Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It also may hinder the search for common ground when one says that all of the problems are due to the actions of the other side.
Perhaps there is two sides to every coin...
Well, reality has to be dealt with. There simply is no way to blame just one side for government spending, but the truth of the what happened during the GWBush administration is not blaming one side. It is reality.
GWBush inherited a budget surplus. No conservatives called for using budget surpluses to pay down the national debt. Not one conservative called for that.
Instead conservatives supported huge tax cuts and conservatives also didn't then cut government recognizing that if you cut revenues, but don't cut spending that creates the potential for budget deficits. This is objective simple math. Acknowledging this can't be seen as partisan or blaming one side. It is what occurred.
Now after supporting huge tax cuts without spending cuts, conservatives then supported expanding the US surveillance state, Medicare Part D, and two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, none of those initiatives were paid for.
Again acknowledging that reality can't be seen as partisan or blaming one side, it is what occurred.
Now, it is just dishonest that when budget deficits and the national debt starts to increase for those conservatives who supported those budget busting policies to pretend they had nothing to do with the national debt or budget and deficits and to only blame the newly elected President.
If reality can be acknowledge then common ground can always be found in dealing with reality, but tea party types/conservatives don't seem to want to deal with the reality of their policy preferences and this is a huge obstacle to common ground.
Wait, wait, wait ...... so if I decide to homeschool or send my children to private school, I can "opt out" of my $5,000+ annual school taxes? And anyone who doesn't have kids, or whose kids are grown and out of the house can "opt out" of school taxes (2/3 of total property taxes)? That's great! But think how much more homeowners with school age children will have to pay!
There is no shame in paying your fair share.
If I have four kids and you have none then what is fair?
Well, reality has to be dealt with. There simply is no way to blame just one side for government spending, but the truth of the what happened during the GWBush administration is not blaming one side. It is reality.
GWBush inherited a budget surplus. No conservatives called for using budget surpluses to pay down the national debt. Not one conservative called for that.
Instead conservatives supported huge tax cuts and conservatives also didn't then cut government recognizing that if you cut revenues, but don't cut spending that creates the potential for budget deficits. This is objective simple math. Acknowledging this can't be seen as partisan or blaming one side. It is what occurred.
Now after supporting huge tax cuts without spending cuts, conservatives then supported expanding the US surveillance state, Medicare Part D, and two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, none of those initiatives were paid for.
Again acknowledging that reality can't be seen as partisan or blaming one side, it is what occurred.
Now, it is just dishonest that when budget deficits and the national debt starts to increase for those conservatives who supported those budget busting policies to pretend they had nothing to do with the national debt or budget and deficits and to only blame the newly elected President.
If reality can be acknowledge then common ground can always be found in dealing with reality, but tea party types/conservatives don't seem to want to deal with the reality of their policy preferences and this is a huge obstacle to common ground.
I wonder why, in your posts, you neglect to talk about this:
I neglect nothing. Again, the tax cuts, and the wars and the expanded Medicare Part D, and the expanded surveillance state had been law for years by 2007. The fiscal damage had already been done.
Again, there can be no common ground with pretending by creating this fantasy world. The tea party members are the same people who supported the very policies that greatly contributed to the budget deficits and increasing national debt, yet they pretend as if these things have nothing to do with the policies they supported.
Again it cannot be repeated enough, that the central complaint the tea party has is that they were taxed enough already. They were saying in 2009, even after President Obama and the Democrats in early 2009 passed a stimulus plan which based on objective reality lowered everyones taxes.
And they complained about budget deficits and the national debt, when in reality the very policies they championed under GWBush were a huge cause of both.
This lack of dealing with objective reality has been the main maker of tea party types and conservatives in general.
I don't think there are any Democrats who think, oh the Democratic party has nothing to do with America's budget deficits or national debt, and Democrats don't discuss budget deficits or the national debt in that manner.
Lying conservatives and tea party members do discuss the national debt and budget deficits as if their policies preferences have nothing to do with them, especially in recent history when the exact opposite is true.
No one has had more to do with American's short term budget deficits and increasing national debt than the conservative party.
Until tea party types and conservatives have a reality check about this truth, this is just a microcosm of their detachment from reality which prevents common ground.
I neglect nothing. Again, the tax cuts, and the wars and the expanded Medicare Part D, and the expanded surveillance state had been law for years by 2007. The fiscal damage had already been done.
Again, there can be no common ground with pretending by creating this fantasy world. The tea party members are the same people who supported the very policies that greatly contributed to the budget deficits and increasing national debt, yet they pretend as if these things have nothing to do with the policies they supported.
Again it cannot be repeated enough, that the central complaint the tea party has is that they were taxed enough already. They were saying in 2009, even after President Obama and the Democrats in early 2009 passed a stimulus plan which based on objective reality lowered everyones taxes.
And they complained about budget deficits and the national debt, when in reality the very policies they championed under GWBush were a huge cause of both.
This lack of dealing with objective reality has been the main maker of tea party types and conservatives in general.
I don't think there are any Democrats who think, oh the Democratic party has nothing to do with America's budget deficits or national debt, and Democrats don't discuss budget deficits or the national debt in that manner.
Lying conservatives and tea party members do discuss the national debt and budget deficits as if their policies preferences have nothing to do with them, especially in recent history when the exact opposite is true.
No one has had more to do with American's short term budget deficits and increasing national debt than the conservative party.
Until tea party types and conservatives have a reality check about this truth, this is just a microcosm of their detachment from reality which prevents common ground.
So, what I bolded, is the only comment you wish to make regarding the 110th and (especially) the 111th Congresses?
(And please keep in mind as you reply the current congress supposedly shut down the whole U.S. government even though the folks who stood in the way represented a minority of only one House of congress.)
As a nation we haven't come this far without grand compromise.
I'll start:TP'ers and Progressives want ALL CHILDREN TO RECEIVE THE BEST EDUCATION IN THE WORLD.
If the TP is libertarian as they seem to want to be, then practically all social issues are common ground with liberals. That being the case, you really can't call them conservative even if they were conservative on economy. However the truth is that most people who call themselves TPs are just regular mainstream partisan republicans who believe common ground is something to be avoided at all cost, because you would be seen as a traitor. This is why they routinely reject bi-partisan solutions.
If I have four kids and you have none then what is fair?
What's my "fair share"? Why should I be forced to pay for government indoctrination of the little heads full of mush and outrageous union salaries and benefits if I don't have children or grandchildren partaking in those "services"?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
