Currently fiscal conservatives can bascially say I told you so. Our economy is screwed because a majority of Americans from rich to poor were spending beyond their means.

The tricky part of the situation is the economy is so messed up I think most people agree we need to abandon fiscal responsibility in the short term.

Moving forward after the economy recovers it should be interesting to watch what happens. I have liked the Blue Dogs for some time now. My ultimate goal is for the Blue Dogs and some actual fiscal conservatives to unite and get some serious traction for government efficiency and accountability.

Fairfax County is an interesting case study to watch. The past several elections the main thrust on the R side has been spending and taxes are out of control. Up to this point this hasn’t worked all that well. With the current situation there might be more traction on this issue. If Herrity loses its back to square one and for the life of me I don’t really see the way forward for republicans locally.

The reason is that the candidates who actually campaign on cutting spending have lost.

Republicans tried to lower medicare spending growth and lost seats in Congress in 1998, thus giving birth to the “compassionate conservative” movement.

Spending cutters weren’t winning, and Jim Gilmore’s performance didn’t help matters. Mark Warner exploded government spending and coasted to victory.

Bottom line…if you want elected officials to cut spending, you have to figure out why those who increase spending are the repeated preference of the voters.

Excellent point. To make matters worse the main objection by Republicans isn’t that there is too much spending. Its that there aren’t enough tax cuts. So in essence the so called fiscally responsible party wants to spend even more money.

When did the Republicans ever cut taxes and decrease spending? You might find some past examples of this, but you will not find any examples in the last 8 years.

Last examples you can point to happened back when Bill Clinton was President. Do you disagree?

where have you been for the last half century? taxes on the lower and middle classes have been declining WHILE spending has been skyrocketing.

When do we EVER turn off the spigot?
http://www.heritage.org/research/features/budgetchartbook/fed-rev-spend-2008-boc-S5-Federal-Spending-Grew-Nine-Times.html

&, LD, how many condoms are made in America anyway? that $500 M will translate into how many US jobs? I mean, buy & use condoms by all means, but don’t make me buy them for you and then call it “stimulus.” Because the kind of stimulus coming from their inclusion in this bill isn’t exactly economic.

If we spend 500 million on condoms, somebody is going to have to manufacture these condoms. If it includes contraceptive drugs, then at least most of these are sure to be manufactured in America and provide stimulus if it increases demand.

There are two ways to stimulate the economy. Cut taxes or increase spending. BOTH add to the deficit. However it is easier to turn off the spigot of increased spending then it is resume the original tax rate after a short run.

As an example of why cutting taxes even in the short term ends up being a long term problem, see what has happened with the 2001 tax cuts. These tax cuts were supposed to be temporary to stimulate the economy. Now if they are allowed to expire this is described by some as a tax increase.

Again, STDs / STIs have reached epidemic proportions. I think roughly a third of our young people have or have had an STD. Combating their spread is a worthy endeavor. But is it economic stimulus?

Come on, people.

This is the kind of stuff that ticks me off. The problem is the Republicans aren’t organized enough to take advantage of it.

Imagine what would happen if the leadership said we are not voting for this stimulus because of all the stuff you jsut mentioned

Thats how we will rebuild this party.

Sarcasm aside, you are absolutely correct. And, there is some evidence that these neighborhood stabilization dollars can actually lead to more foreclosures.