Todd Akins is sacrificed on the alter of political correctness, but unfortunately for his addle-pated GOP executioners, he won’t hold still for the killing stroke. OblameBush‘s fifth column in the fourth estate wields Tropical Storm Isaac like a chainsaw in a ‘B’ grade horror movie to threaten the RNC in Tampa. The forecast calls for rain.
This morning, Chris Matthews goes ballistic at Reince Priebus, apologetic and otherwise ineffectual chairman of the RNC, over the Romney joke about his birth certificate. Geico (my auto insurer – they have heard from me on this) cuts America’s favorite drill sergeant, R. Lee Ermey, loose for comments he allegedly made about the Demander-in-Chief.
Okay, I’ll bite – is the GOP playing a really esoteric long game here? Have they not yet figured out that President Downgrade Hussein O’Foodstamp and his enablers will talk about anything other than the economy? Or are they, once again, being played like first-time new car buyers?
This election will be lost by trying to compete toe-to-toe with what some surveys estimate is a main stream media contingent 90% of whom are Democrats. While the GOP reacts ten times a day to the twisted, invented story-du-jour, the modern version of Rome continues to burn.
This election will be won by forcing voters to come to grips with a few essential, inescapable facts. The first is that the fiscal policies of the incumbent are not intended to benefit Americans. Despite having had an entire term with which to come to grips with the state of our economy, full-time employment under President Forward has not, in any single day, been greater that the number of full-time employed on the last day that the hated and villified George W. Bush was in office. The national debt grows by entire developed-nation GDPs each year. Growth in enrollment in Social Security Disability Insurance outpaces employment. There is no precedent for this in the modern era. Malice or incompetence, it does not matter. It must be addressed.
The second is that without leadership that is prepared to address our dire state of fiscal affairs, this nation is doomed to malaise, decline and depression. We still are not having the correct conversations about this issue. Let’s look at some historical facts:
In 1970, the federal government spent about $196 billion. This was 19 percent of GDP. In 2011, it spent $3.6 trillion, about 25% of GDP. Lets look even closer:
| Category | % Spending 1970 | % Spending 2011 | % Change |
| Medicare | 3.2% | 13.0% | 7905% |
| Health | 3.0% | 10.5% | 6683% |
| Justice | 0.5% | 1.5% | 5873% |
| Food stamps/income aid | 8.0% | 15.5% | 3701% |
| Energy | 0.5% | 0.6% | 2394% |
| Social Security | 15.5% | 19.2% | 2332% |
| Total Govt Spending | $196 billion | $3.6 trillion | 1837% |
These are the fastest growing categories of spending in the federal budget over this period, showing each category that is growing faster than total federal government spending at 1837% over the period. What about Defense, the liberal whipping boy that is always trotted out as the reason for our budget problems:
| Category | % Spending 1970 | % Spending 2011 | % Change |
| Defense | 41.8% | 19.6% | 818% |
Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that during this same period, inflation has been about 462%. This means that while defense spending increased at a little less than twice the rate of inflation, overall government spending increased at more than four times the rate of inflation, with some of these categories increasing at up to 17 (!!1!) times the rate of inflation. Worth noting also that of all of the categories listed, Defense is the only one expressly defined as a federal responsibility in the Constitution.
Due to similar trends at the state and local levels, we have reached a point where total government spending in our country accounts for 46% of our GDP. This is a destructive, not creative influence on our economy, since the government only spends money it has either first taken from a productive individual or borrowed through the creation of debt.
Forget for now that our national debt has grown so large so rapidly that if interest rates were to return to historical averages, our interest payments on the national debt would grow to near the size of our current budget deficit just by itself.
This is the kind of historical perspective we need to have if we are going to save this nation from the real threat posed by Obama Debt Laden and from the dustbin of history. Let us all remind Republicans each day to return the debate to the issue of our economy and the proper fiscal discipline required of our leadership.
Oh, and I have finally convinced the Emperor to let me have the microphone from time to time. Let me know what you think.
OMGawd! That is so tiresome. Priebus should have said, “He told a joke, it fell flat. We’re all about the economy, which has tanked under the Obama administration.” Or words to that effect. I am so tired of all of the apologizing the Repubs do for things that do not need to be apologized for. I am weary of these… Read more »
Outstanding piece and welcome aboard !!!!! We can use some extra help around here occasionally, since some of us tend to lose the muse from time to time. She can be a real bitch yanno. Indeed it seems the Party of Stoopid will never learn to stop walking into that same old booby-trap of defend, defend, defend, and especially the… Read more »
Oh, and I was remiss in saying, “Bloody glad to see you writing!” I love reading your eloquent prose!
I’m willing to do my part – give me back (plus interest) every penny I’ve paid into Social Security and Medicare since the first day I was at work and I’ll not trouble the goverment to provide any of what I’ve prepaid for.
It just doesn’t get any fairer than that.
The social security “lock box” is not just myth but retail fraud and is confirmed in the case (Helvering) that upheld the “constitutionality” of the thing. Helvering, in a foreshadowing of the Dread Pirate Roberts ruling, also re-wrote a statute(Hughes) to make it conform to the congressional taxing power. It was every bit as egregious as NFIB et al vs… Read more »
Geico (my auto insurer – they have heard from me on this) cuts America’s favorite drill sergeant, R. Lee Ermey, loose for comments he allegedly made about the Demander-in-Chief. As much as I like the Gunny, GEICO was well within its rights to drop him. They are trying to sell insurance to everyone, regardless of political affiliation. If one of… Read more »
I’m betting a lot more people buy auto insurance than vote.
Well done Igor @ 9
Good start SecondMouse. Let’s see some more
Well by the cod piece of Jove, that sure was one heck of a debut! Thanks, LC SecondMouse (we’ll have to think up a Staff Title to add to it now), for joining our dysfunctional family of grouchy browncoats aiming to misbehave. Fa Cube Itches says: As much as I like the Gunny, GEICO was well within its rights to… Read more »
While it is true that they were within their rights to drop him, and I am a big supporter of private property rights and the principle of at-will employment, I am also disgusted with companies that cave to political pressure. Just like the Carbonite CEO that recently admitted that pulling his sponsorship of Rush hurt his company, I think these… Read more »
LC SecondMouse. I have enjoyed your responses to every post I’ve read you in. To have the Royal Court appoint you as a member is fantastic praise indeed, and is well agreed with by myself.