Republicans and the national debt. (Or, do as I say, not as I do.)

Republicans and the national debt. (Or, do as I say, not as I do.)
by Patrick English (my Facebook friend) on Sunday, April 17, 2011. 

As I care very much about the national debt, and in an effort to be fair to the Republicans who profess such deep and apparently sincere concern about the national debt while genuflecting before the Tea Baggers, I decided to look into just how many members of the GOP voted for then-President Clinton's deficit reduction plan. You know, the one that resulted in a budget surplus, had us on the path to paying off the national debt, led to years of economic expansion, a reduction in unemployment, falling poverty and other good things. And I was shocked, shocked, to discover that not a single Republican had voted for that budget. Not one. And yet it was sound fiscal policy that led directly to years of economic growth.

Realizing that I couldn't use that as the only measure of the GOP's sincerity on the national debt, I thought I owed it to them to check whether or not they'd supported the George W. Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. You know, the ones that led to an immediate increase in the national debt, a huge increase in US borrowing from foreign countries like China and which thus weakened us seriously and immediately. And believe it or not, they did! How odd, to think that these paragons of fiscal responsibility had not only voted against a plan that was fiscally responsible, they voted FOR one that was the height of fiscal irresponsibility! Who'd have thought it?

But in an effort to be certain I hadn't accidentally picked the only two examples of Republicans saying one thing and doing another, I thought I'd check and see if they'd voted to increase the national debt under George W. Bush. Surely they hadn't done so, not when they were handed a sound budget, a shrinking deficit and a chance to get the country out of debt. Incredibly, it turned out they had indeed voted to increase the debt ceiling under Bush. And not just once, as might be expected when cutting taxes during a time of war for the first time IN HISTORY, either. No, they voted to increase the debt ceiling under Bush 19 times. Let me spell that out in case you missed it the first time. NINETEEN times. That would be ten times, and nine more times after that. Or nine and then ten, if you prefer.

Now I realize that this is all going to come as quite a shock if you watch Fox News, since they will never, ever tell you any of these things, but it doesn't make them any less true. And you might want to think about them as November approaches and you head to the voting booth, debating just how much country you want to leave for your kids, your grandkids and the future of our country. Because unless you only want to leave them lip service, you should think twice about the Republicans who are very good at telling you one thing while doing the exact opposite. Those tough deficit hawks that they are.