Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Gloomy forecast

Pat Buchanan isn't exactly a voice of cheerful optimism about the Republican future (or lack thereof):
Philosophically, too, the country is turning away from the GOP creed of small government and low taxes. Why?
Nearly 90 percent of immigrants, legal and illegal, are Third World poor or working-class and believe in and rely on government for help with health and housing, education and welfare. Second, tax cuts have dropped nearly 40 percent of wage earners from the tax rolls.
If one pays no federal income tax but reaps a cornucopia of benefits, it makes no sense to vote for the party of less government.
The GOP is overrepresented among the taxpaying class, while the Democratic Party is overrepresented among tax consumers. And the latter are growing at a faster rate than the former.
I am considerably more hopeful, given the prospect of a thoroughly Carteresque new president. The GOP is back to the post-Bush blues of 1993. If they can get the Bushism out of their system, a recovery is yet possible.

3 comments:

  1. In some sad future, Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs will suffer a tragic accident and become the first post-uteral siamese twins.

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  2. Smitty--Nice!

    I happen to like Pat.
    I couldn't disagree more with what he says, but as a commentator he appeals to me. He has a way of giving you that wink of the eye letting everyone know that he is bullshitting the bullshitters.
    Pat is wrong on this one, because, like the rest of you guys, he just don't get it.
    I'm really amazed at the contortions and somersaults the Right is doing in trying to figure out the current state of your party.Again, I wonder what lies beneath the humiliation and deep sense of loss on the Right. It's baffling, but I have my suspicions.
    BUT, let's say for argument's sake that Pat is right in his assessment-"The GOP is overrepresented among the taxpaying class, while the Democratic Party is overrepresented among tax consumers."
    Wouldn't this be a result of the trickle-down-voodoo economics that Conservatives preach? What happens when the hypothetical trickle results in a concentration of wealth for a tiny percentage of the populace?
    Pat's spin is off the mark. It's a cute, backhanded attempt at class warfare.

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  3. I agree with you, R. S. Once the W hangover leaves over time, the GOP can be a real opposition party. Offer the kind of solutions-like real tax cuts-that are at the very least an alternative to the excesses that will be the Era O' Obama!

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