Saturday, November 06, 2004

Voodoo Economics

"Of course, the real burden of the national debt will be borne by our children and children's children. This is precisely why Americans once held a deeply ingrained moral taboo against deficit spending. Budget deficits are the ultimate form of what our nation was founded to protect against taxation without representation."

"The runaway national debt has much the same impact on our nation's financial condition as termites do on the structure of a house."

"A basic ingredient to achieving the American Dream is thrift. . . By hijacking our savings, the government hijacks our opportunity to experience the American Dream."

"To be perfectly honest, we would love to keep playing Santa Claus. We could pretend the debt doesn't exist; pass out $1.6 trillion of government largesse each year, and let the next Congress deal with the rising sea of red ink. . . Regrettably, this is precisely the approach the President has chosen with his most recent budget plan. In what we regard as a spetacular abdication of leadership, the President's plan to deal with the debt is to do--nothing. . . We dub this the Democrat' 'party-on" strategy. That strategy is to keep spending and borrowing, and worry about the red ink tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or next decade."

"Whether a balanced budget amendment is approved this year or not, we regard the elimination of the deficit as our central mission. We recently asked Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan what he thought would be the impact of balancing the budget. He told us 'I think real incomes would significantly improve. . .Americans would look forward to their children doing better than they.' In other words, it would be a major step toward restoring the American Dream."

"We acknowledge that the job of balancing the budget is going to be the most difficult job for Congress to accomplish in decades. But in partnership with the American people, it will get done. This commitment we owe not just to our children, but equally to the generations of Americans who came before us and helped build this free and prosperous nation."

"Isn't it time we pushed corporate American off the federal dole? Corporate subsidies and handouts have become pervasive in the federal budget."

Above quotes from Restoring the Dream, The Bold New Plan by House Republicans, copyright 1995 by the Republican National Committee. Similar views are present in the Contract with America. The Republican Party seems to have flip flopped on deficit spending.

5 Comments:

Blogger Pamela J. Leavey said...

FROM DU:

Hello DU,

Chris Heinz here, newly minted casualty of the Bush economic plan. Like many of you, I put my life aside to fight for this campaign, and to fight for a man I deeply care about, my stepfather John Kerry. I am proud of the man, and of our campaigns work. I am proud of my mother and my family, and the Edwards family (my thoughts are with you Elizabeth). Every day I traveled this country, I was also humbled, truly humbled, by the fact that I would meet volunteers and activists who were putting all of their excess energy and hope into this process and the man, despite arguably fewer incentives than those in my immediate life.

Like many of you, I do not think anger is my current dominant feeling, though it is present. Nor is it exhaustion, as I would have guessed a week ago as we campaigned 24/7. Rather, I feel sad and confused. I feel sad because I believe this country made a grave error in judgement on tuesday. And I feel confused because I dont feel the same closeness for my country, but was raised a patriot and by default want to love all of it.

So here we are. We move forward. Each of us will have to look inside ourselves about whether to heed this call for national unity. In my opinion, we owe our neighbors, democrats and republican, the same basic honor we did before November 2. But as for this adminstration, I think I feel the same way as most on this board: I dont owe George W. Bush shit. He does not get a clean slate from me. He has ruled this country for four years by focusing on what makes us different and it is unforgivable. History will make this clear.

In the meantime, thanks DU for your passion. And last night, for your courage. The "my name is" thread was perhaps the most powerful, courageous and cathartic I have ever seen.

Good night,

Chris Heinz

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2598145&mesg_id=2598145

10:03 PM  
Blogger Pamela J. Leavey said...

Also From DU:

From Elizabeth Edwards


Since I cannot start a thread (which I think is a good rule by the way), I have to hijack one -- at least briefly. I do want this thread to continue on, though, because the topic is so important. (Moderators can feel free to move this, of course.)

But I also had something I wanted to say to all of you. You know that I read DU and have for quite some time, long before any of you knew my name. I really appreciate the support you have given me on this latest hurdle and before. It means a lot to me and to John.

Now that I have more time, I will post some, too. But today I want to share something inspiring, part of a letter from Thomas Jefferson. This is from the new Bernstein biography of Jefferson. Jefferson sent the letter in 1798 after the passage of the Sedition Act:

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2604461&mesg_id=2604461

10:05 PM  
Blogger J Dougherty said...

I posted this very heartfelt comment at a site on November 3, 2004:


These may not be everyone’s thoughts today, but I just thought I would share my own sentiments…

__________________________________________

The Red, the White and the Very, Very Blue
__________________________________________


True Americans: Okay, Ollie Ollie Oxen Free. Game over now. You are hidden far too well. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

I should not state I dislike my country today. I can very easily state, however, that I am embarrassed by half of it.

As an American today…
Is this the reality I am to face?
Is the reality that the majority of this country is as ugly as all this?
Is this the embarrassment I must suffer?

We neighbor CANADA. Today, I am ashamed that they see our media broadcasts.
We have fellow Americans residing in IRAQ. In a country where our “green zones” are ever-shrinking, we continue to place soldiers there, soldiers whose cause for the war they fight is questionable.
We are present in a war for which the ENTIRE WORLD clearly understands is with much dubious purpose. We still wage a war that - in any regard - will make our president rich beyond anyone else’s sins.

Today…
I am still an American.

But, today…
I am a citizen of a country that has reelected the highest criminal of our modern day.
I am a part of a country that chooses to continue committing those crimes on behalf of one individual’s fellow Texans, his scoundrel constituents.

Today, I understand how parents must feel about themselves when their child is iniquitous by no comprehendible imperfections of their own.

Today, I am almost speechless.
Today, I hang my American head low.
Today, I furl and conceal my American flag.
Today, I hide my American pride from the world.

Today, this November 3, 2004, I place much different meanings than the conventional symbolisms for the “good ol’ Red, White and Blue”.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

RED is the blood we continue to spill, needlessly by integrity, full of purpose by the rogue. It is the color of my American face by this fact.

WHITE is the color of ‘the man’ who still reigns victorious, who is still running the world, and who still feels colorblindness is a handicap.

BLUE is the mood I am guaranteed for the next one-thousand four-hundred and sixty days.

The RED is flowing, and angry; the WHITE is proudly shaking its fist in the air; and the BLUE…the BLUE is so very, very deep.

On November 3, 2004…I am an embarrassed American.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Joseph Dougherty
Los Angeles, CA
jed@jedifice.com
Jedifice Consulting, Inc
http://jedifice.com

10:12 PM  
Blogger Pamela J. Leavey said...

By DocORock, at 10:12 PM

Hey DocORock!

You found us! We are keeping the Kerry fires burning here!

Kerrygoddess

10:21 PM  
Blogger Pamela J. Leavey said...

Here's the PDF link to the John COnyers letter and I am starting a thread on this too:

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/gaoinvestvote2004ltr11504.pdf

10:29 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home