Bush: We can't let the cost of the war go into the federal budget, people would freak out.
Obama: Part of my campaign promise to have a more transparent government is to put the cost of the war on the federal budget.
TeaBaggers: OMG!!! Socialist Muslim is spending too much money.

You know the GOP has gone off the deep end when one of the principal architects of Reagan's gigantic tax cuts in 1981 agrees with Paul Krugman on what we need to do to get out of this recession.

Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of "The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take."

Filthy lib

It's actually Congresses fault.

That whole war in Iraq thing sure worked out swell, didn't it?

It's pretty much an opinion-free article, but I'm sure someone will claim otherwise.

Arkanaut: Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of "The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take."

Filthy lib

In the new GOP anyone who doesn't believe that 100% of government funcions should be privitized, no regulations on said enterprises should exist, a 100 foot electrified wall will stop imigration, we need to throw out every law other than the constition while at the same time legislate moralities based on reactionary sects of christianity is a RINO.

You can only rape the country so long, the mind died a long time ago, now the body is finally shuffling off.

You're just watching some more election year distancing from the policies of Bush II. Once Romneybama gets elected, you can pretty much rest assured that it will be Business-As-Usual in America.

/Remember, shop as usual. And avoid panic buying.

When we stop paying for Bush's mistakes we'll stop actively blaming him for the problems that result from them.

Arkanaut: Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of "The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take."

Filthy lib

I don't disagree with the point of this article, but two of his other books' titles tell an amusing story:

Reagonomics: Supply-side economics in action - published in 1981
The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward - published in 2009

But Republicans and right wing media have been telling me it's the Obama recession since before 2009. Why would they lie?

Citrate1007: In the new GOP anyone who doesn't believe that 100% of government funcions should be privitized, no regulations on said enterprises should exist, a 100 foot electrified wall will stop imigration, we need to throw out every law other than the constition while at the same time legislate moralities based on reactionary sects of christianity is a RINO.

They believe it until they win control of Congress and/or the presidency. Then they'll not bother trying to legislate any of it except for privatization deals for their cronies and the stripping away of regulation for industries that contributed to their campaigns. Oh, and, of course, tax cuts.

What's with the C.B.O.? Why do they hate America? Don't they know it's unpatriotic to point out Bush's influence on the economy (or foreign policy, or domestic policy, or...).

So lets have the Bush tax cuts expire this year. Pretty please.

Republicans are more desperate to forget Bush than Germans are to forget Hitler.

They absolutely bristle at any mention of the man and their personal role in supporting his regime.

If Obama's only plan is to run against Bush and racists, he might as well pack his bags now.

He is going to have to make a case why he should stay on the job. You can't do that pointing at everyone else.

HotWingConspiracy: Republicans are more desperate to forget Bush than Germans are to forget Hitler.

They absolutely bristle at any mention of the man and their personal role in supporting his regime.

Except Republicans want more of the same.

thurstonxhowell: I don't disagree with the point of this article, but two of his other books' titles tell an amusing story:

Reagonomics: Supply-side economics in action - published in 1981
The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward - published in 2009

It's good to know that there are still people out there who are man enough to admit they're wrong.

Impeach Bush! Impeach Bush!

Am I too late?

thurstonxhowell: Arkanaut: Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of "The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take."

Filthy lib

I don't disagree with the point of this article, but two of his other books' titles tell an amusing story:

Reagonomics: Supply-side economics in action - published in 1981
The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward - published in 2009

To be fair, what Reaganomics was in 1981 and what it became by 2009 were completely different things. The former was a relatively worthwhile and situational economic theory that deserved to be tested. The latter is an absolutist religious dogma that deserves to be thrown in an incinerator.

barneyfifesbullet: If Obama's only plan is to run against Bush and racists, he might as well pack his bags now.

He is going to have to make a case why he should stay on the job. You can't do that pointing at everyone else.

I'd say that depends on who you're pointing at. With Bush you've got a guy who wrecked a nation's economy and with Romney you've got a guy who wrecked businesses economically. If all Obama did was point to those two financial wizards and say, "I won't do that shiat," he'd win in a walk. He doesn't have to make a case as to why he should stay on the job when the GOP is so effectively making the case of why they shouldn't be.

FTFA:
Republicans would have us believe that somehow we could have avoided the recession and balanced the budget since 2009 if only they had been in charge. This would be a neat trick considering that the recession began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Jesus, if the Right would just accept this single simple fact, I would be SO much more forgiving of them. Party of Personal Responsibility, my skinny white ass...

derpdeederp: So lets have the Bush tax cuts expire this year. Pretty please.

Let sequestration happen. Really. Just let it happen.

EnviroDude: Bush's fault

Well, look at that. You finally said something truthful. I applaud you.

This gentleman seems to forget that the only people who will listen to him are the people who knew this all along. The ones he's trying to reach, namely moderate/sane Republicans, have already either gone full conservatard or fishing.

If the citation were to come from Jesus himself, the current crop of "conservatives" would a) be appalled that he looks like he's from Kenya and, b) demand to see the long form paper of the study, but only if it comes from God himself.

/Herself?
//Itself?
///Godself?

Bruce is clearly forgetting about Obama's time machine.

barneyfifesbullet: If Obama's only plan is to run against Bush and racists, he might as well pack his bags now.

He is going to have to make a case why he should stay on the job. You can't do that pointing at everyone else.

Here's the case in three simple sentences:

1) When I was elected, America was a total disaster.
2) I'm righting the ship and making America better.
3) If Mitt Romney is elected, he will drive America back to total disaster.

The Bush tax cuts need to expire. All of them.
Then you need to increase the top end rates a bit more.
Finally, a healthy chop to military spending is in order.

THEN you will start to be able to dig out of your mess.

Extending the Bush tax cuts then adding even more tax cuts for the rich while increasing military spending (as Romney is advocating) is pretty much the dumbest course of action imaginable... so of course that is what the GOP will fight to the death for.

God help america.

barneyfifesbullet: If Obama's only plan is to run against Bush and racists, he might as well pack his bags now.

He is going to have to make a case why he should stay on the job. You can't do that pointing at everyone else.


Past economic situations are relevant. Do you think that the only thing we should talk about are Obama's policies and accomplishments and nothing that came before?

Epoch_Zero: It's almost as if what we were telling you about Bush was true all along and you didn't realize it until it was too late.

Shouting "I told you so" from a sinking ship is no fun.

They sank it precisely because they knew the libs would say "I told you so", and they didn't want them to enjoy it.

1) Fark it up
2) Deny, deny, deny
3) Blow it up before anybody has time to reflect on who is to blame

A simple 3-step process that defines everything the GOP ever does.

eiger: They believe it until they win control of Congress and/or the presidency. Then they'll not bother trying to legislate any of it except for privatization deals for their cronies and the stripping away of regulation for industries that contributed to their campaigns. Oh, and, of course, tax cuts.

And if you criticize that expansion of government, you're a traitor who wants the terrorists to win, so why don't you just move to another country?

ghare: derpdeederp: So lets have the Bush tax cuts expire this year. Pretty please.

Let sequestration happen. Really. Just let it happen.

Im fine with that as well.

Epoch_Zero: It's almost as if what we were telling you about Bush was true all along and you didn't realize it until it was too late.

Shouting "I told you so" from a sinking ship is no fun.

To be fair, Bruce Bartlett was deemed an apostate in 2005 when he was fired from NCPA for his work that led to his book Impostor.

FTA:During the 2000 campaign, Mr. Bush warned that budget surpluses were dangerous because Congress might spend them

It's much better that they spend money that they don't have.