While the debt battle rages in the marbled halls of the Capitol, a nagging question repeats itself in my mind: Why is raising the debt ceiling such a war now when the Republicans did it four times between 2002 and 2007? The proof is at this website:

http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL31967_20100128.pdf

A significant percentage of Republicans who rant and wail about "reckless spending" and "crushing debt" now were the same people who voted inconspicuously to raise the debt limit four times during the Bush Administration. Where was the angst, the outrage, the sackcloth and ashes during these votes? The reason there was no outrage was because the Republicans needed to increase the debt ceiling because they were recklessly and unnecessarily racking up debt like Speaker Boehner racks up Kleenex whenever he gets emotional.

Right now, the Republicans (especially in the House) want us to believe that there was no debt before January 2009 when Barack Obama took office as President. That's completely wrong, of course. No one knows more about reckless spending than the GOP who dominated Washington from 2000 to 2008.

It started with acceptable intentions. After 9/11, the economy needed stimulus so money was spent. Also, pursuing the Taliban in Afghanistan made sense. Then came 2003.

The Republicans preach smaller government, less spending and less taxes. During the Bush Administration they got one outta three. They shrank the government by creating an entirely new Department of Homeland Security. The GOP contained spending by invading Iraq and tacking it on to the debt, passing the Patriot Act and tacking it on to debt, semi-addressing the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and tacking it to debt and passing the $700 Billion TARP bank bailout by tacking it on to the debt. Incidentally, the Treasury still has little idea where the bailout money actually went. All of this happened BEFORE Barack Obama was even ELECTED! Of course, while charging everything under the sun to the National Debt, the Republicans did manage to increase their salaries, raise the debt limit four times and pass the biggest tax cuts to the smallest population of rich people ever!

Now, flash straight to the present where a whole bunch of people directly responsible for the horrendous record detailed above are browbeating the President about the debt with every bit of self-righteous, obnoxious attitude they can summon. I'm sorry but after the first eight years of the decade and the reckless mismanagement of our resources by the GOP, there is no way in HELL they have any right whatsoever to lecture anybody on spending. Not now, not ever!

There's two eras here that are getting mixed up and intentionally confused: the Bush era where Republican Congress operated with a "blank check" and the Obama era where most of the energy is spent trying to fix what the "blank check" Republicans did. These are two distinct eras and regardless of the GOP delusional rhetoric, you gotta keep'em separated. If we do this and bring ourselves back in line with actual reality, maybe the country can move forward. If not, then we'll experience an economy so broken that it will make the last few years seem like a boom.

Dustin Hankinson
Vice-Chair Missoula County Democrats