Can We Trust the GOP to Cut Spending?, Take 2

Jeebus, that didn't take long. We just posted Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy's most recent print mag story about the Republicans' wicked, wicked ways when it comes to restraining the spending they inveigh against all the time. It's not a pretty story, either:

Surprisingly, the data show that military spending is the only major item that Republicans (aside from Reagan) were willing to cut. That was the case under Nixon (who presided over a 30 percent cut), George H.W. Bush (a 14.5 percent cut), and even the Republican Congress that shared power during the second half of Bill Clinton's first term (a 15.3 percent cut). Sadly, there is little chance this Congress will follow suit. In recent months, conservative think tanks have been campaigning to shield the Pentagon from budget reductions.

And now comes word via Cap'n Ed Morrissey at Hot Air that

Perhaps it might take more than one election for the message to sink into the heads of Republican leadership.  Three of the GOP "cardinals" on the House Appropriations Committee only waited a week before reminding people that the moratorium on pork is only temporary, and that they look forward to the day when members can earmark funds for their own district.

You know, the last cardinal worth a damn wasn't no Republican. It was Leo Durocher, fer crying out loud. For a full list of jag-off Republicans in on this scam, click above or check out this story from The Hill.

In more Durocherania, here's Leo the Lip trying to sign Herman Munster to the Los Angeles Dodgers, even though he thinks the family look like "wetbacks from the Petrified Forest." As Durocher said, he didn't care who you were or where you came from as long as you could help him win. Bonus great line: "I don't know whether to sign him or send him to Vietnam" (cue laugh track!).

Comments

[PIRS]

If the GOP dispoints the TEA Party people they will split off.

I hope the GOP leadership knows this.

[R C Dean]

I think its pretty clear that, absent a collapse of the bond market (which isn't exactly a zero-probability scenario), we aren't going to see any real fiscal restraint from this Congress.

Assuming the economy continue bottom-bouncing, the question will be whether the voters are still pissed off in 2012, or just worn down and resigned. If they are still pissed off, we might see another Bloodbath of the Incumbents.

If that is followed by a wholesale replacement of Congressional leadership, then just maybe we'll get some relief.

I'm not convinced we can avoid a collapse of the bond market in any circumstances, but it is 100% inevitable if we don't start balancing the budget pretty damn soon. The smart money is already starting to vote with its feet, and moving into assets that have the best chance of surviving a collapse (the Continuous Commodities Index just set a new high). What seems to be happening is that the smart money is selling its bonds to Bernanke for newly printed dollars in the QE program, then flipping those dollars into harder assets.

[CoyoteBlue]

I've come to accept that this is inevitable. They won't stop until it all comes down around their heads. Lean years ahead.

[also they will blaim the libertarians for the bond collapse]

[MWG]

"Can We Trust the GOP to Cut Spending?"

Nope.

With few exceptions, defense spending is their sacred cow, and nobody wants to piss off old people by cutting SS or MC.

[P Brooks]

Meredith Whitney was on CNBC this morning; the "rebuttals" trotted out against her prediction of muni bond defaults (in my view) showed a palpable fear she might be right.

And, of course, Bill Gross came on to talk his book offer reassurances of the safety of munis.

[Nash]

The clip actually holds up pretty well. I laughed.

[Albert Pujols]

"You know, the last cardinal worth a damn wasn't no Republican. It was Leo Durocher, fer crying out loud."

WTF?

[Bob Gibson]

WTF?

[Stan Musial]

WTF?

[Frankie Frisch]

Not one of youse bums were ever on the Munsters. Not one of youse. And Durocher was on Mr. Ed, too, along with Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro, so fuck the lot of ya.

[AlmightyJB]

via Hot Air

http://www.csmonitor.com/Busin.....rian-state

[AlmightyJB]

The article is "The secret to a libertarian state" which was obvious in the link before it was condensed when I posted it.

[BeerHere]

Ah the good old days of pre-PC television. 20 seconds into the clip, Durocher describes the Munster family: "They look like a bunch of wetbacks from a petrified forest."

I don't even know what this means, but I laughed along with the canned soundtrack audience chuckle.