I'm out. Too much blue and red Kool-aid being sloshed around in here.

No, I'm not saying that the tax cuts caused the crisis. I generally favor tax cuts. But, with cutting tax cuts you absolutely must cut spending. Bush cut taxes then increased spending as though he had doubled them. That is not good economics. My point is, though, that when asked what a Republican economic policy looks like one gets "cut taxes." Well, what else? The bailout is just proof of it. A Republican should not be proposing, writing, advocating, and voting for a massive bailout if they had better ideas on the economy..

FWIW, there are some economists who believe we should operate at a (minor) deficit, and I am not sure that the deficit directly caused the crisis, but the two points you are making are great- 1) The spending is reckless and has been noticed by Americans and 2) If he had anyone with economic knowledge and/or political courage in the GOP (aside from Ron Paul, possibly?), there would be an alternative plan.

 

Yes. I think that is reasonable, though I think they should move in a more libertarian direction.

 

Agreed. I attempted to in "my personal dilemma" thread provide a libertarian argument on some social issues. While I am a very religious person, I realize that "the Bible says so" is not a productive argument. If social conservatives are serious about pushing their ideas, they are going to have to do better than that.

Excellent article. One of the main reasons I have become disillusioned by the GOP is because it has become a party that ridicules intellectual achievement and embraces populist mediocrity. The United States is equivalent to an immensely complex machine. I don't want Joe Six Pack at the controls of the Apollo spacecraft.

Examples?

Well, the tone of each of the responses of these thread (save HHSDad and mcpapa) are proof of what Habib is saying:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of you feel the need to mention Obama or point fingers.

 

Guys, Habib isn't railing against conservatives. He is railing against the Republican party. Anyone who feels more allegiance to a party then to a philosophy should be ashamed of themself.

 

 

Which part of my statement that all of Washington needs an enema, not just the republican party did you not understand?

 

If the republicans deserve to lose, ... tell me why the democrats deserve to win?

Ladies and Gentlemen Three words "Vote Bob Barr"

Populist mediocrity ???? Ordinary people doing extraordinary things are what make this country work.

 

 

 

Read the Brooks article. Everything he said is true. The far right, in its effort to sweep up the political support of the "Joe Six Pack" crowd has gone overboard, ridiculing and belittling intellectuals, the "mainstream media", and academia as elitists worthy of their contempt, rather than respected resources worthy of their consideration. Because of this culture of scorn toward intellectual accomplishment, the GOP has tended to rally around (indeed celebrate) people with utterly inadequate faculties for major leadership roles for no other reason than their similarities to the "common man".

Read the Brooks article. Everything he said is true. The far right, in its effort to sweep up the political support of the "Joe Six Pack" crowd has gone overboard, ridiculing and belittling intellectuals, the "mainstream media", and academia as elitists worthy of their contempt, rather than respected resources worthy of their consideration. Because of this culture of scorn toward intellectual accomplishment, the GOP has tended to rally around (indeed celebrate) people with utterly inadequate faculties for major leadership roles for no other reason than their similarities to the "common man".

The obligatory quadrennial Republicans are stupid tactic. Predictable and self-serving.

Read the Brooks article. Everything he said is true. The far right, in its effort to sweep up the political support of the "Joe Six Pack" crowd has gone overboard, ridiculing and belittling intellectuals, the "mainstream media", and academia as elitists worthy of their contempt, rather than respected resources worthy of their consideration. Because of this culture of scorn toward intellectual accomplishment, the GOP has tended to rally around (indeed celebrate) people with utterly inadequate faculties for major leadership roles for no other reason than their similarities to the "common man".

Again I will ask for examples. Brooks' article is opinion the same as your post.

Examples?

 

 

The Nobel Prize has been roundly panned by the far right. People on the far right with no particular qualification to do so routinely question accomplished scientific authority. President Bush's grammatical ineptitude has been largely ignored and even celebrated as an endearing quality by the far right, rather than criticized for the national embarrassment that it is. Barack Obama receives no credit from conservatives for his studies at Columbia University, Harvard Law School, his work as editor of the Harvard Law Review, or his time spent teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.

 

It's as if academic achievement is not part of the Republicans' recognized formula for success. It does not bode well for our national competitiveness that so many Americans seem to have such an ingrained contempt for academic pursuits.

The obligatory quadrennial Republicans are stupid tactic. Predictable and self-serving.

 

:confused: translation, please

I do not necessarily disagree with your premise or the content of the Brooks article.

 

However, all of you who have somehow bought this absolute crapola that the cause for the economic crisis and need for bailout was somehow caused by the policies of the past 8 years have taken leave of your senses. You're simply drinking Obama flavored Kool-Aid. The destabilization of the market die was cast in the 70's and 90's during frenzied Democratic led efforts to push homeownership to those, particularly minorities, who were not qualified to own homes. To be sure, many Republicans and banks pushed the idea as well, but it was a Democratic environment in which the effort was led, and any and all challengers to the policies were swept aside as fear-mongerers and racists.

 

Any assertion to the contrary is baptized with the very ignorance of intellect that Palin is accused of in post #1.

 

 

I'll not let those off the hook who pushed for unqualified buyers to be given essentially government-insured mortgages, but I will point out that equally culpable in this mess are those who allowed, through willingness to accept inadequate regulation:

• major financial institutions to become disastrously leveraged
  
• huge markets of completely unregulated and non-transparent securities instruments to saturate the financial system
  

The Nobel Prize has been roundly panned by the far right. People on the far right with no particular qualification to do so routinely question accomplished scientific authority. President Bush's grammatical ineptitude has been largely ignored and even celebrated as an endearing quality by the far right, rather than criticized for the national embarrassment that it is. Barack Obama receives no credit from conservatives for his studies at Columbia University, Harvard Law School, his work as editor of the Harvard Law Review, or his time spent teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.

 

It's as if academic achievement is not part of the Republicans' recognized formula for success. It does not bode well for our national competitiveness that so many Americans seem to have such an ingrained contempt for academic pursuits.

 

 

How about this....I'll give Obama credit for his education, as soon as you guys start giving President Bush credit for his Ivy League education....

How about this....I'll give Obama credit for his education, as soon as you guys start giving President Bush credit for his Ivy League education....

Ivy League educations only benefit liberals. Guys like George W. Bush only get in and make decent grades because of money and family connections - at least that is what my liberal friends tell me.

:confused: translation, please

Every four years liberals portray the Democratic candidate as an intellectual (even John Kerry!) and every four years they portray the Republican opponent as stupid or old. The attacks on Palin's intellect and McCain's age (had he been younger it would have been an attack on his intellect) were as predictable as winter following fall.

 

This pattern has held since at least the 1980 campaign. Liberals still have a very difficult time giving Ronald Reagan his due.

Ivy League educations only benefit liberals. Guys like George W. Bush only get in and make decent grades because of money and family connections - at least that is what my liberal friends tell me.

Side note- do you actually have liberal friends?