Legal Commentary

Reducing The Deficit: Reagan/O'Neill v. Clinton/Gingrich

By Big Tent Democrat

Tweety writes about his passion for the Ronald Reagan/Tip O'Neill relationship:

A vigorous debate over the role of government is always at the heart of our democracy. Since the shootings in Arizona, however, many have said that our partisan ferocity is unhealthy. So it seems like a good time to reflect on Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill. It would serve us well to understand how these very different politicians managed to temper their philosophical divide with a public, and sometimes personal, cordiality.

A nice yarn, but how do Reagan/O'Neill stand up on the Beltway's MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OF ALL TIME! - the budget deficit? Not very well. More . . .

Reagan and O'Neill tripled the national debt, By contrast, the non-cordial Clinton/Gingrich relationship (after Dems raised taxes in 1993) produced budget surpluses.

It just goes to demonstrate what a joke the Beltway's deficit hawkishness is. This mooning over the era of Reagan/O'Neill tells it all.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 18, 2011 (boomark / email).