Posts Tagged ‘Ted Kennedy’

Politics Daily has another list. This one details the largest change of hearts Republicans have had based on the changing political atmosphere. Basically it shows how many Republicans could care less about actual policy and are only concerned with the politics behind it. Here is the list and some highlights:

1. Financial disclosure: Republicans (including Mitch McConnell) once supported transparency as a means of stopping corruption. Now that idea would, according to McConnell, “Shred the Constitution.”

2. Cap-and-trade: It was the idea of free-market conservatives to allow people to buy the right to pollute. The first Bush administration used “emission trading” (cap-and-trade) to curb sulfur dioxide emissions. Now that it is unpopular, all Republicans who have supported it (McCain, Graham, etc.) oppose it.

3. Immigration: W. and Ted Kennedy had a plan. Eleven Republicans supported it and are still in office. Again McCain leads the charge in completely changing his mind. What a maverick.

4. Deficit Spending: Deficit spending was okay to support W.’s agenda, but not for the suffering unemployed.

5. Bipartisan deficit-reduction commission: Six Republicans who proposed the bill to create the commission voted against it. Purportedly because it might recommend raising taxes. Because we don’t need to raise funds if we want to reduce the deficit. Obama formed it anyway.

6. Individual insurance mandate: I’ve written before how this was a Republican idea. It was originally conceived of by free-market conservatives as a way to protect the private sector. Imagine that! The huge socialist plot to destroy our country was thought of by conservatives as a way to protect private industry. (I wonder if Dr will read this or just revert to socialist fear mongering.)

7. Medicare spending curbs: This is a fun one. The same Republicans that spread fear to the elderly (about this and death panels) wanted to do the same thing. McCain’s actually had a plan to cut $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid as a part of his 2008 campaign. But they saw the opportunity to scare old people (who vote) and jumped at it. What’s especially funny is that many conservatives originally opposed the entire notion of Medicare because, you know, it’s socialized medicine. But as soon as it became a good way to score points they had to defend it as though it were their only child. “Keep your government hands off my Medicare!”

This is an interesting list because many of this issues are still salient. As long as they think it is politically beneficial to vote no, they will continue to do so, regardless of what they believe the effect of a policy will actually be.

Enjoy Papi winning the Home Run Derby.

Adam Feser