How the Republicans failed


Pulling no punches, the Club for Growth tells it like it is
The Club for Growth nails the Republicans.

It’s time for the Airing of Grievances! In the spirit of Festivus, I’d like to reveal the instances where Washington lawmakers disappointed me this year. Below are some highlighted times during 2005 when the GOP abandoned the ideals of economic freedom and pro-growth policies (this list is by no means complete).

Death Tax Repeal — For the love of Del Boca Vista, we can never seem to kill the Death Tax. It’s like a recurring nightmare that just won’t go away. Despite having Republican majorities in both chambers, we still don’t have fiscally conservative majorities. Post Communist Russia got rid of their Death Tax. So did Socialistic Sweden. But the United States of America, the leading beacon of freedom in the entire world, still has it. Shameful.

Highway Bill — Without a doubt, this year’s “Aluminum Pole Award” (minus the distracting tinsel) goes to the Highway Bill. Reagan vetoed the 1987 Highway Bill because it had 152 pork projects in it. This year’s bill had over 6000 earmarks totaling over $24 billion. It included the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” and the ridiculous indoor rain forest. On top of that, Republican senators used accounting gimmickry to add an extra $10 billion to this already overstuffed bill. President Bush threatened to veto it, but backed down under pressure, proving that he can never truly be compared to Ronald Reagan when it comes to fiscal conservatism. After the bill was signed into law, and when earmarks were threatened, Nancy Pelosi rightfully upstaged the entire GOP by offering to return part of her earmarks to help out with Hurricane Katrina relief. Without question, the San Francisco liberal won the Feats of Strength.

Social Security Reform — I think it’s only fair to give President Bush some credit for pushing a debate on this ticking time bomb of an issue. But he got out of the kitchen when the heat got too intense. He never forced a vote on the squishy moderates in Congress who begged him to go easy. For all the trouble that we went through on this issue, we’re now $660 billion poorer and we’re still without personal pro-growth accounts. This issue could have defined Bush’s legacy along with his leadership on the War on Terror, but he failed to follow through. Big letdown.

The other entries are pretty good too.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - December 21, 2005 at 05:18 AM  Tag


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