I was gonna keep my nose out, but I just can't.
Red & Trip, from the sound of it, you seem pretty level headed, and I too believe in smaller government - but all we've seen is explosive growth of government spending over the last two decades. And you cannot just hang it on the 'left'. When you create dependencies like we have here in America, they need to be administered.
Alot of my frustration comes down to precisely the propaganda spouted at these so-called grass roots rally (which are not, btw), and echoed in Pred's 'brown shirts' comments. You realize who the 'brown shirts' were, right? authoritarian nationalists with Corporatist economic philosophies. Precisely what's ruined public access to health care (Republican's Medicare Part D anyone?), the auto industry (protectionism over competitive market balances, Dem & Republican alike supporting free-trade over tariffs), and general interference by the hawks in government in non-defensive maneuvers against other democratically elected governments.
I stay away from attacking even these nutty tea baggers with their manipulated philosophies because I do believe that an engaged electorate is a better one, no matter the leanings it spurs debate, but baseless slander is what's dividing our populous. Bring the facts, and I have yet to here any on here about how even the cash for clunkers hurt - it was a targeted maneuver to spur auto spending, assisting the supply chains that were not bailed out, with long term implication to assist in focusing the auto makers on more fuel efficient vehicles - capped @ $1B or expiration in November, and it worked perfectly! One billion sounds like alot, but is not at our recent burn rate for immediate results.
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