Now live streaming (Remarks concluded). President Obama is scheduled for a presser within the hour. Topic: tax cuts for the middle class vs the rich. The chart above revisits the source of the deficit Republicans like to howl about — whenever democrats are in the WH: the Bush tax cuts, the Bush wars, and the Bush recession. Prepared remarks below the fold.
I don’t think it’s quite fair to call it “the Bush recession” — the responsibility for the recession is broad and bipartisan. Some of the most dangerous deregulation of exotic investment products took place near the end of the Clinton administration, for example. Bush was at the helm when we hit the iceberg, but we’d been steering straight for it for a looong time, and just about everybody had been cheering the captains on.
The wars and the tax cuts, you’ll get no quibble from me there, of course.
To make it more clear why I voice this: There are important differences between the two major parties, and this is why I consider myself a Democrat… but those who say they are “all the same” have a point, and two areas where both parties are pretty much equally bad are 1) stomping on civil liberties in the name of the Wars of Drugs and Terror, and 2) their complete unwillingness to appropriately regulate Wall Street. The DNC isn’t really any better than the GOP on either of those issues, and if we ever want to get some politicians in power that ARE strong on those issues, we shouldn’t forget that.
Dang, jamessweet, whenever I go to comment and you get there first, I mostly get to say: Yeah, what he said! Which is what I say now.
Your point is well taken, all democrats are certainly not immune. I think it’s arguable, though, that the recession not only occured under Bush and near the end of his Presidency, but that it was primarily a result of traditional conservative policies — some of which were grudgingly or enthusiastically embraced by some democrats depending on the particulars.
I agree the policies that led to the recession are fundamentally conservative. The Democratic Party is pretty conservative, after all, especially on economic issues :)