Brian Holtz // Oct 28, 2009 at 1:36 pm
The only revisionism here is Blanton’s. He blathers about “truth” while blatantly quoting out of context. Here’s the whole paragraph from Root:
So the next time you hear President Obama extol the virtues of government and tell you that only government can save you…think Amtrak. Think DMV. Think U.S. Postal Service (a monopoly that loses over $7 billion annually). Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Think about failing government-run public schools. Think about failing government-run health-care (called Medicare and Medicaid). Think about the $5.3 trillion unfunded liability for government employees. Think about the $100 trillion dollar national debt. Think brothels and gambling failing (only when run by government). Think PONZI.
The topic of that paragraph is whether to believe Obama that “only government can save you”. It’s simply untruthful for Blanton to suggest that Root is here accusing Obama of initiating all of the government failures that Root cited.
As for the Blanton lie of Root being a “Republican”, ask yourself if a Republican would write this, in his penultimate blog posting before last November’s election:
How many times can conservative or free market libertarian voters be lied to, without waking up to the deception? Year after year, at election time Republicans trot out candidates who portray themselves as libertarian conservatives standing for free markets, smaller government, lower spending, lower taxes, and more freedom. But after they are elected, they govern very differently than they promised. The reality is that Republicans talk about smaller government, but once elected, they expand government just like Democrats. They treat us like battered voters.
Even one of my heroes was guilty of this offense. Remember when Ronald Reagan said, “The nine worst words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Then he was elected and oversaw a dramatic expansion of government. Reagan also said he’d eliminate the Department of Education. It is still standing almost three decades later- not only standing, but growing at an alarming rate. The budget of the Department of Education is $80 Billion dollars almost 3 decades after Reagan pledged to eliminate it. Eighty billion dollars.
Remember when George H.W. Bush (daddy of W) said, “Read my lips, no new taxes”? Then after his election, he promptly raised taxes.
Remember George W. Bush’s promises to cut government and reduce spending. Then he was elected and went on a spending rampage that would embarrass a drunken sailor. The first veto of his Presidency was against stem cell research. But earmarks, pork, waste and bloated budgets never seemed to bother W.
Now we have John McCain- yet another Republican Presidential candidate promising to be a conservative free market libertarian. But in his prior political life McCain voted against tax cuts; supported amnesty for illegal aliens- whose demands for government spending and entitlements threaten to bankrupt our nation; supported more government regulation, more bureaucrats, and higher taxes in the name of global warming; supported violations of our civil liberties (like warrantless wiretaps); and created a campaign finance bill (McCain Feingold) that eroded our free speech.
And that was all BEFORE McCain joined with Barack Obama to support the trillion-dollar government bailout- the greatest rip-off of taxpayers in American history.
Bob, the next time Tom Blanton tells you it’s daytime, don’t take his word for it — go check the nearest window.
So the next time you hear President Obama extol the virtues of government and tell you that only government can save you…think Amtrak. Think DMV. Think U.S. Postal Service (a monopoly that loses over $7 billion annually). Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Think about failing government-run public schools. Think about failing government-run health-care (called Medicare and Medicaid). Think about the $5.3 trillion unfunded liability for government employees. Think about the $100 trillion dollar national debt. Think brothels and gambling failing (only when run by government). Think PONZI.
The topic of that paragraph is whether to believe Obama that “only government can save you”. It’s simply untruthful for Blanton to suggest that Root is here accusing Obama of initiating all of the government failures that Root cited.
As for the Blanton lie of Root being a “Republican”, ask yourself if a Republican would write this, in his penultimate blog posting before last November’s election:
How many times can conservative or free market libertarian voters be lied to, without waking up to the deception? Year after year, at election time Republicans trot out candidates who portray themselves as libertarian conservatives standing for free markets, smaller government, lower spending, lower taxes, and more freedom. But after they are elected, they govern very differently than they promised. The reality is that Republicans talk about smaller government, but once elected, they expand government just like Democrats. They treat us like battered voters.
Even one of my heroes was guilty of this offense. Remember when Ronald Reagan said, “The nine worst words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Then he was elected and oversaw a dramatic expansion of government. Reagan also said he’d eliminate the Department of Education. It is still standing almost three decades later- not only standing, but growing at an alarming rate. The budget of the Department of Education is $80 Billion dollars almost 3 decades after Reagan pledged to eliminate it. Eighty billion dollars.
Remember when George H.W. Bush (daddy of W) said, “Read my lips, no new taxes”? Then after his election, he promptly raised taxes.
Remember George W. Bush’s promises to cut government and reduce spending. Then he was elected and went on a spending rampage that would embarrass a drunken sailor. The first veto of his Presidency was against stem cell research. But earmarks, pork, waste and bloated budgets never seemed to bother W.
Now we have John McCain- yet another Republican Presidential candidate promising to be a conservative free market libertarian. But in his prior political life McCain voted against tax cuts; supported amnesty for illegal aliens- whose demands for government spending and entitlements threaten to bankrupt our nation; supported more government regulation, more bureaucrats, and higher taxes in the name of global warming; supported violations of our civil liberties (like warrantless wiretaps); and created a campaign finance bill (McCain Feingold) that eroded our free speech.
And that was all BEFORE McCain joined with Barack Obama to support the trillion-dollar government bailout- the greatest rip-off of taxpayers in American history.
Bob, the next time Tom Blanton tells you it’s daytime, don’t take his word for it — go check the nearest window.
Brian Holtz // Oct 28, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Which scam did Root say Obama started?
Again, just read from his blog post:
The government-run education system is a shambles- and getting worse every day. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prove the government can´t run the mortgage business. Bernie Madoff proved the government, with all the regulators at the SEC, can´t even watch the bad guys. But worst of all, is their record running healthcare: Medicare and Medicaid. They are bankrupt, bleeding billions, and threatening to bankrupt the country.
Yet Obama, our fearless version of Madoff, smiles and tells us “Trust Me. Forget our past failures; this time the government will be miraculously profitable. We´re even going to save a half trillion dollars from medicare fraud (ignoring the fact that government not only allowed, but encouraged the fraud in the first place, and if they could eliminate it WHY HAVEN´T THEY DONE IT BEFORE NOW?). Only a politician could claim that spending an extra $1 trillion (or far more) will save money.
The entirety of Root’s argument against Obama’s healthcare scheme is Root’s litany of pre-Obama government failures.
Again, just read from his blog post:
The government-run education system is a shambles- and getting worse every day. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prove the government can´t run the mortgage business. Bernie Madoff proved the government, with all the regulators at the SEC, can´t even watch the bad guys. But worst of all, is their record running healthcare: Medicare and Medicaid. They are bankrupt, bleeding billions, and threatening to bankrupt the country.
Yet Obama, our fearless version of Madoff, smiles and tells us “Trust Me. Forget our past failures; this time the government will be miraculously profitable. We´re even going to save a half trillion dollars from medicare fraud (ignoring the fact that government not only allowed, but encouraged the fraud in the first place, and if they could eliminate it WHY HAVEN´T THEY DONE IT BEFORE NOW?). Only a politician could claim that spending an extra $1 trillion (or far more) will save money.
The entirety of Root’s argument against Obama’s healthcare scheme is Root’s litany of pre-Obama government failures.
