Tonight, I will expand on what I said about Hatch on Saturday.
This is what I said last Saturday.
Senator Hatch then spoke. He says all of the right things and still seems to have a lot of energy. He is as enthusiastic about his job as he was in the 80s. (I bet he still votes to confirm Sotomeyor, in spite of what he says.) He also said that he will become the chair of the Senate finance committee if the GOP gets a majority back. I do not see that happening in 2010.
Now to focus on his most infamous statement from that convention. He said, "you may think that George Bush and the Republicans are to blame for all of this deficit spending...don't you believe it!"
That was a very powerful and empathetic half-truth. The truth: in 2001 when GWB was inaugurated, the federal budget was in surplus. Two things happened, the dot com bust and the September 11th terrorist attacks. We understood that there was the need to go into the red a little bit to help pay for the consequences of these events. No one could blame Bush or the GOP for that folly. These events could have been blamed on Clinton, anyway.
But the economy improved by 2004, but we were now at war with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the post-Saddam insurgency in Iraq. This had to be paid for. No quarrel with a little red ink there at all.
The 2004 election was rough. The dems could have won the White House. But they nominated Kerry. We in the GOP should be thankful for this mistake. America should be thankful. We had GWB back and still held a majority in Congress. But the GOP delegation in Congress began to hear the breath of the donks behind them. Pelosi was the whipping girl. Bush policies were unpopular.
Did the GOP stick to their guns? Nope. They passed the medicare part-d act. A brand new, costly entitlement program. Not a Republican thing to do at all. The GOP was in the majority in Congress when part-d became law, GOP votes were needed for it to pass.
Then the wheels came off when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Was this a Republican problem? Before Katrina, the state took the lead in distaster relief and recovery. The federal government was there to help out, if needed. Unfortunately, the hurricane hit Louisiana, arguably the worst-run state in the Union. It turned into a political football and the GOP had to punt. The GOP was on defense from this point on. The excessive spending in response to Katrina needed a few republican votes to pass.
Did the republicans in congress fight excessive speding after Katrina. Exhibit A is TARP. A lot of republicans, including Hatch, Bennett and Cannon, voted for it. A trillion dollars that has been proven to be a BIG mistake.
Exhibit B is the number of spending bills that Bush votes when he was the president...oh, wait. Yea, an empty envelope is an exhibit.
Can President Obama use GOP follies as an excuse for his excessive spending? No. That is silly. That obsurdity is why I will not vote for him in 2012 even if the GOP nominates Ron Paul. Are Mr. Hatch and the Republicans completely innocent in all of this as claimed in last Saturday's speech. No. Mr. Hatch, that is a lie! That is what I believe. It does not matter how loudly you say it, we know the truth. I don't care if you do ever become the most powerful senator in Utah history, I am not going to vote for you for that reason.
Mr Hatch and Mr Bennett, please admit that TARP was a mistake and that you are sorry that you voted for it. Then you will be more believable.
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