Oh that federal debt!

The chart on the right has been posted at various blogs and serves to highlight the dramatic increase in the debt taxpayers will ultimately have to pay. I wish I could give credit to the chart creator, but I don't know who it is.

The reason I'm posting it is to address some of the commenters to earlier posts who seem to be trying to say the huge debt is all the Republicans' fault. I'll address that in a minute, but first, let's look at a possible phenomenon brought to our attention by GayPatriot. He says there's an effort by Obama supporters to invade the comment section of blogs not loyal to Mr. Obama. And he points to an Andrew Breitbart article which says, among other things:

Much of Mr. Obama's vaunted online strategy involved utilizing "Internet trolls" to invade enemy lines under false names and trying to derail discussion. In the real world, that's called "vandalism." But in a political movement that embraces "graffiti" as avant-garde art, that's business as usual. It relishes the ability to destroy other people's property in pursuit of electoral victory.

It's usually pretty easy to dismiss a conspiracy theory, and I'm not sure how coordinated this strategy is. But when we recall the fervor and loyalty the pro-Obama crowd exhibited before the election it seems entirely possible and may explain why people who have never commented at Sleepless in Midland before have shown up lately to lambaste the TEA party movement. And one common theme is that the federal debt is Republicans' fault because it began rising under a Republican administration. There are many partisans who will condemn or rationalize some behavior depending on whether or not their favorite party is in office. And that seems to be what's going on now.

So let's talk about Republicans. There were not enough Republicans who tried to stop the runaway spending while they were in power. But to use that as a reason to excuse the exponential increase in the debt since then seems to miss the point.

Instead of exercising fiscal responsibility, Representatives, Senators and the President all seem to be running amok. The people are supposed to be in control of this nation, and the elected officials were put in office to represent them in that endeavor. But politicians seem to be more concerned with serving their special interest groups than the people who actually voted for them. As a result we ended up a mess like Fanny Mae.

The TEA parties are not Republican events. The attendees are frustrated with both parties. They are ordinary people who simply want some accountability and responsibility from the people in office. So the next time someone wants to come on these pages and blame Republicans let's all remember that chart and recognize that Republicans are in the minority in the House of Representatives, in the minority in the Senate, and absent from the White House.

Updated: The internet troll theme seems to be that if one didn't complain about the $0.4 trillion nation debt at the end of the Bush administration then one shouldn't complain about the $1.75 trillion resulting from Obama's first few months in office. That's a little like saying, "You didn't complain when you stubbed your toe, so you shouldn't complain when I break your foot." And it clearly demonstrates either a lack of understanding of the problem or a willing acceptance of the consequences with little regard for the people who will have to pay for this debt.

Added later: Definition of internet troll -- An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

Comments

[West-Texian]

---Repeating: Where were you the past eight years -- when the national debt doubled.??? You seem a bit selective as to your timing. Besides when "our" last President took over, the budget had been balanced for years (six), the national debt was climbing at less the 2% per year (less than the rate of interest on it...then our last President came in and screwed it up and you said nothing....until now... now that he is out of office.

--I do agree with one comment.."They are not Republican events"....... they are in reaction to the Republican economic policies of the past eight years. (but they will never admit it or take responsibility)

---Of course you now claim you don't want any political party mentioned. (and I didn't). We all know who should get the blame... after all, a previous holder of the office once said "The buck stops here".

---Why complain now that "your guy" is no longer in power... you should have then and maybe the economy would not be in the mess it is in now. Seems a bit hypocritical.

[tb]

agreed. this mess started a long time ago. how much debt has the war in iraq put us in again?

[tb]

also, didn't the everyone scoff at the idea of a right-wing conspiracy against the Clintons? i'm just sayin'

[Redman]

Let me get this straight. If my wife spends too much money on a new winter coat, she has no right to complain if I go to Vegas and blow our life savings?

[Geo]

Redman, what surprises me is how defensive the left is about these public demonstrations.

[tb]

i see you are not posting my comments anymore. don't blog if you can't handle criticism or disagreement. i'm not a "troll" either. just another midlander who likes to here all sides. i guess you don't have to post my comments since you are scared that someone who reads your blog might find something they agree with in them.

[Geo]

Midlanders might never hear Obama's side of things without you guys, tb. You think?

Tell ya what. Go start your own blog using your real name and demonstrate for us your tolerance for repetitive, inaccurate comments with attitude.

[tb]

when have i been repetitive? don't take your anger towards others out on me george. don't worry, i won't be back. i don't want to validate your delusional feeling of being attacked by the left

[Geo]

Quite possibly an overreaction on my part.