March 16, 2011 - Pensito

Imagine this—what if there had never been a President George W. Bush, and when Bill Clinton left office he was immediately replaced with Barack Obama. Now imagine Obama had governed from 2000 to 2008 exactly as Bush did–doubling the size of government, doubling the debt, expanding federal entitlements and education, starting the Iraq war–the whole works. To make matters worse, imagine that for a portion of that time, the Democrats actually controlled all three branches of government. Would Republicans have given Obama and his party a free pass in carrying out the exact same agenda as Bush? It’s hard to imagine this being the case, given the grief Bill Clinton got from Republicans, even though his big government agenda was less ambitious than Bush’s. Yet, the last Republican president got very little criticism from his own party for most of his tenure. For conservatives, there was no excuse for this.

— Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, is right that Republicans would have never given a Democratic president a pass on the sort of ineptitude and malfeasance that became the trademark of the Bush administration — but his analogy is wrong in that no Democratic president could ever be as bad as governing as Bush, Cheney et al proved to be.

Asked why the House tea party Republicans’ recklessly crafted budget bills called for cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes the National Weather Service (NWS) and is charged with tsunami warnings as well as preparing for and reacting to disasters, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., trotted out the GOP spin that the deficit can only be resolved by cutting spending:

Q: Given the size of the disaster is not over, of course, but given the size of it and the robust response that the world is trying to make in rescue, just looking at some of the budget lines that are cut in the Republicans’ [Continuing Resolution to temporarily fund the government]: $415 billion for international disaster assistance, USAID is cut; National Weather Service, NOAA cut $455 million. When a disaster like this happens, do you have any concerns that, while everything is on the table and we’re making necessary cuts, that the United States’ ability to respond to disasters like in Japan could be hampered if those cuts go through?

CANTOR: Look, I think that all of us need to be tempered by the fact that we’ve got to stop spending money we don’t have. I mean, essentially what you’re saying is, go borrow money from the Japanese so we can go and spend it there to help the Japanese.

Cantor, a master of Washingtonspeak, claimed that the “cuts” to NOAA and other disaster preparedness programs were really just a 10 percent reduction in 20 percent budget increases in funding from 2008 to 2010.

We’re cutting NOAA’s budget, Cantor continued, but that doesn’t mean we support less preparedness.

No, that’s really what he said:

[…]

Day: March 16, 2011

Sen. Rand Paul Reminds Us That Even the Cuckoo Clock Is Right Twice A Day

GOP Leader Says US Must Cut Tsunami, Disaster Preparedness Because ‘We All Have to Do More with Less’

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.