Why Doesn’t the GOP Cut Spending?

by Jack

In the swamp we call Washington, they’ve never heard of making a noble stand simply because it’s the right thing to do. Nope, no way, it’s all about polling, self preservation and personal/partisan advantage. That’s what really matters. Of course the huge cost of running for office, the need to raise campaign money 24/7 and the endless opportunities to take a dive for the money, is a really big problem and contributes to this low moral bar.

In every election that I can remember, the GOP has always spoke so righteously about reform. Every speech echoes with, “We’re rising to preserve our founders idealism.” And that means fiscal responsibility, which is the heart beat of conservatism. However, that is passionately touted only when the GOP is out of power. Once they have duped the voters and regained power, well, all those lofty speeches fade away like yesterday’s news. But why the hypocrisy, how can they be so predictably spineless?

Benjamin Franklin once said, “”When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.” There’s your answer. The GOP might be spineless, but they are not stupid. On the other hand, the democrats practically invented vote buying. They have exploited this flaw in our electorate to win many elections. The GOP knows that the costly gimmies and entitlements through credit can’t go on forever, but nobody on their side wants to be the first to call for a reduction in spending or entitlements. That would be akin to political suicide. Fiscal responsibility sounds great in speeches, but in actual practice it’s doesn’t work. And for that we can thank the voters. So, from a politicians point of view, its better to give the voters what they want and pray the nation’s economy won’t implode until they are out of office.

Thanks to a number of factors too long to list here, the intelligent, logical, informed, hard working, taxpaying people who understand exactly how democracy works best and what kills it, are now in a substantial minority. The piling on of debt has passed the point of being solvable. As a result, the lives of our children and grandchildren will extremely difficult. What sort of government that rises from the ashes will be anyone’s guess. So, enjoy those entitlements while you can and don’t worry about who to vote for, they’re both dragging us in the same direction.

PS According to the PEW poll, in the last 5 years the voters concern over the staggering debt has dropped from 72% to 48%, meanwhile the debt has climbed to over 22 trillion.