Liberal Pipe Dreams: Gingrich and the GOP Balanced the Budget - Not Bill Clinton (Ron Paul, Congress)
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Newt Gingrich and company -- for all their faults -- have received virtually no credit for balancing the budget. Yet today's surplus is, in part, a byproduct of the GOP's single-minded crusade to end 30 years of red ink. Arguably, Gingrich's finest hour as Speaker came in March 1995 when he rallied the entire Republican House caucus behind the idea of eliminating the deficit within seven years.
Skeptics said it could not be done in seven years. The GOP did it in four.
Now let us contrast this with the Clinton fiscal record. Recall that it was the Clinton White House that fought Republicans every inch of the way in balancing the budget in 1995. When Republicans proposed their own balanced-budget plan, the White House waged a shameless Mediscare campaign to torpedo the plan -- a campaign that the Washington Post slammed as "pure demagoguery." It was Bill Clinton who, during the big budget fight in 1995, had to submit not one, not two, but five budgets until he begrudgingly matched the GOP's balanced-budget plan. In fact, during the height of the budget wars in the summer of 1995, the Clinton administration admitted that "balancing the budget is not one of our top priorities."
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Sorry Libs, no revisionist history here. This article is from 1998. Feel free to lambaste Cato as "right-leaning." I'll concede that. But in doing so, be prepared to provide evidence that Cato got it wrong.
Clinton is credited for the budget because he was better at blaming the opposition, and taking credit than the GOP.. Obama, is trying the same plays, but I dont think he'll be anywhere near as successful as Clinton because the budget isnt going his way..
That's precisely the point. No revisionist history. Please exit the forum immediately. It's clear that you're out of your league and have nothing to contribute.
actually you can thank ross perot. :-)
the republicans and democrats just happened to do something the american people wanted done.
would be nice if they actually kept it that way.
" If we decide to take this level of business creating ability nationwide, we'll all be plucking chickens for a living."
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, the public debt should be reduced and the arrogance of public officials should be controlled."
" If we decide to take this level of business creating ability nationwide, we'll all be plucking chickens for a living."
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, the public debt should be reduced and the arrogance of public officials should be controlled."
Ron Paul said it in 2008 The gop and dems laughed...
Who is laughing now.
Looks like 2010 and 2012 might be the return of sanity.
You mean to tell me that, after all the posts i've read bashing GWB and holding Clinton up to Budget God Status, not a single liberal will come in and try to debunk these stated facts?
I don't waste braincells reading Cato, but the GOP Congress does deserve some credit for balancing the budget. However, Clinton campaigned on streamlining government and reforming welfare, it's not as though it was all done over his objections. Much of the government shrinkage was administrative as well as legislative.
The more interesting question is, was balancing the budget an unambiguous macroeconomic good? (No.)
They think the president makes all the policy.
No, the president goes golfing, while congress makes policy.
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