Republican Big Deficit Strategy

"An Irresponsible President" is how the WaPo describes Bush and his fiscal recklessness, but Heartland Democrats of America take it a step further and call Republicans "An Irresponsible Party" - by design.

But when you think about it, the fact that it's [deficit] unsustainable seems to be exactly the point, right? No realistic person honestly looks at the current budget situation and says it is sustainable. It has become increasingly clear that America's current economic mess is the consequence of an intentional strategy by right-wing economic conservatives who hate domestic social spending. These folks have hedged their bets that on America's day of fiscal reckoning, not all of their tax cuts for multimillionaires will be rescinded. [...]

The Republican Big Deficit Strategy is thus about forcing massive spending cuts down the throats of the American people, but also realizing they'll never be able to do it at the ballot box. So they sneak it through the back door, putting our nation on a path to fiscal ruin they hope will only ultimately be able to be avoided with massive cuts in government investments in our people and the safety net for our weakest citizens. [...]

The ultimate point is that the Washington Post had it wrong; it's not just Bush. This isn't just an irresponsible President; it's an irresponsible party, and the only way to give our nation a fighting chance in its battle with fiscal recklessness is to throw the whole lot of the current gang out.

I agree that we need to vote them out, but there also needs to be more accountability for such criminal financial management. A good starting point would be to strip them of their pensions and health insurance, and then sentence them to several years of community service working in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc.