Republicans Love Government Spending When on Weapons

In another case of blatant GOP hypocrisy, Republican members of the Senate are threatening to stop the ratification of the New START treaty, which is a significant breakthrough in the slowing down of the global arms race. Officials like Brent Scowcroft, George Schultz, Colin Powell, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Reagan Chief of Staff Howard Baker, and former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) have all urged the Senate to ratify New START. But what is the problem? Republicans want the Obama administration to spend more government money on weapons, including nuclear weapon facilities.

Here is how the world is seeing this tactic:

Many U.S. allies had assumed New START would easily be ratified this year. The treaty commits the United States and Russia to modest cuts in their long-range, ready-to-use weapons and extends a 15-year system allowing each side to check the other's nuclear facilities. It is the cornerstone of the Obama administration's attempt to "reset" relations with Moscow.

The treaty has been endorsed by six former secretaries of state and five former secretaries of defense from both parties, and nearly all former commanders of U.S. nuclear forces. French Ambassador Pierre Vimont said recently that after diplomats cabled home that the treaty could run into problems, "People ask us, 'Have you been drinking?' " Link

And yet Teabaggers in sizable amounts support Republicans. Again, how are we supposed to take this movement seriously?

GOP Job-Killing Agenda

From the Senate Democrats:

House Minority Whip Admits Economy is More Important Than Deficit

As we speak, Teabaggers are jumping ship from the Republican party after learning that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has admitted that cutting taxes will "dig the hole deeper" when it comes to the deficit, but ultimately what is more important than the deficit is getting the economy going again.

In response to a question asking whether Republican tax cuts would hurt the deficit, Cantor said this:

What I said in the beginning is, um, if you have less revenues coming into the federal government, and more expenditures, what does that add up to? Certainly you're gonna dig the hole deeper. But you also have to understand, if the priority is to get people back to work, is to start growing this economy again, uh, then you don't wanna make it more expensive for job creators. Link

Here is the video:

Director of President Reagan's Office of Management & Budget Says GOP Caused Economic Apocalypse

For Republicans and many Teabaggers (see photo to the left), President Ronald Reagan is a hero and icon. But the truth is that Reagan oversaw a 189% increase in the national debt during his eight years in office. His economic philosophy of giving tax cuts to the most wealthy has led to the average American, which Teabaggers are supposed to epitomize, to pay the debt.

Well, some people are starting to realize what Reaganomics in general and what passes for current Republican economic policy specifically has and will do to this country. Joining this group is David Stockman, who was Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget. He published an op-ed in the New York Times on July 31. He outlines four deformations of the economic apocalypse, but this passage is the one that needs to be heard the loudest:

This debt explosion has resulted not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party’s embrace, about three decades ago, of the insidious doctrine that deficits don’t matter if they result from tax cuts.

In 1981, traditional Republicans supported tax cuts, matched by spending cuts, to offset the way inflation was pushing many taxpayers into higher brackets and to spur investment. The Reagan administration’s hastily prepared fiscal blueprint, however, was no match for the primordial forces — the welfare state and the warfare state — that drive the federal spending machine.

Soon, the neocons were pushing the military budget skyward. And the Republicans on Capitol Hill who were supposed to cut spending exempted from the knife most of the domestic budget — entitlements, farm subsidies, education, water projects. But in the end it was a new cadre of ideological tax-cutters who killed the Republicans’ fiscal religion. Link

Jim Renacci and His Anti-Environmental Buddies

From MyDD:

In Ohio's 16th Congressional District, Rep. John Boccieri(D) is being challenged by Jim Renacci (R). Boccieri is an environmental champion who voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) and who received a 93% League of Conservation Voters score in 2009. In contrast, Jim Renacci erroneously believes that comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, far from helping our economy, national security, and environment, would instead "amount to one of the largest taxes in American history, would cause electricity prices to skyrocket and would very likely bankrupt an enormous portion of our domestic energy industry."

While Renacci's anti-environmental views are not surprising, given the groups and individuals who support his candidacy, they are disturbing nonetheless. Let's look at a few of Renacci's key endorsements and sources of money.

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"One And The Same"

Sometimes (OK, most of the time) political ads can be over the top. But in this case, the Republican/Tea Party association is exactly as it is portrayed in this video. There really is no difference in the two groups. Republicans have moved so far to the right, that the Republican Party that tried to impeach President Clinton now looks moderate.

Teabaggers Being Fooled by Sarah Palin Again

I continue to be astounding by the utter ignorance of most of the Teabaggers. They believe President Obama and the Democrats are out to destroy the country. Why they would do that, I haven't heard a good reason yet. But yet they get behind a political hack and grifter like Sarah Palin and believe almost anything she says.

Let's look at the Cap and Trade issue. Congressman John Boccieri voted for a climate bill that contained a form of Cap and Trade last year. Local Teabaggers like the ones pictured here think it is a threat to our liberty. Again, no rational reason to think this, but I guess because Obama supports it, it must be bad. But I wonder how they would feel if they knew (or would acknowledge) that cap and trade was a signature part of the McCain/Palin climate change platform during the 2008 election?

Seriously, this is one for the ages:


So as we've repeated over and over on this blog — the Teabaggers claim to have policy stances, but often they are in direct opposition to what they actually want. Throw in that they blame President Obama and Democrats for things that Republicans have done, it makes you wonder where this anger is coming from. Where was it when President Bush was running up the deficit and authorizing illegal wiretapping of American citizens? Why aren't they going after Palin for attacking American liberty? Very strange, isn't it.