But again, that ignores that when government reduces the percentage of tax take, the actual tax income goes UP.

This is exactly my point: republican tax cuts did no actually reduce the portion of our productivity the government lays claim to. All the proof of this you need is that after Bush's tax cuts, the percentage of GDP represented in government spending increased.

All Bush's tax cut did was devalue the dollar; by giving us a bigger pile of less valuable dollars, most Republican voters were fooled into thinking the their personal purchasing power had been increased.

So, basically, it is a grand liberal conspiracy that is causing the country to drift leftward? Oh my, life is just so darn unfair...you poor, sad conservatives...whatever are you going to do? Maybe stage a revolution or something...

No, what I'm saying is that the portion of production consumed by the government is determined by how much it spends, regardless of how it finances that spending.

But again, that ignores that when government reduces the percentage of tax take, the actual tax income goes UP.

I can't decide whether the American public's thorough rejection of the GOP is based more on results or culture.

I have long held that facts have nothing to do with the support that democrats regularly achieve. You'll recall I commented that thereby mere facts will never defeat them. On that basis, perhaps, the answer of "culture" is closer to the mark. Or, perhaps, it's more correct to say "anti culture".

Years... decades, in fact, of the left gainsaying every value held by traditional American culture, particularly in the halls of every government indoctrination center... we used to call them 'schools' cannot be without effect.

While I fully understand that at the end of the day political parties are imperfect coalitions made up of imperfect groups consisting of imperfect people, the bottom line is that there is something profoundly wrong with the Republicans at the moment and simply hoping for the Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot isn't an especially appealing strategy.

Indeed, while I am personally not necessarily pleased with how the Dems are governing,

I can't decide whether the American public's thorough rejection of the GOP is based more on results or culture.

The results option is simple. The GOP policies didn't work. Tax cuts paired with massive spending doesn't work. Deregulating finance doesn't work. Capricious war doesn't work. Abstinence-ed doesn't work. Ignoring science doesn't work. Torturing captives doesn't work.

As far as culture, the demographic I've been deeply immersed in the last 12 years is 18-32 yro college students & college grads, and their culture is quite different from the GOP base. To put it bluntly, the GOP appears to them to be the party of hateful idiots. The kind of cantankerous, ignorant people who sit around talking about Barack the Seekrit Marxist Mooslim and how global warming is a worldwide conspiracy, possibly orchestrated by the Radical Homosexuals. People who can't even accept the fact of gays, or condoms, or evolution, or, and this is a big one, the value of education. The culture that celebrates Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh, that puts Jindal up there mocking geological research, that puts out a 'budget' with no numbers...well...young intelligent educated types see that and say thanks but no thanks.

We don't particularly like the Democrats, exactly, but it's them or the Tard Party, so Dem it is. And every time Michelle Bachman opens her mouth, or Glenn Beck, or Hannity, or Hewitt, or Malkin, or whoever, they push us another centimeter further away.

You might say, well, yes, but they also pull the GOP base another centimeter closer. And they do. But what makes this a long-term problem for the GOP is that the GOP base demographic is shrinking. While the other culture I described is expanding. And the base has a strong grip on the GOP, pushing RINOs out, primary-challenging people like Specter. Demanding obeisance to Rush. It's going to take at least a few more losses in 2010 and 2012 before the party will be broken enough to change direction.

The GOP 'budget'. Cheney. Michelle Bachman. Michael Steele. Limbaugh and Pence and the rest. I'm actually glad the GOP is working so hard to make such fools of themselves. The young and educated are watching, and it's pretty clear they have noticed. I'm going to be grinning and cooking up some popcorn come Nov 2010.

If you cut taxes without cutting spending, you haven't really cut taxes; you've just changed them from a direct tax to an indirect tax in the form of inflation.

Well, careful, here. You do so, minus the degree to which the income to the Federal treasury is increased by the increased amount of economic activity in the open market.

Or are you trying to tell us that the amount of money taken in by the Federal government is completely independent of the state of the economy at that time?

Republicans need to keep hammering at the Obama budget as did the Democrats when Bush was in the White House. Obama's job is to justify the numbers. Republicans shouldn't take the bait and submit their own plan. That isn't their job.

When inflation hits double digits next year as a direct result of Obama's overspending, the public will start listening. THEN we make the case. Let Obama justify his spending. Republican's can't submit their own and then spend precious time defending it.

Ever since the Bush was elected in 2000 the Republicans have worked very hard to make themselves irrelevant and now they have succeeded.

Maybe when everyone who was ever associated with the Bush Administration or severed in Congress from 2001 to 2006 is out of office and out of politics will changes occur. As long as Bush cronies are kept around, the Republican will keep screwing up.

Maybe when every home schooled, Patrick Henry college, Regents University alum is totally out of politics, things will change. What can you say about people who thought that there could be a permanent Republican majority while maintaining open borders and unlimited immigration?

Nor does increasing taxes, unless you can shove them off on your neighbor, that is. The universal Democratic selling point.

Anyone want to tackle spending?

Anyone?

Anybody here?

Anybody out there?

Hello?

London calling..

What’s truly bizarre is that the Democrats have managed to take what was, last November, a perfect storm in their favor, and turn it, through a series of missteps, into a golden opportunity for the Republicans to demonstrate that they’re a serious alternative party after all.

I can't agree with this, James. The dems had a very good opportunity in terms of eletoral forces, and they mostly made good use of them gaining near super majorities in both houses of congress and the presidency.

But the aftermath of the election was far from a perfect storm for dems. Obama was inheriting a disintegrating economy and the unpopular (particularly with his base) "GWOT". At the same time he couldn't just withdraw from Iraq and afghanistan without probably committing political suicide (the myth of our military omnipotence is too deeply embedded in the national character, unfortunately). Those two issues alone meant Obama was going to have serious problems once the honeymoon wore off.

And we've seen his popularity decline (although it is still quite healthy). The amazing thing is that we've seen congress popularity go way up compared to last year. The underlying mechanic isn't exactly clear as dems mostly seem unhappy about congress doing too little and republicans seem unhappy about their boy failing to stop the stuff that is getting done.

Finally it is worth noting that this has been an extraordinarily busy start to a presidential term. We're just over two months in and we've gotten an enormous stimulus package pushed through, card check has been raised-killed-reraised, there's been the AIG bonuses tax, a massive budget is set to be voted on shortly, and there's been all the usual presidential appointments. Whether you think it's a good or bad thing you have to admit that for congress that's moving at damn near light speed.

The Republican plan is vague for public consumption to be sure but I expect the details are somewhere yet not released.

Sure, they're where everything else Republican is these days: Cloud Cuckoo Land. In fact, it would take an Aristophanes to do adequately portray the f-cked up state of the current Republican party.