Republican policies do not work. It's that simple.

[SoCalDem]

Every time they gain power, they screw up, and a democratic admin has to waste precious time trying to clean up their messes.

Harding/Coolidge/Hoover ...March 1921-March 1933

12 long years of republican rule, ushering in wild excess, followed by a monstrous crash, that took a DECADE and a World War to finally end.... by a democrat..FDR

When FDR/Truman left office (March 1933-January 1953), Eisenhower (nominally a republican..these days he would probably be a democrat), he was handed a stable economy, with a rich tax base, and an ascendant America. (Jan 1953-Jan 1961)

While he managed the economy well, he did manage to entangle us in treaties that would set the stage for a disastrous war, which would befuddle our nation for a DECADE

Kennedy/Johnson ..January 1961-January 1969

Because of the assassination and the war, many missed opportunities..Johnson accomplished a lot, but could have done a lot more

Nixon/Ford ...January 1969-January 1977

We all know about Watergate, but not everyone knows that we have Nixon to "blame" for a lot of our medical woes (google Nixon + Kaiser). The extreme partisanship that he ushered in, also set the stage for the lack of cooperation we see now.

Carter ..January 1977-January 1981

Jimmy never had a chance.. By the time his term was winding down, the republicans had figured out a way to "get back in"..they had their Ronald Reagan puppet, with the puppeteer GHWB in charge, and TWENTY-EIGHT years ahead of them to totally screw things up

Reagan/Bush1...January 1981-January 1993

most of us lived through this, and know the drill

Clinton...January 1993-January 2001

even with the travails of his presidency, he did manage to clean up a lot of the mess, but never got to the heart of it because he was marginalized by the right wing media and his own troubles

Bush*²..January 2001-January2009

(See DU 2001-2009)

Obama...January 2009-

and we find ourselves where we are..hopelessly in debt, shedding jobs faster than snakes shed their skin, with all our "institutions" apparently broken, in two wars, and after FOUR days in office, CNN pundits are already "grading" him ....a B+...

Anyone who has ever had a problem with credit card debt know that it piles up, over time.. This is how Republican messes accumulate too. They "talk a good game" to the faithful, but their words are all platitudes, and empty ones at that.. They demand self-reliance of the "little people", and know where every penny of "welfare money" goes, but ask for NO accounting when they hand out taxpayer money to their rich friends who screw up, and sink our whole economy.

When Bush1-Reagan bailed out the Savings & Loan mess, it was the "little people" who took it in the shorts.. republicans are predictable, because that's what's happening now too.

No matter how many economic messes they make, or how many wars they start, they still find a way to DEMAND that they continue to be "consulted", and that the public should follow their policies....policies that have led to nothing but disaster..time after time.

People see America as the place that constantly "re-invents itself", and it's claimed to be a virtue, but in reality, we have to keep reinventing ourselves because every time republicans screw us over, we HAVE to reinvent ourselves. WE HAVE NO CHOICE.

The time we waste, with every re-invention, is time we cannot ever get back..and in that time, people grow old, remain unschooled, businsses fail, people lose homes, people die, cities drown, droughts happen, floods happen...life goes on, and needs go unmet. we lose ground with every set-back, because we never quite manage to fulfil the goals we set for ourselves, and then we start all over again.

Let us all hope that this wake-up call is loud enough for all to finally hear it. We cannot keep up the one step forward-3 steps back routine for much longer, if we plan to remain in the "First World".. Our size is no guarantee of solvency or greatness. There are other large countries that have failed..we are not all that "special".

[flyingfysh]

1. Wrong. They do work.

What they are intended to do is funnel as much money as possible to the very richest people, and they have been doing that.

They don't work very well for anyone else.

[specimenfred1984]

2. Good post, the only repug thing that does work is their propaganda

It's very effective at manipulating a dumbed-down mass of TV-land stooges which is about 1/2 of the entire U.S..

[lib2DaBone]

3. Well Said.... Good background info......

The United States is no longer the world leader.. in ANY classification. Science, Arts, Energy, ecology. Our CONgress people have sold us out to the highest bidder.

The Bush's and their lackeys have a stranglehold on the U.S. Media. 30 years of Reagonomics and we are all barefoot.

Even now, as we enter into world depression.... Republicans are STILL PUSHING Supply side nonsense.

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. They're not meant to. They don't believe in government, so it would be.

unconscionable for them to create any policy other than as a joke.

[Optical.Catalyst]

5. Republicans believe this America is a resource to be consumed and profited from

Republicans extract their power and money from what the consider an expendable population.

The most remarkable thing about is the continue to get people to vote for them.

[Joe the Liberal]

6. Couldn't have said it better myself...........

You are right, and this happens every time, Republicans come in ruin everything and Democrats have to come in a clean up the shithole left for them. Republicans are good at one thing though, and that's convincing people to vote for them, I'll give them that. They have an ability to somehow make people believe that they are the party that fights for the little guy, the party of the average joe. They are good at maintaining this illusion that they care about everyone and not just the rich.

But in the end that's all it is, just an illusion, in reality Republicans could care less about this country, all they care about is the rich and themselves. You make very good point that this taking one step forward only to take 3 steps back is not getting us anywhere and it has to stop.

[LaPera]

7. Republican ideology is simply corporate fascism - Government for the rich & the corporations.....

NO government nor any help for the tax paying slaves, peon peasants, the workers, which we ALL are.

Socialism, via our tax dollars (subsidies, bailouts & tax cuts) for the rich and the corporations....But capitalism for the workers, who are at the mercy of corporations that doesn't have any.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. The GOP seems to make large debts/deficits

[pacalo]

9. K&R.

[dodger501]

10. Here is what I do

I am not afraid to boldly declare that the republican and the entire conservative philosophy is a proven failure.
Of course, this can get some dander up (I love it).
To which I reply: "Name one time in history when conservative economic policies actually worked"
Usually I get a lot of looking down and mumbling.
Sometimes someone will bring up Reagan, which I easily shoot down.
Next they'll start in on Clinton. I say that he only lied about a blow job but pretty much everything else he was right about.

Get these people face-to-face, one-on-one, it's fun.