The Song Remains The Same

When is someone going to Challenge These Jokers?
by Max Johnson

Representative Tom Price of Georgia appeared on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon on September 11 to lay out the game plan for the November election for Republicans. I do not understand why the media never challenges these guys. This is the Contract with America all dressed up for the 2010s. Here are the three things that Price said was the winning ticket for Republicans:

1. Decrease spending in the federal government to provide some stability.
2. No increases on taxes on anyone. (EVEN BILLIONAIRES???)
   
3. Provide an incentive to job creators.

Price stressed repeatedly that he did not want to "punish job creators." Let's go back to the source. Here are a few of the relevant passages from the Contract with America:

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out-of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A $500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief.

8.THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages.

Why couldn't Simon ask these questions of Price as he was spouting the party line:

1. Which specific programs do you want to cut in the federal budget?
2. Why did you not make the Bush tax cut permanent when you had all the power?
3. At what point in our history are Republicans going to call for tax increases? I mean if the thinking is do not raise taxes after just coming out of a recession then why was it the same policy in 2004 or even 1998 when we had record surpluses?
4. When do Republicans propose to fix our infrastructure, solve homelessness, get everyone in America healthcare, reduce poverty, expand access to higher education?
5. In light of financial trickery on Wall Street that led to the collapse, the poor response to Katrina by government, the food scares that caused huge egg recall, and the inability to protect the gulf coast against the oil spill, do you think that we should expand government's oversight role and provide more dollars for regulations?
6. If you support the troops, how do you intend to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without tax increases?
7. On a related issue, how do you intend to pay for the veterans suffering traumatic brain injuries in the next 30 years without a tax increase? If you truly care about our troops and this is not just a slogan for you then you would propose a way to make sure that our veterans receive the best possible care when they come back injured fighting the wars that you sent them to fight.
8. There were 18 specific pieces of legislation proposed in the Contract with America, and three were passed. The last few Congresses of the Bush Administration were called "Do nothing Congresses." So, what can you point to from the last 20 years that Republicans have done while in power that would give taxpayers confidence that they could trust you with the keys to the economy and democracy?
9. If your upcoming election strategy is "don't punish the job creators," are you going to apologize to America for denigrating the automobile bailout, which has saved millions of jobs in America?
10. Isn't the easiest way for government to generate more jobs is to create more government jobs? So, why not support a massive state budget bailout to prevent massive numbers of layoff and some expansion for mine safety, food safety, and thinning the forests to prevent forest fires in the West?

The media has to stop letting these guys off easy. In an attempt to seem balanced, they let stupidity pass. If an elected official says something stupid like "don't punish the job creators," they have to challenge them. No one is ever asked to prove it or told to stop spouting slogans. Politicians are allowed to say outlandish things like increasing taxes to the level they were in 1998 on rich people will hurt job creation, and the media isn't forcing them to prove it. The Republican party is no longer about leadership, but has become the party of slogans. "We will reduce your taxes" is not a strategy to govern.