Having run out of ideas in 1956 Republicans have tendency to recycle the same old bull. Bull that when they're in power they do not believe in themselves, GOP Revives the "Starve the Beast" Amendment
While conveniently ignoring the supply-side snake oil which tripled the national debt under Ronald Reagan and doubled it again under George W. Bush, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned that "Washington's total disregard for fiscal discipline has jeopardized America's moral, political and economic authority within the world community." His solution to save the "foundation of personal and economic liberty upon which our nation is built" is the balanced budget amendment:
Since members of Congress has given no indication that they intend to alter their behavior, reject unbridled spending and return to the traditions of fiscal restraint, we believe that there is little likelihood that they will propose an amendment. As a result, the American people must act. Let us begin by calling upon every member of Congress and every candidate seeking office to commit to voting for a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment immediately. By raising a united voice in every district in every state in America, we can build the political will for Congress to act.
If Gingrich's litmus test for candidates sounds familiar, it should.
In 1992 and again in 1995, Republicans in the House and Senate narrowly failed in their first effort to drown government in a bathtub through a balanced budget amendment. Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, no wild-eyed liberal by any stretch of the imagination, warned Congress that the GOP gambit would be ''a terrible mistake'' that would pose ''unacceptable economic risks to the nation.'' As the New York Times recalled in 1997:
In his testimony on Friday, Mr. Rubin said he would stress that if the amendment was in force, an economic downturn could quickly ''turn into a recession, and a recession into something worse.''
''The problem is that if the nation does in fact get into a recession,'' he said, ''we now have automatic stabilizers that go into effect that can increase demand in the government sector to offset declines in the private sector. What the balanced budget amendment would require is that during a recession we would have to raise taxes or cut spending to put ourselves back in balance. And that could exacerbate the recession.''
Of course, not a single Republican voted for Clinton's 1993 deficit reduction package, which along with a booming economy helped produce balanced budgets and a CBO-projected $5.6 trillion surplus by 2001.
Newt is actually a store manikin with a recording that repeats the same old lies and hypocrisy.
Bill Kristol is one of the Right's intellectual elite. At least that is what he and his cult of followers keep telling America, Bill Kristol Critiques Health Care Summit He Said He Didn't Watch
On Fox News Sunday today, in a discussion about President Obama's health care summit, regular panelist Bill Kristol first told host Chris Wallace, "I didn't watch it... I have a life."Bill is too in love with his own ego to listen, learn and have a little humility.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) really should consider changing his name to Chicken-Little. It would suit his personality and mental stability perfectly, Sen. Alexander: Using Reconciliation To Pass Health Care Reform Would ‘End The Senate’. One would think that the residents of Tennessee would demand to know why Lamar does not understand that the Senate has already passed the health-care reform bill. Its only a few amendments that would go through reconciliation. It might be time for Lamar to spend more time sitting on the front porch at home then pretending to represent the people of his state.
