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February 07, 2005
The Answer is No
Reading this series of questions Virginia Postrel asks about whether or not the Republicans will actually adhere to the issues of fiscal discipline and free trade they claim are so important to them, I am reminded of Leonard Nimoy's introduction to one of my favorite Simpsons episodes: The Springfield Files.
Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is no. It would be nice to believe that the party that preached fiscal discipline so consistently in the early 1990s might actually live up to that rhetoric now that they're holding the reins of power. But the sad truth is, politicians who cut spending don't stick around. Voters may say they want limited government, but when push comes to shove they vote for guys like Robert Byrd and Ted Stevenson, who send billions of tax dollars home every year. And so I suspect Nimoy's answer applies just as much to Virginia's question as it did to his own.
Posted at February 7, 2005 09:25 AM
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The Bush spin machine is successful, most media outlets look something like: "Bush's $2.5 Trillion Budget Calls for Sweeping Cuts" (yahoo).
Question: Are there really republicans who can say that sentence and keep a straight face?
Yeah, Bush is going to take on Farm Subsidies. Let's all hold our breath on that one.
Posted by: Steve at February 7, 2005 10:53 AM
Can I get them to subsidize my blogging? Noone will pay me to do it. Maybe my good friend the President will pay me not to.
Maybe he will veto something now. He accomplished his first goal of getting reelected to redeem his families honor. Maybe now he will think about seeing if conservatism is right for America and try smaller government.
Posted by: Scott at February 7, 2005 01:17 PM
Of course they can keep a straight face. Practice, you know. And it's a really really small broom.
Of course, Bush, et. al. can sorta get away with stuff because they know they'll have to compromise to get things through Congress anyways.
Aside to Andrew: you might want to close that blockquote.
Posted by: jed at February 7, 2005 04:09 PM
The spin machine is aided by the fact that even the smallest cut will generate screams of outrage from whichever interest group is taking the hit. So even if you're just (for example) cutting the rate of growth, someone will complain about drastic cuts in short order.
Thanks, Jed.
Posted by: Andrew at February 7, 2005 08:13 PM
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