise taxes that they think will fall on the head of some other guy; presumably that hypothetical “rich” person who can afford it. I don’t want to get into the endless philosophical debate here; I’ll just note that (1) on practical grounds, the really rich people are very good at circumnavigating taxes, and (2) on moral/constitutional grounds, I don’t feel good about taking your money to pay for my goodies.)
But to focus exclusively on taxes is, as the writer notes, a Republican talking point. And that’s how George Bush got away with his nonsense: He spent without raising taxes. As long as taxes are low, we seem politically unconcerned about handing the next generation an economic catastrophe.
We need to change that mindset. Read my lips: It’s not about taxes; it’s about fiscal suicide. And we should take tomorrow’s eco-nomic catastrophe as seriously as we’re taking Al Gore’s eco-logic catastrophe. The principle is the same, and it’s a righteous one: Be a good steward and don’t leave a mess for the next guy.
Tammy knows this. She applied the same standards to George Bush that she does to Barack Obama. She did not hesitate to ream Bush when he went astray. But how many “conservatives” have been that principled?
The Left has done a fine job in making us feel guilty about abstractions like carbon dioxide. We’ve got to raise the same level of consciousness for the very real problem of national bankruptcy. Because we’re going to run out of money long before climate change does us in.
You’re right, Maynard, about Republicans getting away w/ saying they’ll cut taxes w/o cutting government programs. I have to listen to GOP office holders say, “Well, we’ve got to fund our schools, health care, and state property insurance…but but but.” By saying they’re for tax cuts and then going along with the Dems on new entitlements (let alone not repealing the old ones), they just give the Dems ammo to say, “Well we need to raise taxes to close the budget gap.” And then taxes go up, Repubs campaign on tax cuts, and the cycle begins again.
But the problems here are not just “theft from the grandchildren.” It’s the massive, painful inflation that’s about to affect us all as the consequence of a billion dollars suddenly being a small amount of money. It’s the ever-increasing parasite class we are forming with these new expansions. And, most tragically, it’s the geniuses of our society whose inventions and methods we’re never going to benefit from because this government is paralyzing them.
P.S. I love the Liberty Leading the People shot!
Great post Maynard. I’ve heard that argument that libs like to make about Republicans being responsible for the economic mess we’re currently in. And while I agree with you that the GOP played a part in creating the deficits we have now,things weren’t always so bad during the Bush administration. First of all,that 5 trillion dollar surplus was made possible largely because Bill Clinton didn’t have any major wars to deal with. When George Bush came into office,the country was already sliding into recession,and the death blow was dealt on 9/11. The economy sank like a rock. Bush was forced to draw from the surplus to keep airlines and the hotel industry afloat. Then came the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the huge costs involved in rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure. Despite all this,the economy roared back to life and things started improving,to the point that the Dow Jones hit a record high of 10,000 points,the first time in American history that had ever happened. It eventually climbed to around 12,000 before the economy started sinking in late 2007-early 2008. So if the Bush tax policies were able to bring us out of the post-9/11 recession,wouldn’t those same policies help bring us out of this one? I agree that Republicans have strayed from their fiscal principals…that’s why we’re out of power. But if reckless spending by Bush is what got us in this mess,according to liberals,then why would Obama choose to do more of the same?! Think about it liberals!
When 70 some percent of Democrats BLINDLY support Barak Hussein Obama’s policies and he has lost all support of INDEPENDENTS and nearly ALL Republican support, then it is easy to see where the support is coming from; Democrats. BHO has just been named the most polarizing President in American History and he should be very, very ashamed of that record. If a Presidential election was held today, BHO would lose if a turtle ran against him. When will the lemmings in the Democrat party wake up and realize Barak Hussein Obama does not have even the Democrat party’s interest at heart. The man is emotionally unstable and is a narcissist. The TEA parties are for all Constitutional patriots to attend, from any party, because if you are Straight, Gay, Black, White, Yellow, or Brown, you better wake up and help us take this country back. Reason I say this is because look closely into Obama’s eyes. He hates this country. He says the job is “too hard”. He bashes our great country overseas and doesn’t have the cahones to do it here. This is our Country, it isn’t his. He is a Socialist with Marxism on his mind and I challenge all constitutional patriots to rise up and stand with us. Are you cowards? Are you going to leave this all up to Tammy and others like her? What a shame. I personally am not going to let Tammy stand alone. People like her come around once in a lifetime and I’m going to feed off her greatness and learn some things in the process because we ARE patriots and this is OUR country and not our fearful leaders’!
reminds me of a saying:
“I’m so mad at you I’m going to burn my house down”
Liberals, hey, wake up!!! It cost alot of money to fight a war that liberated 40 million people and who now live in a Democracy. Did you ever get a check in your mailbox from the Federal Government in your life that wasn’t something than your tax refund? I sure didn’t, but I got them under President Bush. He grew the economy 14% more than Bill Clinton and had the lowest unemployment rate in history. Was he perfect? No, but he protected us under his duty given by the Constitution. So, stop blaming Bush, he is not President anymore. Obama has tripled the debt, so are you blaming that on Bush too? How pathetic. Take a good look in mirror and say “do I really want to support a narcissist who doesn’t give a damn about me, or should I join the fight?” Remember, our greatest strength as Americans lies in not being led, but being free. I’ll be damned if Barak Obama is going to erase my identity as an American.
Great post Maynard and you were right that it needed to be addressed. I’ve heard the argument before and your response is spot on.
But also this: The people really outraged at what Obama is doing were also outraged at what Bush did and they were CONSERVATIVES and LIBERTARIANS that were FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE always.
Republicans need to get back to their fiscally conservative roots, apologize to us for deceiving us and never stray again. Then they will be back in power, getting ready to do the right thing.
And RobK you are so right – the liberals cry that Bush did it and I guess that means that it’s okay for Obama to do it. How does that make any sense to these people? If it’s wrong for Bush it was wrong for Obama.
But as you said RobK – there were circumstances that led us to the deficit we had before Obama took over. Some of it stupid, but most of it not.
And people forget that the reason the economy strated going bust was the HOUSING INDUSTRY which I lay 99% of the blame on the group think Democrats and liberals that thought that every American needed to buy a home even if they had bad credit and worked at McDonald’s.
I’m going to my local TEA PARTY. It is for EVERYONE, not just Conservatives. To not see that shows how shortsighted that reader/commenter really is.
Don’t have much to say except I’ll be going to my local Tea Party, and that’s a fabulous picture.
🙂
Thank you, Maynard, for NOT dismissing “this person with an insult”. I suspect that is what we, all of us, did in the past; and, the Obama people took advantage of it. They used the time while we turned our backs to build up the ranks with lies. And, we ended up with him as president. I am not a Republican but have found myself voting for them since 1992, and being embarrassed by those who took over the Democrat party. I’ll be in Lafayette Square April 15th (my local tea party) and my sister and her friends are going to theirs on Maui (where the news of it building has been blocked by the super-libs out there – she only knew about it when I told her where it would be). Spread the word and address those who are the attack. We will be seeing more of them as we have since the election. The Center for American Progress and moveon.org types have to have something to do.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT THAT PICTURE IS, TAMMY. YOU ARE WONDERFUL. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATRIOTISM.
Thanks for the picture of Tammy, and the analysis.
We knew Bush wasn’t a fiscal conservative. Tax cuts are just one part of the picture. But the alternative was Al Gore, and then John Kerry.
The answer to debt problems is NOT more debt, yet that is just what we are doing. It isn’t just foolish, it is immoral. I have no problem with a national debt to fund a just war or, perhaps, disaster relief. But our federal government has moved so far beyond that it is there to do – which is spelled out in the Constitution. No, I don’t want kids starving homeless on polluted dirt roads, sick, uneducated, without health insurance, and espousing bigotry. But is isn’t the federal government’s role to do anything about any of those things. It is OUR role – as caring and charitable VOLUNTEERS and professionals and families and clergy, to address those problems.
Maynard, kudos to you for taking the high road. I’m not that nice of a person 🙂
Sounds like the liberals are sending their finest troops to infiltrate the tea parties. ACORN workers are the cream of the crop baby!!!! And called to action by the Puffington HO. Priceless.
Maynard, you always have such a great way with words. I applaud you and wish that more conservatives were more like you. Thank you. SY
Here here, Maynard. There should be some record straightening here though.
1. Clinton did not run a surplus…EVER! The national debt increased every year (excluding interest)during his term. The trickery was holding things “off-budget”. It just means that congress has to vote to fund this or that every year, rather than include it in tne national budget. Bush put this trick on steroids, holding two wars off-budget. What,– congress is not going to approve war appropriations in the middle of a war?
2. You pegged the issue dead-on. We seem to be happy to tax somebody else. Tax the millionares, punish the guy that brings home a bonus. It all stems back to the 16th ammendment, that allowed taxes without apportionment. That means you can single out and extract more from one, than another.
Woodrow Wilson was a great admirer of Mussolini. He thought a nationalist socialist sytem would be the ticket to a stable utopian society. He pushed the 16th, knowing it would set up the class warfare required to overthrow and eventually destroy capitalism, and American exceptionalism.
He then sighed the Federal Reserve Act, that allowed a private bank to print money out of thin air, and loan it to the federal government at interest, to insure we would all be slaves to debt forever. He claimed to regret that one.
Re-institue equal apportionment, and everyone will once again have a stake in limited government, and low taxes. People in Kansas will suddenly care about the Feds spending $20 Billion for a tunnel in Massachusets.