Amnesiacs are real

My buddy Steve Benen touched on something yesterday that I've been wanting to write about for at least a week now.

Benen calls the people who intentionally refuse to remember the true state of the country in 2009 "amnesiacs."  He's referring to the Republican talking heads, the Fox News noise machine and the hate radio of the right.  These are the people screaming out marching orders to the rank and file GOP voters trying to convince them things really weren't that bad in 2009.  My contention is, they've done a decent job.

Here's an excerpt of an email I got last week from a close Republican friend.

"Chris....you can't really be that naive.  W. inherited a recession too and he handled it well never blaming Clinton.  This pointing back to blame the other guy isn't what a leader does.  Yes there was a crash but by the time Barry took office it was almost over and things were not that bad.  But just think.  If Obama is re-elected just think of the mess he'll inherit!"  

You can only imagine my response.  My friend and author of the quote above is not a Republican operative.  She's not even involved in party politics at all.  She's a mere GOP voter and proud of it.   She starts her day off with Fox & Friends in the morning; has talk radio on all day and finishes at night with Hannity or O'Reilly.  And she's thoroughly convinced things are either no better now, or are worse.  She's bought into the "amnesiacs."  She lives in a total alternate universe.

In the midst of replies back and forth supplying her with much data showing things are better now, I asked numerous times for her to tell me what is "worse."  Or what is the mess she is talking about.  Her response:  "the debt.  Chris, you know the debt is worse now than ever before.  Your boy has spent more money than all presidents combined.  He's rationed off our children's future with his spending binge..."  Blah, blah blah.

The only thing not better is the debt.  Very true.  It's all they have to focus on.  But there was no way to stop the mountain of debt that was coming no matter who was president. They know this.  They just find it very opportune.  The truth, however, is still very frustrating to them.  President Obama inherited the largest budget deficit ever.  He didn't create it.  And that's where the mountains of debt Republicans now claim to care about come from.  Yet the greater truth about the deficits is that they are smaller now than when Obama took office.

Listen, the whole thing might not be a walk in the park but the country is in way better shape now than what George Bush and the Republicans left it in.  The only people who believe otherwise are a brainwashed group living in a alternate universe.