ARRA News Service
News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles. Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used.
Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year]
Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)
    Home Page
   

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)

Monday, November 01, 2010

The Liberals' Spending Delusions and the 2010 Elections

Chris Battle
By Chris Battle, Contributing Author: The churn building toward Election Day is achieving a kind of cannibalistic feeding frenzy as liberal pundits, Democratic strategists, and MoveOn activists try to spin the public’s coming rejection of the Obama agenda. It’s not that the White House and Democratic Congress tried to cram left-wing policies down the esophagus of a center-right nation; it’s that they didn’t cram hard enough.

Here is a typical lament from former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich: “A stimulus too small to significantly reduce unemployment, a TARP that didn't trickle down to Main Street, financial reform that doesn't fundamentally restructure Wall Street, and healthcare reforms that don't promise to bring down healthcare costs have all created an enthusiasm gap. They've fired up the right, demoralized the left, and generated unease among the general population.”

Building upon an already unsustainable defici , engaging in more spending to bail out reckless banks, issuing more regulation on the business community, and creating a true government-run healthcare system: This, he says, would have changed the election year dynamics--firing up liberal voters and demoralizing conservatives, resulting in victory for the Democratic majority. Nevermind that the Democrats are in trouble for exactly such thinking. Nevermind that the vast number of American voters have made clear--through polls, through votes in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, and through riotous town hall meetings--that they want less of this, not more.

Call it the Titanic Delusion. If only the ship had barreled faster toward the iceberg, it would have broken through to safety.

You hear this theory most frequently applied to healthcare reform. Americans were all for the reform, we are reminded. Until they weren’t. What happened in between? According to the Delusionists, Obama backed away from his promises and choked when he had the opportunity to create a single-payer (translation: government-run) healthcare system. And in the process of his retreat, he alienated his base and merely stirred up conservatives.

His base? That expansive voting coalition of academics, Code Pink, and California? Heck, you can’t even include the voters of Massachusetts in the mix, as those poor dupes were the first of the guinea pigs to get a taste of Obamacare. In the special election showdown of Scott Brown - Republican vs. Martha Coakley-Obamacare, Brown’s upset victory was an unmistakable statement of anxiety about the direction the Democrats were taking this country.

Except to the left. They are like narcissistic actors on the stage who mistake the rotten tomatoes hurled at them as kind-hearted gifts from people who can’t afford better, bless their hearts.

You see the same delusions applied to federal spending and the stimulus plan. Just as few Democrats dare to campaign on the issue of healthcare, you see just as few trotting out their votes for the stimulus. The public is in a rage over ever-expanding, ever-intruding government funded by breathtaking taxing, borrowing, and spending. When the Obama White House started floating the idea of a Stimulus II package--that is, more spending with no serious effort to cut elsewhere--Democrats in tough election battles began gathering their own rotten fruit in the form of television ads denouncing all things Washington--a town run by Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. (Can Harry Reid, a man who cannot run his own campaign without stumbling over hideous gaffes, be said to be part of the ruling Triumvirate?)

We were told about all the shovel-ready jobs that would be funded by the stimulus. How unemployment would drop. What we got was funding for wasteful pet projects, more transference of wealth, and a new term for the American lexicon: “saved jobs.” But no new jobs. Unemployment went up. Taxes went up for job creators. Debt went up. And the deficit is going the way of Europe.

Evidently the problem is not that we now face historic levels of debt but that we haven’t spent ourselves into more debt, according to the liberal intelligentsia. Had Obama only spent more, borrowed more, taxed more … we would be on our way to economic recovery. And he to adulation and victory.

The New York Times’s Paul Krugman is the latest to voice this monotony. It’s not that Obama spent like a drunken sailor, he writes; it’s that he didn’t spend drunkenly enough. We didn’t even bother to bail out state governments that had gorged on programs they couldn’t afford for years, Krugman laments. The logic, I suppose, being that if the federal government isn’t spending with enough reckless abandon, then it should subsidize those governments that are. As long as there is spending, dammit, all will be well.
This, we are told, would surely have changed things at the polls.

The Krugmans of the world don’t believe it’s possible that regular voters, most of whom don’t boast a Nobel Prize in economics, could harbor a fundamental skepticism toward deficit spending. That they fear what they see taking place in Europe, where Obama-esque governments for years refused to cut any program and have now sunk under such a burden of debt that they are forced to slash at the worst possible time imaginable. Riots in France. Entire government agencies eliminated in Britain. And Greece? Should we even dare mention the unholy spectacle of Greece?

The American voter can’t possibly be worried about these things, say the Delusionists. Give them bread and circuses and they will move on their mindless way. Except they’re not. They are speaking with greater force at the polling booth.

The Delusionists are undeterred. Full steam ahead, fellows--these people will thank us afterwards!
--------------
Chris Battle is partner at Adfero Group, a public relations firm in Washington, DC. He submitted this article to the ARRA News Service Editor which also appears in US News He is also the editor of Security Debrief, a blog focused on homeland and national security issues. Previously, Battle served as chief of staff at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Tags: liberals, spending, delusions, 2010 elections, Chris Battle To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:29 PM - Post Link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


View U.S. National Debt

Don't miss anything!
Subscribe to the
ARRA News Service
It's FREE & No Ads!

You will receive a verification email
& must validate you subscribed!

You Then Receive One Email Each AM
With Prior Days Articles / Toons / More


Also, Join & leave conservative posts & comments on
Facebook.com/ARRANewsService


Recent Posts:
Personal Tweets by the editor:
Dr. Bill - OzarkGuru - @arra
#Christian Conservative; Retired USAF & Grad Professor. Constitution NRA ProLife schoolchoice fairtax - Editor ARRA NEWS SERVICE. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!

Action Links!
State Upper & Lower House Members
State Attorney Generals
State Governors
The White House
US House of Representatives
US Senators
GrassFire
NumbersUSA
Ballotpedia

Facebook Accts - Dr. Bill Smith
Pages:
ARRA News Service
Arkansans Against Big Government
Alley-White Am. Legion #52
Catholics & Protestants United Against Discrimination
End Taxpayer Funding of NPR
Overturn Roe V. Wade
Prolife Soldiers
Project Wildfire 4 Life
Republican Liberty Caucus of Arkansas
The Gold Standard
US Atty Gen Loretta Lynch, aka Eric Holder, Must Go
Veterans for Sarah Palin
Why Vote for Hillary (Satire)
FB Groups:
Arkansas For Sarah Palin
Arkansas Conservative Caucus
Arkansas County Tea Party
Arkansans' Discussion Group on National Issues
Blogs for Borders
Conservative Solutions
Conservative Voices
Defend Marriage -- Arkansas
FairTax
FairTax Nation
Arkansas for FairTax
Friends of the TEA Party in Arkansas
Freedom Roundtable
Pro-Life Rocks - Arkansas
Republican Network
Republican Liberty Caucus of AR
Reject the U.N.

Patriots
Exchange
Links

Request Via
Article Comment

Links to ARRA News
A Patriotic Nurse
Agora Associates
a12iggymom's Blog
America, You Asked For It!
America's Best Choice
ARRA News Twitter
As The Crackerhead Crumbles
Blogs For Borders
Blogs for Palin
Blow the Trumpet Ministry
Boot Berryism
Cap'n Bob & the Damsel
Chicago Ray Report - Obama Regime Report
Chuck Baldwin - links
Common Cents
Conservative Voices
Diana's Corner
Greater Fitchburg For Life
Lasting Liberty Blog
Liberal Isn't Amy
Marathon Pundit
Patriot's Corner
Right on Issues that Matter
Right Reason
Rocking on the Right Side
Saber Point
Saline Watchdog
Sultan Knish
The Blue Eye View
The Born Again Americans
TEA Party Cartoons
The Foxhole | Unapologetic Patriot
The Liberty Republican
The O Word
The Path to Tyranny Blog
The Real Polichick
The War on Guns
TOTUS
Twitter @ARRA
Underground Notes
Warning Signs
Women's Prayer & Action
WyBlog

Editor's Managed Twitter Accounts
Twitter Dr. Bill Smith @arra
Twitter Arkansas @GOPNetwork
Twitter @BootBerryism
Twitter @SovereignAllies
Twitter @FairTaxNation

Editor's Recommended Orgs
Accuracy in Media (AIM)
American Action Forum (AAF)
American Committment
American Culture & Faith Institute
American Enterprise Institute
American Family Business Institute
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Tax Reform
American Security Council Fdn
AR Faith & Ethics Council
Arkansas Policy Foundation
Ayn Rand Institute
Bill of Rights Institute
Campaign for Working Families
CATO Institute
Center for Individual Freedom
Center for Immigration Studies
Center for Just Society
Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Citizens Against Gov't Waste
Citizens in Charge Foundstion
Coalition for the Future American Worker
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Concerned Veterans for America
Concerned Women for America
Declaration of Am. Renewal
Eagle Forum
FairTax
Family Research Council
Family Security Matters
Franklin Center for Gov't & Public Integrity
Freedom Works
Gingrich Productions
Global Incident Map
Great Americans
Gold Standard 2012 Project
Gun Owners of America (GOA)
Heritage Action for America
David Horowitz Freedom Center
Institute For Justice
Institute for Truth in Accounting
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Judicial Watch
Less Government
Media Reseach Center
National Center for Policy Analysis
National Right To Work Foundation
National Rifle Association (NRA)
National Rifle Association (NRA-ILA)
News Busters
O'Bluejacket's Patriotic Flicks
OathKeepers
Open Secrets
Presidential Prayer Team
Religious Freedom Coalition
Renew America
Ron Paul Institute
State Policy Network
Tax Foundation
Tax Policy Center
The Club for Growth
The Federalist
The Gold Standard Now
The Heritage Foundation
The Leadership Institute
Truth in Accounting
Union Facts



Blogs For Borders

Reject the United Nations

Presidential Prayer Team

Thousands of Deadly Islamic Terror Attacks Since 9/11


FairTax Nation on FaceBook
Friends of Israel - Stand with Israel
Blog Feeds
Syndicated - Get the ARRA News Service feed Syndicated!
ARRA Blog Feed

Add to Google Reader or Homepage

Add to The Free Dictionary

Powered by Blogger


  • To Exchange Links - Email: editor@arranewsservice.com!
  • Comments by contributing authors or other sources do not necessarily reflect the position the editor, other contributing authors, sources, readers, or commenters. No contributors, or editors are paid for articles, images, cartoons, etc. While having reported on and promoting principles & beleifs beliefs of other organizations, this blog/site is soley controlled and supported by the editor. This site/blog does not advertise for money or services nor does it solicit funding for its support.
  • Fair Use: This site/blog may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as provided for in section Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Per said section, the material on this site/blog is distributed without profit to readers to view for the expressed purpose of viewing the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. Any person/entity seeking to use copyrighted material shared on this site/blog for purposes that go beyond "fair use," must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
  • © 2006 - 2020 ARRA News Service
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.