BCT Editorial – 5/20/07

This page was last updated on May 20, 2007.

Mere words; Editorial; Beaver County Times; May 20, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“We’ve tried to refrain from commenting on the Democratic and Republican presidential races because it’s way too early and, truth be told, too boring.”

[RWC] Translation: “We’ve tried to refrain from commenting on the Democrat presidential races because we can’t write anything positive that anyone would believe.”

“However, GOP candidates at the debate in South Carolina said something so out of touch with reality that it can’t be allowed to pass without some comment.”

[RWC] Hmm, funny how the Times managed to keep quiet about the Democrat debate in South Carolina, isn’t it? <g> There wasn’t even a mention of Democrat candidates boycotting two debates (one sponsored by the Nevada Democrat Party and the other by the Congressional Black Caucus) simply because they were to be co-hosted by and broadcast on Fox News Channel. What are the Democrat candidates afraid of? If they are afraid of a media outlet, how brave will they be when they have to face down our enemies? Oh, wait, I forgot; FNC is the enemy. <g>

Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see any Republicans boycott the Reagan Library’s debate simply because it was broadcast by MSNBC and was moderated by Brian Williams and Chris Matthews.

“The Associated Press reported the GOP contenders agreed on the need for lower taxes, vowed to crack down on federal spending and pledged to reduce the massive federal bureaucracy.

“Let’s see. Republicans controlled the House and Senate from 1993 through 2006.”

[RWC] Does anyone at the Times keep up with current events, or bother to do fact checking? Anyone with even a passing knowledge of current events knows this statement is incorrect.

A quick check of House and Senate records shows Republicans weren’t a majority (or even close) in the House until January 1995 and Democrats were the majority party in the Senate for a couple of weeks in January 2001 and from June 2001 to November 2002.

Perhaps the editorial should not have used the words “truth be told” in the first paragraph.

“A Republican has been in the White House since 2001.

“And what did they do with all this power? They went on a spending spree and did nothing to reduce the massive federal bureaucracy.”

[RWC] What hypocrisy! Other than for purely political reasons (usually Bush and/or Republican bashing), how many editorials did the Times publish advocating reduced spending and reducing “the massive federal bureaucracy?”

“Actions really do speak louder than words.”

[RWC] While I wouldn’t put President Bush or congressional Republicans as a group in the “fiscal conservative” category by any stretch of the imagination, the idea they spent out of control (at least relative to Democrats) is a myth not supported by the facts. Please read my critique of “Fiscal lushes” for details.

That said, it’s true Republicans as a group at both the federal and state levels campaign on fiscal conservatism and limited government, then govern like Democrats lite. As I’ve noted before, this behavior serves to undercut the credibility of any Republicans who truly believe in these principles. Until I see how a specific elected Republican governs/votes, I no longer believe his claims of fiscal conservatism and belief in limited government.