I Want a Big Change - From These Democrat Screw Ups

Disclaimer: Personally I hate the Democratic Party for their increasingly radical anti-Constitution socialist leanings and anti-American ideology. I hate the Republican Party equally, because Barack Obama is as much their creation as the far left's - while having the "bully pulpit" they pandered too much to liberals, at times abandoned conservatism for political gain and failed to decrease the size of government when they had the chance.

However: I do my homework and we have to give credit where it's due if we are to remain intellectualy honest. Anyone who seriously is looking for positive change would *not* vote for Democrats based on their performance in Congress. Here is why:

The Obama/Biden ticket's entire campaign theme is based on "the last eight years." Maybe we should really look at "the last two years," or the time period when both the House and the Senate were run by Democrats.

In December 2006, after six years of Bush and the last month before the Democrats took over both houses of the national legislature, a snapshot of our economy looked like this.

*Unemployment stood at 4.4%.

*Real GDP growth over the previous four years (under a Republican President, House and Senate) averaged 3% per year.

*A gallon of regular gasoline cost $2.30.

*The S&P 500 stock index stood at 1418, or 84% above its post-911 low and more than 7% higher than when Bush took office.

*Every year of Bush's Presidency, real (inflation-adjusted) disposable income per person went up.

*By the end of 2006, the average person was making 9% more in real terms than before Bush became President .

If you recall, that 2006 election was considered a referendum on Iraq. The people wanted change, so they threw out the Republicans and replaced them with Democrats. Welcome Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

Here is how they handled Iraq once in office: Harry Reid told us that the Iraq war was "lost" and the surge was not "accomplishing anything." Senator Obama introduced legislation that would have prevented the surge and would have taken all US troops out of Iraq by March 2008 (that would be seven months ago, as you read this) .

Were they right?

Barack Obama now admits that "the surge succeeded." So much for that change. And as the surge succeeded, Congress's approval ratings plummeted. The latest CBS/New York Times poll has it at 12%, well less than half of the already low level it stood at when the Republican Congress was being tossed out in 2006.

What Congress would not investigate was anything about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, they fought against such investigations and cast aspersions against anyone who would even doubt the soundness of those institutions. Here is what Barney Frank said:

These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.

You can also see on YouTube how Democrats treated the regulators trying to reign in Fannie and Freddie.

On the other hand, here is what the New York Times had to say in 2003

The Bush administration is rightly pushing for the Treasury Department to regulate the two giants, along with the network of federal home loan banks. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae provide financing to lenders by creating a secondary market for mortgages. All told, these two institutions' debt portfolio exceeds more than $1.5 trillion. Their current regulator is ill equipped to keep tabs on Freddie's and Fannie's sophisticated hedging strategies and the other financial moves they use to manage their huge investments.

And here is what John McCain said on the Senate floor:

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

On the other hand, who supported the surge? George W. Bush and John McCain.

Who tried to strengthen the oversight and regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? George W. Bush and John McCain.

In the case of the surge, Bush and McCain got their way. The result? Apparent victory in Iraq, a country that is now a democracy, at peace with its neighbors, no longer a WMD threat, no longer a terrorist sanctuary, and no longer filling hundreds of mass graves with hundreds of thousands of its own citizens.

In the case of Fannie and Freddie, Bush and McCain did not get their way - Barney Frank did. The result? The failure of Fannie and Freddie, law suits against their executives and the spark that sent banks failing and stocks falling across the globe to the point of threatening a Great Depression. -- American Thinker Randall Hoven

"Let's vote for change. Let's undo what we did in 2006."
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Hat tip to Dr. Sanity who said:

"Just yesterday I was watching Huckabee on Fox when he interviewed Joe the Plumber. After the interview, they took questions from the audience and one questioner stuck in my mind. She identified herself as a Canadian and asked a question that I think captures the essene of the issue:

Why, she asked (and I paraphrase), are Americans so down on President Bush? Since 9/11 he has managed to keep your country from being attacked again and taken the battle to the enemy...he was right about the surge and now your troops are coming home victorious after freeing the Iraqi people from oppression? And, during all those years when the Iraq war was not going well, he and the Republicans persevered under difficult circumstances AND kept the economy of your country doing well.

And now, (she went on) you seem to be ignoring the fact that the Democrats have controlled Congress for the last two years and since they took over, the economy has totally tanked. Why are you blaming Bush for that?

Excellent question.

And, an even more pertinent question is why John McCain is getting blamed for it by the Democrats? Isn't that a classic case of 'guilt by association' according to the Obamacrats own standards?" -- Dr. Sanity

"So on the big things, the surge in Iraq and the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that led to our recent financial mess, the Democrats were wrong. Dead wrong. One hundred eighty degrees out wrong." - Randall Hoven

While the Republicans were in power, the economy prospered.
The surge worked. Thanks to a Republican President
We have been safe since 9/11 - the terrorist war is on M.E. soil where it belongs. Thanks to a Republican President
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have created devastation - thanks to the Democratic social engineering via the likes of Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi.
And now the Dems want to make things worse by "spreading the wealth around" and pushing us over the brink into socialism. And they are not above using deplorable tactics like demonizing nice, ordinary people to get there.

Democrats? Again? No. Thanks.

Really I'm almost hoping Obama wins - if having a marxist in office would cause the right to become energized enough to return to our Constitutional roots and ideology, and support *effective* and *articulate* candidates in the future.

As always when it comes right down to it I'm

Trusting in Him,
imtheonlycathy!