Comments on: Once More, With Feeling

By: Veeshir

Veeshir — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:43:36 +0000

rosignol, you can also look back to the 80s when it was a GOP pres with a Dem Congress that fueled growth.
The question you have to ask is, “Which party do you want to control foreign policy?” and get that party to be pres while the other party gets Congress.

By: rosignol

rosignol — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:34:04 +0000

Yeah. Based on recent experience, if the goal is economic growth, the optimal division of power is a Democratic President (which we’ve got), and a Republican Congress (which we don’t). The R’s will rein in the excesses of the D’s, the D will veto the excesses of the R’s, and only the important stuff will get done. Yay gridlock!

Right now, we’ve got the D’s cramming a wishlist throwing money at just about every idea they’ve had in the last 40 years through congress, and they mean to run the printing presses over at the Treasury 24/7 to pay for it all. That’s not good.

The R’s don’t have a lot to recommend them, other than being less bad about this stuff than the D’s- which is a pretty low bar, but it’s what we’ve got.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:28:50 +0000

Janus,

The Republican track record is dismal, thanks to their tendency toward perpetual, debt-financed warfare. But do you think the Democrats are better? Clinton lucked into a period of economic growth that had nothing to do with his presidency, as well as a gridlock-friendly Republican congress; he acquiesced to a reduced deficit, but did little to promote it. Obama’s plan is to double down in Afghanistan while spending hundreds of billions on every imaginable boondoggle at home. This would be disastrous, both on your charts and to real people in the economy.

One does not have to be in love with Republicans to hope they win the next election convincingly.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:47:30 +0000

There doesn’t seem to be a conversation going on here. Stephen, new content please!

By: Janus Daniels

Janus Daniels — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:51:49 +0000

Obviously, we do have to draw pictures for you.
Try these:
http://chartjunk.karmanaut.com/taxplans/
http://www.cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/usdebt.htm
http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2008/03/american-politi.html
“The Republicans’ track record on those issues is nothing to defend.”
You got that right.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:24:29 +0000

The only “relevant laws” I can think of that might have been passed would have been to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and to de-entitlement-ize Social Security. And maybe to replace the income tax with something less “pro”-gressive.

The Republicans’ track record on those issues is nothing to defend.

By: Janus Daniels

Janus Daniels — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:46:04 +0000

Are you kidding, or can you point to any relevant laws passed in the last 25 months?
I notice that you made no attempt to defend Republicans; don’t expect me to defend the doormats… I mean Democrats.

By: bgates

bgates — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:09:07 +0000

Janus, according to your link, we’re 13 months into the recession – but Republicans haven’t controlled Congress in 25 months.

“Congress”? Law-making body? Ringing any bells?

By: Janus Daniels

Janus Daniels — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:26:47 +0000

You need charts to prove the success of Republican policies:
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/02/06/how-bad-is-it/

By: arhooley

arhooley — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:44:53 +0000

I just had a sleepless night as this monster was passed in the Senate. Yes, I know, it still has to go to conference, but everyone is talking as if it’s a done deal.

Now you post this thing that revives my frail hope that it still may die. Zombieland, here we come.

By: Bob W (the new Kowalsky)

Bob W (the new Kowalsky) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:25:33 +0000

If the President and Congress felt compelled to empty the treasury in some sort of ill-advised stimulus plan, I wish they simply would have bought me an Alpine White Dodge Challenger. . .

By: Brother J

Brother J — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:28:35 +0000

RBJ,

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. (attributed to Mark Twain)

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:26:21 +0000

That is why this bill must be killed. There is no telling how bad the damage to America will be if it passes.

Patrick
http://www.conservativeteaparty.com

By: tim maguire

tim maguire — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Another fine post, by the way. The undisclosed location agrees with you.

By: tim maguire

tim maguire — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:14:25 +0000

We can only hope. The Senate is sturggling with the stimulus bill. The more delay, the more opportunity people have to realize it’s unnecessary.

The best hope for a Republican takeover of congress is the bill’s passage, but in that case the damage will already have been done.

By: jaymaster

jaymaster — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:15:47 +0000

And hopefully, what happened in the elections of 1994 will happen again in 2010.

By: rbj

rbj — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:25:07 +0000

How does that line go

History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, then as a farce.