Jake Miller stated in his Tuesday column that "we should view political capital as something more elusive and less ephemeral than the spoils of victory." It is unfortunate that the Democrats do not agree with him.
President Barack Obama made his views quite clear: "I won," he stated to Rep. Eric Cantor in a meeting of Congress leaders to discuss the stimulus. "Bipartisanship" for this administration means nothing less than the GOP's complete surrender and acceptance of terms. Miller stated that "stimulus without spending is technically impossible." He must be the only person on campus who doesn't understand the concept of a tax cut.
He then went on to call FDR effective, and again, I find we are in agreement. FDR was very effective - at expanding the powers of government over individuals more than any previous time in our history, effective at dulling cutting-edge capitalism, effective at taking Guantanamo (which, to Democrats, amounts to nothing less than war crimes on Bush's part) and multiplying it countless times through Executive Order 9066, relocating over 100,000 Japanese in America into internment camps with armed guards and barbed wire.
Most of all, though, FDR was "effective" through his economic stimulus strategy - the same strategy Obama and the Democrats have adopted with this massive pork-barrel bill. Just how effective was FDR?
His Secretary of the Treasury and close friend Henry Morgenthau Jr. answered that question.
"We have tried spending money," Morgenthau said. "We are spending more than we have ever spent before, and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong…somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises…I saw after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started…and an enormous debt to boot!"
The same failed FDR policies make up Obama's platform. Fiscal conservatives know where they stand - it's right between big government and the people.
