First of all, I have to say: I hate these partisan posts. I really do. I have friends on both sides, and I don't like offending half of them. I really don't. But they usually have no problem saying what they think, so I guess I have the right as well. Still, I don't like it. But sometimes it just gets crazy.
I am a republican. At least I was. I’m registered that way. But honestly, right now I just don't understand that party. Mind you, I don’t think the democrats are exactly always the wisest and best either, but right now at least, the republicans are just crazy. I’m not sure how else to describe them.
The “debt crisis.” Really? During the Bush administration, with republican congresses, the debt limit was raised seven times—SEVEN. With no fanfare, and almost no notice. (Do YOU remember those votes? Probably not.) It was a bookkeeping item. But now, when a democrat is the president, the congress has essentially wasted an entire summer fighting over what is normally a routine vote. What legislation has congress passed in the last three months? Basically nothing.
But that’s not the worst part of it. Even though the debt went from a surplus (yes I said surplus) at the end of the Clinton administration to record debts at the end of the Bush administration, somehow now “spending is out of control.” Why didn't they say that 5 years ago? In reality, spending has increased of course, but what has made the record surpluses is the lack of tax revenue due to a dead economy. When people aren't working, they aren't paying taxes. And while you can argue all day about whose fault it is that the economy hasn't recovered, we all know it went south during the last republican administration.
But that’s not the worst part of it either. When Reagan, the god of the conservatives, had a debt crisis early in his term, you know what he did? He raised taxes. Yes, really. He raised them. Many times. He cut spending as much as he could, but when the government couldn't afford what they were spending, he raised taxes. Remember Bush 1? When he had a debt problem, he raised taxes. So why can’t we do that now? Because now any tax increase is a “job-killing” tax increase. Even though before Bush 2 made his tax cuts, we had the best economy anyone can remember, somehow going back to those tax rates will be “job killing.” That makes no sense.
But that’s still not the worst of it. No, what’s the worst of it is, Obama is being vilified and belittled by his own party because he’s trying to give away so much. Recommending huge cuts which the democrats hate, to get very tiny tax increases. If the republicans had accepted Obama’s proposal, they would have won almost everything they wanted, and the democrats would have lost almost everything. But Boehner said no. Because he knows the crazies in his party won't support any tax increases, of any kind, on anybody.
I think it’s pretty simple. The republicans will do anything to make Obama look bad. They probably do care what happens to the country, but not as much as they care about defeating Obama in 2012. And they’ll destroy everything to accomplish that.
This isn't a football game. It’s not about who wins. It’s about what’s right.
And don’t even get me started about the republican governors.
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