My Dearest Digby, I Must Disagree

Digby is an icon when it comes to political blogging.  She's a pioneer and will be remembered as one of the greatest political philosophers of our day.  Lord knows I've stolen plenty from her.  It's safe to say that everyone who came after her did so because of her.  So it's with all due respect that I must disagree with her about Dem messaging, or I guess you could called it political posturing.

My contention?  A new WaPo/ABC News poll that shows President Obama leading Mittens in every category except for one: Who voters think will do better at handling the budget deficit.  This one area sends chilling concerns Digby's way.  And mine as well but maybe to a lesser extent.  To counter this she suggests Dems need to start talking about how spending money on people during a recession is actually good.  It seems Dems are too busy trying to portray themselves as Slashers and Cutters for fear of being painted as a big liberal spender.  True enough.  But I think trying to convince voters that spending money right now is futile, especially this late in the recession game.

It would be time better spent reminding voters-- despite all their fancy rhetoric about fiscal stewardship-- of just how fiscally irresponsible Republican administrations are once they get into power.  Remind voters that President Obama inherited a $1.4 trillion budget deficit from the Republicans.  And that he has SLASHED the deficit to almost below a trillion for the first time since George Bush.  It really won't take much convincing on this issue at all.  Voters know what the economy was like and what he left for Obama to fix.  Reminding how bad it was is honesty at its best.

Time is better spent reminding voters that it was George Bush's tax cuts that turned Clinton's budget surplus into a huge budget deficit.  It's better spent reminding voters that not one single piece of legislation from Bush's Republican Administration was paid for-- not one single bill was funded, not one.  Remind them that it was the Republicans who slashed government revenue and then invaded two countries and instituted Endless War without raising one single penny to pay for any of it.  And that it was President Obama who ended the war in Iraq saving us billions every month, refocused are attention to the people responsible for 9/11-- killing bin Laden and formed a coalition with our allies that removed Gaddafi from power.  These are all worthy remembrances.

It's much easier to remind voters that George Bush doubled our federal debt while in office and since then his policies are accountable for $7 trillion worth of federal debt-- That's 50% of our total federal debt just from George Bush. Trying to convince people that spending is okay right now because of the recession is so 2009.  We've moved beyond that conversation, for the worse I agree.  But it's gone and not returning.  Reminding voters, instead, that Republican rhetoric has never matched their governance, that it has never matched their legacy and that today's economic troubles were inherited from them is the better conversation to have with voters.

What, in the history of modern Republican Rule-- since Reagan--- can Republicans use as their example of small government conservatism where they slashed deficits, paid down the debt, shrunk government and created jobs can they point to as an example?  There's our conversation to have.  Their empty rhetoric must be portrayed to voters daily.  I do disagree Digby, there is a better message.