Give me a break. Americans aren't that stupid. They know the Republicans have absolutely no credibility on budgetary issues of any kind. In fact, since 1968 the only two presidents to preside over federal budget surpluses were Democrats...Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton:
For the record, of the 35 years of budget deficits graphed above, Republicans held the presidency for 28. Although Clinton ran deficits in his first term, it is plainly evident that he was lowering them until, eventually, they turned into surpluses. Carter ran deficits as well, and while I'm not defending him, a look at the graph above shows he kept them low. Our debt didn't start spinning out of control until Reagan took office.The fascists on the right will argue that the Reagan deficits came from a Democratic-controlled congress. Not so fast. Check your facts.
The Senate was in Republican hands for six of Reagan's eight years as president; Reagan's budget deals were always passed in the House by a combination of Republicans and conservative southern Democrats; and the president didn't veto a single budget. The Bushes kept up the tradition, both of them breaking deficit records during their terms in office.
So when the Republicans start railing about deficit spending, Americans need not take them seriously. The party of Hoover, Reagan, and Bush are not responsible stewards of our nation's economy. They are hypocritical obstructionist partisans. And that is why they have been relegated to the minority.
