New York Times columnist David Brooks said on Sunday that it was "insane" for Republicans in Congress, including every GOP member of the House, to support a spending freeze in the middle of a recession.... "The problem with them and the problem with Limbaugh in terms of intellectual philosophy is they are stuck with Reagan," Brooks said during an appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "They are stuck with the idea that government is always the problem. A lot of Republicans up in Capitol Hill right now are calling for a spending freeze in a middle of a recession/depression. That is insane. But they are thinking the way they thought in 1982, if we can only think that way again, that is just insane. And there are a lot of Republicans like David Frum ... who are trying to say Reagan was right for his era, but it is time to move on. And there are just not a lot of them on Capitol Hill right now, and I think the party is looking for that kind of Republican."
If I see another clip of Ronald Reagan holding forth that "Government isn't the solution to the problem; government IS the problem", I think I'm going to puke. That today's GOP seems bent on channeling the Gipper really only serves to indicate just how clueless and ideologically bankrupt the party of Reagan truly is. When the leader of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, can with a straight face opine that never in the course of recorded history has government created a job...well, what can you do? It would seem the revisionist history is all around us, no?
I'm no fan of David Brooks- far from it- but it's nice to see that at least one Conservative pundit has the intellectual wherewithal to recognize that the failed ideology of the Reagan and Bush years is NOT the "solution" we need. Unless, of course, they really ARE trying to turn America into a Third World country with an economy to match. And who's the intellectual lightweight in the GOP who decided that a spending freeze seemed like a REALLY good idea? Good God, y'all...can you possibly try looking beyond your own narrow self-interest for once?
Government may not be the solution, but in the case of the current recession, it's definitely NOT the problem, either. In fact, what other entity has the resources and the ability to effect wide-ranging global changes on the scale that the federal government can? No, there's no guarantee that ANY of the measures in the process of being implemented by the Obama Administration will work. I can tell you one thing, though; doing nothing is not the answer. I know that Republicans hate being compared and contrasted with Herbert Hoover, but it wouldn't hurt so much if it weren't so true. Well-meaning, albeit clueless and completely self-absorbed, Republicans have somehow managed to convince themselves that the way to stimulate the economy and solve our problems is to do...well, nothing.
Here's a thought: truth be told, no one likes the reality that the federal government is having to spend money to bailout industries. In a perfect world, the economic cycle would be allowed to run it's course and weed out weak and the sick businesses. Unfortunately, due to the greed, avarice, and malfeasance of George W. Bush's eight-year Reign of Error ©, things are what they are. In order to keep this country afloat, the federal government simply has to take drastic action. Doing nothing is a prescription for disaster...and does anyone really want to take a chance on finding out if this barrel has a bottom...and learning just how low that bottom might be?
Memo to Republicans: there's a reason- actually, several- why you were voted out of power. You had your chance; you screwed the pooch. Now it's time to LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE HELL OFF THE BUS. Being the party of "NO!!" is not a substitute for principled, inspired leadership. Capice??
