Memo on Inheritance
Culture 11:01 PM
If tonight's message of hope and unity and holding hands through adversity left you feeling a little bit better about the state of our nation, you're not alone. You're not alone, but you must be perhaps more than a little high.
It's hard not to see the irony in the message we've heard repeated again and again, that President Obama inherited this bad economy from George Bush. The message: "Don't blame me for the deficit, it was here when I arrived." This argument is both ironic and breathtaking when we consider the massive Chinese debt that he proudly proposes we bequeath to our children, and their children, and their children.
We've heard it a thousand times. George Bush inherited a budget surplus, Barack Obama inherited a massive deficit and two wars.
Let's get into this concept. Think back in time to what really happened, spin aside.
What George Bush inherited was an economic downturn. Even before the events of 9/11, we knew that the economy was about to be in trouble. In the last few years of the exiting Clinton administration, pressure mounted to more closely control the economy and raise interest rates because growth had been explosive and inflation was beginning to be a real concern. Critics said that Greenspan had not done enough to curb economic growth and that a downturn was inevitable. It was common knowledge that either President Bush or President Gore would have the serious proposition of an economic slide waiting on their desk upon their inauguration. And in 2001, when Bush took office, the tech bubble collapsed and took with it several sectors of the economy. People's portfolios took a hit, and the Dow sputtered and fell. Then came 9/11. There was no way to sustain the surpluses, war or no war.
Now, let's tackle what President Obama "inherits" today. It's super-easy to forget while we get lost in all the campaign spin and rhetoric that Obama is in fact not a Washington outsider at all. Let's not forget that Obama was elected into the Senate in 2004, and served our nation for the entirety of Bush's second term as president. That means that as Obama and the Democrats point fingers at the exiting administration for the policies and debts left behind, there may be more than a few fingers pointing back at themselves.
Since 2004, Obama never voted against funding the Iraq and Afghanistan offensives that he loves to decry, despite chance after chance to act. He took heat for this, along with other primary opponents from rivals Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. Yet, the charge never tended to stick. Obama didn't take the chance to stand for the American people as massive bills passed the legislature, many of which included huge pork programs with more political aid than practical aid to the districts they served. Obama even brought home plenty of pork to his own state, securing an earmark for the University of Chicago Hospital right before his wife mysteriously received a doubling of her salary from the board. So, isn't it fair to say that President Obama, as well as all other incumbent House and Senate Democrats, are partially if not equally to blame for the mess left behind by the past few years?
In his rebuttal following the president's address, Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, rightly stated, “Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It’s irresponsible. And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.”
The governor also rightly said that the Republicans were recently fired with cause, because they lost their way. Republicans strayed far from the guiding principles that the people sent them to uphold in the first place. On their watch, massive spending and government expansion became commonplace, and accountability was lost. How then, can the people be so angry that now they are standing up for what they believed in their hearts to be right in the first place? It is long, long past time for them to proudly be the party of "no".
It's hard not to see the irony in the message we've heard repeated again and again, that President Obama inherited this bad economy from George Bush. The message: "Don't blame me for the deficit, it was here when I arrived." This argument is both ironic and breathtaking when we consider the massive Chinese debt that he proudly proposes we bequeath to our children, and their children, and their children.
We've heard it a thousand times. George Bush inherited a budget surplus, Barack Obama inherited a massive deficit and two wars.
Let's get into this concept. Think back in time to what really happened, spin aside.
What George Bush inherited was an economic downturn. Even before the events of 9/11, we knew that the economy was about to be in trouble. In the last few years of the exiting Clinton administration, pressure mounted to more closely control the economy and raise interest rates because growth had been explosive and inflation was beginning to be a real concern. Critics said that Greenspan had not done enough to curb economic growth and that a downturn was inevitable. It was common knowledge that either President Bush or President Gore would have the serious proposition of an economic slide waiting on their desk upon their inauguration. And in 2001, when Bush took office, the tech bubble collapsed and took with it several sectors of the economy. People's portfolios took a hit, and the Dow sputtered and fell. Then came 9/11. There was no way to sustain the surpluses, war or no war.
Now, let's tackle what President Obama "inherits" today. It's super-easy to forget while we get lost in all the campaign spin and rhetoric that Obama is in fact not a Washington outsider at all. Let's not forget that Obama was elected into the Senate in 2004, and served our nation for the entirety of Bush's second term as president. That means that as Obama and the Democrats point fingers at the exiting administration for the policies and debts left behind, there may be more than a few fingers pointing back at themselves.
Since 2004, Obama never voted against funding the Iraq and Afghanistan offensives that he loves to decry, despite chance after chance to act. He took heat for this, along with other primary opponents from rivals Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. Yet, the charge never tended to stick. Obama didn't take the chance to stand for the American people as massive bills passed the legislature, many of which included huge pork programs with more political aid than practical aid to the districts they served. Obama even brought home plenty of pork to his own state, securing an earmark for the University of Chicago Hospital right before his wife mysteriously received a doubling of her salary from the board. So, isn't it fair to say that President Obama, as well as all other incumbent House and Senate Democrats, are partially if not equally to blame for the mess left behind by the past few years?
In his rebuttal following the president's address, Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, rightly stated, “Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It’s irresponsible. And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.”
The governor also rightly said that the Republicans were recently fired with cause, because they lost their way. Republicans strayed far from the guiding principles that the people sent them to uphold in the first place. On their watch, massive spending and government expansion became commonplace, and accountability was lost. How then, can the people be so angry that now they are standing up for what they believed in their hearts to be right in the first place? It is long, long past time for them to proudly be the party of "no".
Posted by Nick Stone
on 11:01 PM.
Filed under
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and the hopiates throng around him, waiting for their grand exalted poobah to hand out mortgage checks whilst walking on water. color me red, for mad. the nerve to insinuate that he could be blamed for anything. drawlines, what are you thinking? *wink*
You said a mouthful! Thanks for the comment.