The Party Of No Has A Plan

One of the big gripes from the Left about the Republican party is that they snipe from the sidelines but offer no plans of their own for addressing the problems faced by our nation. This meme hit a crescendo during the fight over healthcare reform, aided by a media establishment that quoted every ranking Democrat from the President on down calling Republicans the “party of no”. That Republicans offered up over thirty bills at one time or another addressing healthcare was rarely mentioned.
This meme survives today as a salvo in the budget fight. Republicans are called out for politicking in publicly criticizing the President’s budget proposal without offering an alternative. Once again, it requires an error of omission to thrive. A Republican budget proposal that actually cuts the deficit exists.

Released two days before the unusual back-and-forth session between Obama and the GOP, the bill sponsored by Ryan and five other House members would seek to reduce the deficit and spur economic growth by cutting the tax rate on corporations, shifting future Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to private insurance plans, and both raising the retirement age gradually to 70 and reducing the growth of benefits to make Social Security solvent. Even Democrats have acknowledged that it is one of the few plans offered by a member of either party that would lower the long-term budget deficit.

The article’s headline makes it sound as though the President and Budget Director Pete Orzag are taking a look at the bill, but it’s only to rip it to shreds. Apparently, “belt tightening” and “tough choices” really are just soundbites for the gullible.
Now, there are elements to this proposal that are controversial. Raising the retirement age and reducing benefits would be a tough sell to many Americans, even if it makes Social Security solvent. Shifting people from Medicare and Medicaid to private insurance would certainly meet resistance. This proposal isn’t perfect and politically, it’s probably a non-starter. That said, these are the kind of “belt tightening” measures that should at least be discussed. Dismissing them out of hand would only serve to show that calls for bipartisanship are more window dressing.
Lowering the deficit can only be done by raising taxes or cutting spending or some mix of the two. I’m not a big fan of raising taxes in the best of times. It should be obvious to anyone that raising them sufficiently to lower the deficit during a recession is economic suicide. Spending needs to be cut. So far only one party in Washington is acting like it understands that, and it’s the party of no.

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  • http://Array sayanything-2

    More lies from Hatespew Magoo. Your time in jail did not help, you need a good 10 years in Parchman. Followed by a first class hanging. That would get your mind right.

  • sayanything-287

    The key is “phase out” not draconian measures. In both cases, yours and JustRuss all people under an age group that will be feasible to get there without SS or MC would start immediately, it is really that easy. Not my idea, yours, but it answers the concerns of those now on these plans or those with not enough time to make without the plans to feel secure and make it possible to work our way off government assistance for the elderly. I don’t have your expertise in economic matters, but it seems that even people getting near to needing this plans and still working can participate partially, thus accelerating the change over.

    Your biggest problem, the Democrats can never tolerate such a thing to happen without their controlling the lives of these people.

  • robert108

    Fiscal conservatism is living within your means. Period.

  • sayanything-342

    Fiscal conservatism starts at home. Do not expect Washington to solve anything. Obama’s socialism route is his only answer because he has no solution and spreading the pain is a last resort for this inept president. Ghetto economics and the Chicago way is all he understands so don’t expect any results from these clowns. Premier Pelosi is running the show as Obama is just the “token” president anyway. I’ll predict that it takes at least 20 years to clean up Barry’s mess.

  • brenarlo

    This is more garbage that the GOP will trot out and use to call themselves fiscal conservatives.

    The Republicans could EASILY cut out $1 trillion from the budget. If they cut out $1 trillion from the FY2010 budget… they’d still have a budget of $2.83 trillion… oh man that takes us all the way back to the 2007 budget. If people like Ryan were calling the 2007 budget bloated, what are they calling their own 2011 budget?

    We know that Obama and the Dems are socialists. This shows that the Republicans are not the party of “no”. However, they are the party of “growing government just not quite as fast as the Democrats.” No thank you. I’ll take a balanced budget.

  • Lock ‘em up

    The party of Palin has no plan.

  • brenarlo

    Agreed.

  • sayanything-5371

    Liberals are a skidmark in the undershorts of America.

  • sayanything-15427

    The same with medicare, phase it out over 20 years and replace it with either a health savings account or a private insurer or better yet, just educate highschool kids on things like retirement and healthcare and basic economics. I think Econ101 should be required math moreso than algebra or calculus at the HS level.

  • sayanything-2

    Post more links that prove that is a lie, Hatespew Magoo. We love laughing at your stupid a$$.

  • brenarlo

    suitepotato… the Republicans got his deficit game going… the Dems just mastered it.

    They’re both to blame. That’s how we got into the situation where a budget that simply slows the growth of government is the best the Republicans can muster.

  • Brent

    “We haven’t had a surplus in my lifetime. Not that that excuses massive deficits like our current one, but the idea that Bush and Co started deficit spending is ludicrous.”

    Bush & Co. definitely caused the republican congress to go pussyfoot, though. They were doing alright, at least somewhat holding the line, then Bush came in with his “compassionate” BS and blew the spending lid wide open again.

  • robert108

    Social Security will never be solvent as long as it is a govt-run program. The return on investment simply isn’t enough to make it a viable retirement plan. Better to phase it out over a 20 year timetable and free up people to invest their money in private sector retirement plans. It will stimulate economic growth and remove a parasitical govt entitlement program that produces nothing but debt.

  • sayanything-203

    Stupid people are so hard to work with…….

    First of all, the only really stupid individual commenting here is you… and no one wants to work with you in any case.

  • Barb

    I sure didn’t miss Dino while he was away, nor did I miss the childish (x-rated) replies he usually gives or gets. Please don’t feed the trolls.

  • sayanything-2819

    Ah, Dino, I see your time away didn’t improve your memory, disposition or knowledge.

  • sayanything-50

    You may have been told different but the
    underwear is not acceptable
    as a chewing tobacco substitute.

    Cordially, to your health

  • sayanything-7406

    “Dino’s a psychotic delusional sociopath for whom the truth as an objective factual matter outside his control is nonexistent. He makes it up in his mind as he goes along and it becomes entirely real to him. He lied big time, as usual, and someone should call him on it every time.”

    Couldn’t have put it better myself. Sometimes he can actually stick to an intelligent argument. Sometimes.

  • sayanything-7406

    OK and how are American’s going to be “suffering” for generations? You can say something all you like but let’s see you explain exactly how America is going to go downhill because of Conservatives.

  • sayanything-4416

    Almost the entire national debt was amassed under 3 republicans presidents. reagan and the two bushes.

  • sayanything-4808

    The difference bren, is that we already went over this all way back when in the conservative world. We were all over Bush for thinking that spending like a liberal on social subjects was how Reagan prospered. Reagan’s massive welfare spending increases were over a barrel by Dems who threatened to withhold rebuilding the military unless they got their election time pork. To rebuild the military and stave off the Soviets, Reagan had to practically hand reelection to many dozens of democrats.

    Bush never understood that nor did he understand how the liberals got their credits for making things worse. They find a small problem as their kernel of truth, hype it beyond all recognition, offer an ephemeral and insubstantial inference of a maybe solution as the only possibly right thing to do and paint inaction as apocalyptic, then give the lion’s share to their cronies and themselves and a small portion to the people whose money it was in the first place, and claim victory and the media never ever challenges it.

    Bush never got that he could not spend his way into being beloved without the media to trumpet his praises which they never did. Instead, they vilified him 24/7/365 for eight years and are still doing it.

    We conservatives mentioned all that.

    HOWEVER, the Republicans DID NOT create the $5T debt. NOR did they double it. NOR did they engineer the collapse, one that the media in a rare bit of their guard being down, reported many of the exchanges between the Bush White House and Dems in congress, and when the Dems got spiky and haughty and refused cooperation, the media played it up as if the Dems sent the Republicans packing.

    Yup, sent them packing from a fight to STOP the collapse BEFORE it could happen.

    Dino’s a psychotic delusional sociopath for whom the truth as an objective factual matter outside his control is nonexistent. He makes it up in his mind as he goes along and it becomes entirely real to him. He lied big time, as usual, and someone should call him on it every time.

  • sayanything-4808

    “$5 TRILLION in new debt, DOUBLING it and a Depression!”

    For the new people, Dino is in fact well aware that this was done by the Democrats and not the Republicans.

    He’s merely a psychopath.

  • sayanything-4642

    great… this should have been done the day after barry put out his number. as should all their healthcare ideas. thew gop needs a good marketing firm.

  • sayanything-4808

    I should add that Rush Limbaugh was regularly tearing Bush a new orifice on this very subject of spending like a liberal. YEARS BEFORE THE LIBERALS EVER UTTERED REPROACH FOR IT. Back when they were only too happy to have him do it, and their only dissatisfaction was that they could not take 100% credit as well as paint themselves as nobly stomping Bush for his lunch money and taking the spending against his will.

  • sayanything-4416

    I see Will gave you a blog handjob.

  • sayanything-4416

    Here’s why your child-like, simplistic, non-intellectual “balanced budget” is unworkable.

    Tim Pawlenty: Not Ready for Prime Time

    Like all Republicans these days, Pawlenty wants to have it every possible way: complain about the deficit while ignoring everything his party did to create it (Medicare Part D, two unfunded wars, TARP, earmarks galore, tax cuts up the wazoo, irresponsible regulatory and monetary policies that created the recession that created the deficit, etc.), illogically insisting that tax cuts are a necessary part of deficit reduction, and never proposing any specific spending cuts.

    The only specific thing Mr. Pawlenty is capable of proposing is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. It’s hard to know where to begin in explaining why this is such an irresponsible idea, but I will try.

    Stupid people are so hard to work with…….

  • sayanything-6955

    So Magoo, have you gone from living in a cardboard box under Bush, to sleeping in the gutter under the “ONE”?

  • sayanything-4416

    The deficits are almost entirely due to bush’s policies and the republican recession.

    I’ll never convince you of that but I don’t have to. It’s your families that will suffer for generations to come. As soon as we can get the republicans back in power the sooner we can drive the last nail into the coffin of this “country.”

    That thought made me so happy I’m going to go out and have some fun!

  • sayanything-50

    Conservatives are a splinter group that
    have been victimized by both parties.

    I’ll light a candle for you.

  • sayanything-4416

    The debt doubled from 2001 to 2007. Democrats were nowhere to be found.

    Have kids yet Potato? Maybe you can convince them of your mistaken ideas as they muscle through a life of diminished opportunity thanks to your voting patterns.

  • sayanything-50

    Thesr are the standard repugnant proposals the public rejected when Bush
    and the cabal proposed them.

  • sayanything-26

    Shorter Dino: Bush deficits baaaaad! Obama’s even larger deficits goooood!

    Baaaaa . . . four legs good, two legs bad!

    Up is down, black is white!

    2 + 2 = 5!

    You make Orwell proud, Dino.

  • sayanything-1317

    We haven’t had a surplus in my lifetime. Not that that excuses massive deficits like our current one, but the idea that Bush and Co started deficit spending is ludicrous.

  • sayanything-4416

    Can we expect the outcome of their “plan” to be as good as when they last implemented their policies?

    $5 TRILLION in new debt, DOUBLING it and a Depression!

    Yep, that’s the ticket!

    They should be in chains about now.

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