Exorcise the Demons

It appears that sometime between November 4, 2008 and January 20, 2009 the Republican Party decided they were no longer in favor of government spending bills. The Party who turned the largest surplus in history into the largest deficit in history has over a matter of two-and-a-half months discovered some sort of growing distaste for government spending. Surely something must have happened in those two months that was truly earthshaking to their movement to cause such a discord for the love of government spending. As we can see from the chart below, there was never a time prior to Jan. 20th the GOP didn't fall over backward to spend tax payer money.

Every year under complete Republican-rule government spending bills increased. Then something jaw dropping happened in early 2007. Not sure what that was. Since then spending has been cut in half and is currently at 2003 levels. But how can that be? I thought the Republican Party was the party of small government and fiscal conservatism. I'm so glad they have finally found their way.

So today when they say they are firmly against government spending bills such as the stimulus bill currently being debated in the senate, they are truly embarking on a revival of their inner soul. Either that or they're just big fat liars.

*Update:

The Republican List of what the anti-stimulus party deems as waste. No mention though of the 2005 Republican budget that contained over 10,000 pork projects.