Category: Political Economy

Blast from the Past.

With the war in Iraq wrapping up, former President Clinton derides the failures of Dubya’s amateurish diplomacy. “Our paradigm now seems to be: something terrible happened to us on September 11, and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with us.” He also takes time to call out the recently-lowered but still-lousy Dubya tax cut. Hopefully, this’ll serve notice to the other Dems (besides Kerry) to get off the fence and release the hounds.

No Representation with Taxation.

While still desperately in denial about the nation’s exploding debt, the GOP has, as expected, gone to war against its own moderate wing and threatened to sink the budget, in the hopes of preserving Dubya’s $726 billion tax giveaway. This is despite the fact that the Daschle Dems have in essence already capitulated again, agreeing to pass an equally wrong-headed compromise plan half that size. Sigh…the Dems really have to get it together. At any rate, hopefully moderate Republicans will take DeLay’s budget blackmail for the desperate, dangerous gamble it is and call him on it. Nothing screams GOP these days quite like a government shutdown.

Next Stop, Moynihan Station.

As Senator Moynihan is laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery, New Yorkers devise a fitting tribute for their fallen statesman: Moynihan Station, to be completed on the site of the Post Office atop Penn Station by 2008. Update: Here’s some computer generated mock-ups of the future station, by way of Do You Feel Loved? (Thanks for the kind words, by the way.)

GOP Uprising?

It appears the halved tax cut is only the beginning of Dubya’s domestic woes. As the war rages in Iraq, the Bushies’ homeland agenda comes under increasing scrutiny from GOP moderates, who are unwilling to buy the argument that American troops desperately need estate tax relief. Hmmm…I wonder if Ari and the gang will go so far as to paint members of their own party as unAmerican. Can’t say it’s beyond the realm of possibility.

Taxing Times.

Despite the administration’s attempt to use the war to promote tax cuts, the Senate does the right thing and slashes Dubya’s tax giveaway in half. As I said last week, it’s almost obscene to even consider this type of deficit-busting sop for the rich when America’s fighting men and women are laying their lives on the line. In times of war, even (gasp!) the affluent must bear their share of sacrifice.

Unfortunate Sons and daughters..

The party of sacrifice? Get your priorities straight. As Ari Fleischer warns America to expect American casualties in the coming conflict, the Republican Congress promises the Iraq war will have no bearing on tax cuts. As CCR put it, Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Well, they help themselves, yeah. Then as now, the poor may lose their sons and daughters, but the rich will get their rebates.


Regarding another recent facet of GOP hysteria, I know it’s fun to pick on the French, what with the Maginot Line and the Rainbow Warrior and all that. But next time you hear some idiot like Tom DeLay say the French are good-for-nothing, remember Lafayette. The fact of the matter is, we would never have gained our freedom (or our freedom fries) without the aid of the French during our Revolution. Something to consider before our former Gallic friends are written out of the history books in a fit of revisionist patriotism.

A Return to Fiscal Sanity?

He’s been a cheerleader for Dubya’s policies in the past, but even Alan Greenspan has his limits. Much to the delight of Dems, the Federal Reserve Chairman now says the proposed Bush tax cuts are potentially disastrous in light of exploding budget deficits. Hopefully, this means the beginning of the end of Dubya’s outrageous dividend plan.

Get Your War On.

We’re clearly going to war, we’re giving all the old folks prescription drugs, we’re eliminating AIDS in Africa, and American taxpayers won’t have to pay a red cent. Anybody notice a problem? Dubya’s State of the Union promised a lot, including dividend goodies for the rich and flaming death to Saddam, but it didn’t say much about the actual State of the Union. At any rate, I was impressed with the AIDS initiative (although I’d be more impressed if he wasn’t getting advice from cranks like these), but otherwise didn’t think much of Dubya’s speech. I also doubt he changed anyone’s mind about the Iraq situation, but perhaps Secretary Powell’s speech next week will prove more fruitful. (Thacker link via Julian’s Jabberings.)