GOP Won on Economy, So Focus on It
by David Boaz
David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute. He is a co-author, with David Kirby, of the study "The Libertarian Vote in the Age of Obama".
This article appeared on Politico.com on November 3, 2010.
It always feels great to win an election. But the real job for fiscal conservatives and smaller-government advocates starts now.
The usual pattern is that after the election, voters and the activists go back to their normal lives, but organized interests redouble their efforts to influence policymakers. The people who want something from government hire lobbyists, make political contributions and otherwise do all they can to get their hands on taxpayers' money. Meanwhile, the average taxpayer cannot be expected to exert influence on each particular spending bill.
Tea partiers must change that pattern. They must keep up the pressure on Congress and state legislators.
...
- rest at www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12529
GOP Won on Economy, So Focus on It
Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by KenH, Nov 3, 2010.
-
OK. (say) In two years unemployment will still be around 10%. Will this election help or hurt Obama?
-
-
Crabtownboy Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
The Republicans won on the economy and is that good for the US? After all we were doing quite well economically until 2000 when the GOP captured the White House to go along with the control of Congress. Look at what happened, the budget surplus turned into a huge deficit, the economy was in a shambles when the 2008 election was held and the party of "NO" did nothing to help the last two years. It is pas time for both parties to stop being obstructionist and begin working together for the good of the country.
One day I was told that the difference between a Russian optimist and a Russian pessimist goes as follows:
A Russian optimist will say, "Things can't get any worse."
A Russian pessimist will reply, "Oh yes they can."
On this one I am a pessimist in the sense of the two sentences above, things can get worse, much worse. Will they? I hope and pray not. -
Isn't it funny that this working together stuff comes out once the Democrats have basically no choice but to work with the Republicans.
Yes, the Republicans made a mess of things. The establishment became corrupt, greedy, and power hungry and they started acting like, well, Democrats, only a poor man's version. I still blame Republicans for the past two years of Obama/Reid/Pelosi. If they had done as they should have, we wouldn't have had this trio shoving terrible legislation down our throats.
That being said, the Republicans didn't win as much as the Democrats lost. Really, this is the best case scenario. One party controls the house, the other the Senate. They won't likely work together extremely well. Obama is still Obama and Reid is still Reid and the Republican establishment is still the Republican establishment. But, that's all great for us. Why? The past few years of Congressional action has been terrible for the average American. If they can't get much done, that means they won't be putting out crippling legislation on a regular basis, which is great for us.
The best part of all of this is the American people are more involved and more angry than they have been in a while. If these jackals think they are going to go back to business as usual, they can forget it. Americans are going to hold them accountable. That's what this election was all about. Americans told Congress to stop. Stop passing bill like Obamacare. Stop doing things we are telling you not to do. The Democrats ignored that and it cost them. -
I see the (Republican) Fed is going to make another half trillion disappear into Swiss banks.
-
More intellectual dishonesty.
Here's some truth to add to the half-truths you print:
The Republicans made drunken sailors look thrifty. The surplus evaporated to some degree under them.
But there were other factors. Big ones.
Remember that thing called 9/11? Oh yeah, that one. Had an impact on economy, spending, etc. Most of that spending was bipartisan. (No, I didn't agree with quite a bit of it, and I was critical of Bush, the Republican leadership, and the like for much of it).
Remember the wars? With the exception of a couple folks those were bipartisan. And since we didn't have any coupons, we've been paying full price for them.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Remember Barney Frank and Chris Dodd? Remember the push to loan to everyone--particularly certain groups of folks--for political points (don't worry about little issues like "creditworthiness")? There was the genesis of the housing collapse.
Oh, and did you happen to remember that in 2006, Democrats took control, and promised the days of crazy deficits were over? (Pelosi's words!) And were you aware that the House is who comes up with appropriations? The Democratic house?
And were you aware that one of the biggest boondoggles in US history was passed without any Republican input? A lie that has been repeated (by you and others) is that the R's offered no input on healthcare. Wrong...they did; it was simply ignored:
And one other thing: Since Obama's veto will stop any meaningful change (such as the repeal of the unconstitutional, economy-wrecking, anti-freedom Obamacare)--obstruction is all that can be done, sometimes. Give me a stalemate any day over evil legislation! -
From everything I've heard and read, I think the down economy was secondary to the GOP gains this election. The number one reason bar none was Obamacare (and didn't you support Obamacare at one point, Ken?) Think about it, if we do not have Obamacare, the GOP may have picked up some seats, but not 60+. People woke up an realized it was the most destructive piece of legislation since the SCOTUS legislated Roe v. Wade from the bench.
-
Bro. Curtis <img src =/curtis.gif>Site Supporter
This is a lie. The dems still control the Fed, and will even after the lame duck session is over. But I doubt ole' Union Bill will say a bad thing about them.
Nice try. -
I'm libertarian 'til I die,
I'm libertarian 'til I die,
I think I am, I know I am,
I'm libertarian 'til I die.
:) -
-
http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=68540
http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=68539
Both parties have become rather used to ignoring "we the people". We're going to toggle back and forth between feeding the warfare state and feeding the welfare state until we're to broke to even pay attention. -
-
-
Actually, it seems that the republicans won not only on the economy but because of the Obamacare bill that was passed. Obamacare may have even been more responsible than the economy for the "shellacking" Obama and his pro-murder party took
-
It is past time for both parties to get their grubby hands off the economy and let it rebalance and restructure itself instead of trying to inflate more bubbles that burst and cause depressions.
-