‘Stop Spending!’

Posted on 06/30/2010 at 9:43 am by Bob Cesca

The Republicans, whose whole thing is to question the patriotism of Democrats and liberal support for the troops, blocked the Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans With Children Act yesterday. Benen reports:

It was approved in committee with bipartisan support, and Murray brought it to the floor this morning, seeking unanimous consent. She didn’t get it — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected on behalf of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who apparently was concerned about funding.

Unbelievable. Actually, no. It’s quite believable. The modern Republican Party at work. We know it well.

This morning on CNBC, the spazzy white guys in lower Manhattan were debating what the government can do about the economy and Rick Santelli began to wave his arms around and scream, “Stop spending! Stop spending! Stop spending!”

Okay. Show me one example of spending cuts alone stimulating the economy. Just one example. A direct correlation between spending cuts and economic growth with improved unemployment numbers.

Back to the bill. It’s worth pointing out again that Tom Coburn, who McConnell was serving as proxy, voted to continue spending $38 billion annually on corporate welfare for Big Oil. Yep. Oh, but he’s quite the deficit hawk isn’t he.

UPDATE: Here’s Rick Santelli’s latest televised meltdown:

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  • missliberties

    The dirty little secret is that big money knows that shrieks for balancing the budget will hurt the economy.-Yet they still shriek about spending for purely partisan reasons.-Now is exactly the wrong time to severe the stimulus and spending on safety nets because it will sabotage the recovery.

  • CompleteLunacy

    I get why the Republicans are worried. I get it. We have a huge deficit, and spending more certainly doesn’t make that better. It makes me uneasy. I don’t know who *likes* to have a multitrillion dollar deficit. However, Republicans are delusional if they think it is a solvable problem right now.There’s a time and place to push for deficit reduction. With a multibilliondollar oil spill ongoing, a major recession (that could have been much much worse), unemployment rates still obnoxiously high…yeah, now’s not the time. When our economy is actually rebounding and staying positive…THEN we should start to solve the problem. But we’re still nowhere near that right now. There are millions of Americans still struggling and hurt over this economic climate.

  • missliberties

    Here is another dirty little secret, the big boys are actually quite worried about creating demand (jobs). -There is a better chance for investors to make money right now this minute IF they put their money to work in American companies. -Step up private sector! Support America. Be Patriotic. Create a job today.-The T. Boone Pickens made noises this morning on CNBC that he supported Obama for President in 08. Pickens wants Obama to come out with an energy bill. (Skip the climate change terminology).-I hope we have enough time left in session to get some good stuff done.

  • indyinwc

    Yes,this is the plan. Shriek about spending, scare the public into believing that all our economic problems are based on government (Democrat) spending. Stop paying unemployment benefits, stop funding to the states, watch the ecomomy worsen and count on the fact most people are too busy to learn or ignorant of actual economics. Win handily in the Fall. I’m just severely dissappointed that the majority Dems, with a smart President behind them, can’t get a message through all the bullshit. Bush got a war, for God’s sake.

  • missliberties

    indy-The truth is that Democratic deficits bad. (spending)-Republican deficits good. (cut taxes)-Who knew deficits were partisan._That is a bit of an over simplification, because the recession/depression creating by the Wall St credit default swap housing bubble, blew up 58 Trillion dollars of wealth in the global economy. The housing bubble also hid some super weak factors in our economy.-More than tax policy right now, fair trade policies would go a million miles towards putting people to work in this country.

  • ec

    Krugman is right on cutbacks on spending actually hurting us more than the actual deficits.The Republicans should read the NYT article of yesterday on what spending cutbacks has done to the economy of Ireland.

  • Irish Girl

    Osborne Ink has some pretty vitriolic tweets over Congress refusal to fund vet programs lately, as is right. I mean, our vets give their sweat, blood and tears and we give them hardly anything when they return. There are so many homeless vets in American now that it is staggering. How can we treat them this way and yet give away billions to corporations? How can Americans look themselves in the mirror? It’s disgusting really.

  • emsique

    @Irish Girl: I moved away a couple of years ago because it looked like it was going to get bad. Crap, it got really bad, and the actions, and lack of action of the government are just flat out alarming! I thought by now that there would at least be some public works programs in place to rebuild the infrastructure, and that we might have pulled together to make a recovery possible. Instead we have the worst of the American character come out: selfishness, bigotry, paranoia, greed, apathy, and ignorance have become the dominant themes of the day. Those in power don’t give a shit about the small people, and the small people are passively taking it.

  • Allonfla

    supporting our vets should really be a no-brainer.

  • http://www.osborneink.com OsborneInk

    Dear Tom Coburn: fuck you. We didn’t pinch pennies and ask the Senate to cut back its spending before we left out sweat and blood in the sand. We want the same fucking courtesy. When you borrow a trillion dollars for war and then balk at borrowing a couple of billion for vets, then just FUCK YOU and anyone standing next to you.

  • http://kcdad.livejournal.com Charles Brown

    FUND THE WAR, not the support systems for the troops that fight it…Whatever happened to SUPPORT THE TROOPS?Did they really mean SUPPORT THE WAR?Duh… sorry… stoopid question

  • brutlyhonest

    Wasn’t it teh dick™ that said raygun proved deficits don’t matter? My how times have changed.

    And, yeah, the r’s have always been pro-defense industry and anti-military; unfortunately no one with the power to do so points that out and the lemmings keep thinking big defense industry budgets means r’s support them.

  • ec

    This is going to hurt recruiting, of course. Hey! Come joined the armed forces. We are going to use you up in pointless wars and then let you and your family suffer financial collapse due to your injuries.As it is, we don’t have sufficient services to help our vets with brain injuries. Much less their families.Then, of course, we will have to fund more fun recruiting ads to make up for the lost soldiers.I hate these people.

  • Irish Girl

    To make matters worse, where does the majority of recruitment come from? The Top 1%, I don’t friggin think so. It comes from, mostly, those that see the military as a step up from their current status. Now this is a generalization so don’t swat me for it, but you know it’s true. Since Vietnam in particular, the troops show an overrepresentation by the lower socio-economic classes (and sadly of minorities as a result). Cannon fodder, anyone? It keeps the “rabble” busy and quiet, dontcha know, also too. /snark

  • http://tarackian.deviantart.com J M Ashby

    The republicans know the economics. They just dont care. Its all political games. They would sell their own mother to get some more votes.And for those asking why the ‘dems and the president cant get a message thru’ – I think they actually do a decent job at trying to, and sometimes it works, but sometimes the corporate media just isnt paying attention and prefer to go with the deficit fear campaign instead.Heh and they wonder why people are increasingly turning to alternative media and going online. They’re sick of the bullshit.

  • http://kcdad.livejournal.com Charles Brown

    “This is going to hurt recruiting”‘NAAAAAAAAAAH…They are paying HUGE sign up and re-enlistment cash bonuses and paying for education for jobs that don’t exist… except in the Army.

  • http://tarackian.deviantart.com J M Ashby

    The screencapture from that video says the personal saving rat of May was 4% and that was the highest since Sept. of last year.Thats more disturbing than Santelli’s boobery.

  • http://www.osborneink.com OsborneInk

    Santelli crying “Wolf.”

  • http://radicalsahm.blogspot.com/ Radical SAHM

    Tax cuts are terrible for stimulus. If you want to stimulate the economy, you should increase unemployment payments and food aid. Exactly the opposite of the republican strategy. I’ve never actually heard Santelli before. He’s an idiot, no? A loud over-gesticulating idiot? Wow. Watching cable news must make you people crazy.

  • MrBrink

    Rick Santelli is such a spazzy prick.I’m sure he’d like to be the President of the global bubble and bust economy, but the fact of the matter is he’s operating in an alternate reality and flawed state of theoretical economics articulated through quarterly-minded rhetorical ignorance.American Government, love it or leave, asshole, is your competitor–a global competitor of fundamental necessity– and slightly less-than-reluctant partner through mandated constitutional obligations to the people first and foremost.Santelli is throwing incoherent tantrums and crying like a privileged brat to further do what wannabe free market masters of the universe always try to do– eliminate that competition!Waaah!Sorry, asswipe, the American government is a player, and the accumulated wealth of the world’s wealthiest individuals(about $40 trillion), saying nothing of the accumulated wealth of multi-national corporations that laugh at America’s GDP like giggling school girls being flashed by a dude with a tiny penis, will just have to get along within the guidelines and self-interests of a government that was established to protect its people and its institutions from the douchey Austrian economic theory and theorists that believe governments are impediments to personal “freedom” and wealth.

    Paul Krugman Sidebar: The Hangover Theory: Are recessions the inevitable payback for good times?

    Santelli is just an other-people’s-money hypocrite who’s lost his ability to deal with a real economy where durable goods and moderation aren’t falling prey to derivatives and speculative get rich quick schemes and the radical liquidation of the American government.I’m a firm advocate of the missliberties school of thought:

    Step up private sector! Support America. Be Patriotic. Create a job today.

    Absolutely.Shut the fuck up, get a hold of yourself, and create a job, Santelli. Try investing in durable green job-based goods and actually do some good for a change you whiny SOB.

  • Jerry Melton

    What else can we expect from people who think a six figure salary makes you classified as a poor person.