Saturday, August 02, 2008

There You Go Again: Read My Lips 2.0

As Ronald Reagan said to Jimmy Carter in 1976, "There you go again." Or as George H. W. Bush said in 1988:

John McCain, mumbling across the country as he tries to con Americans into four more years of the wildest spending spree in American history, told an audience in Colorado, "I want to look you in the eye: I will not raise taxes or support a tax increase."

George W. Bush, the rich New Englander with the faux Texas drawl, has only known personal wealth. The kind of wealth that allows you to just go out and buy things. Like oil companies or baseball teams. Or even Presidential races. But in the wrong hands, wealth like that can cause you to behave just like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton out on the town, with a reckless disregard for the consequences of hocking America's future.

So, when Senator McCain tells us that he won't raise taxes, it should come as no surprise. Of course he will say that. It's what Republicans say. Lower taxes. Stronger America. Smaller government. More freedom. There they go again.

They've been telling us that since 1980. So, Senator McCain: exactly how are our taxes lower than they were in 1980? How is America stronger? How do we have less government in our lives? And how are we freer?

Maybe the total federal tax burden is lower. But to pay for it, the national debt increased from $910 billion to $9.5 trillion from 1980 to 2008. That's a stunning increase that took us from 26.1% to 38% of the GDP . Republicans may have cut some federal taxes (mostly for the wealthy), but they shoved the costs onto the future, borrowing from the People's Republic of China, a country not exactly known for wanting a strong America.

Then, the Republicans restored the Imperial Presidency (which had been hacked apart following the abuses of Richard Nixon) and used the cover of the War on Drugs Terror to increase the level of government intrusion into our lives.

This wild-child, Hollywood crazy behavior has to stop while there is still an independent country left (at the rate we are selling our future to the Communist Capitalist Chinese, that's not very long). John McCain has some incoherent plan to “reduce waste fraud, and abuse” but he cannot demonstrate a budget plan that takes in as much money as it spends.

Show us the money, Senator, or quit talking about it. Give us exactly the things you would cut out of the budget in order to balance it. Or else just tell us the truth: you have no intention of reducing the size of government, you have no intention of making America stronger, you have no intention of reducing the intrusion of government into our bedrooms, our faith communities, and our thoughts. You intend to extend the reign of the Rhinestone Cowboy Republic, just like every other Republican for the past 28 years. You're all swagger and no substance.

Every time a McBush supporter says that the Republicans will lower taxes, make America stronger, reduce the size of government and increase freedom, smile like the Gipper, and say, “There you go again.” And then vote to throw them out for good.

1 comment:

Jon said...

In our national history we have had two administrations that have spent money like drunken sailors. The tragic laugh is both were Republicans. These are folks who promised that lower taxes and smaller government would save us. In fact all that happened is both ran up unheard of debt. Thanks to Regan and Bush 43, Icons of the republican party and promotes of the small government lie, we are now so far in debt that it is endangering our nation. Thanks guys.