Politics and Policy A new article from that bastion of conservatism, George Will: "Why are we funding Iraq, one of the longest wars in American history—by Nov. 25, 2006, it will be 1,347 days old, the number of days between Pearl Harbor and VJ Day—with "emergency" bills? To hide, or at least obscure, the costs. Funding the war in dribs and drabs—as if the fact that the war costs money is a recurring surprise—spares Congress from confronting the huge cost and having to make room for it in the budget by shedding lower-priority spending.... Worse still, the "emergency" bill includes $594 million for highway projects, even in Hawaii, 4,000 miles from where Katrina hit. And $4 billion for supposed farm "disasters" unrelated to Katrina. And $150,000 for the Bronx Council of the Arts, $1.8 million to promote art in West Virginia, $500,000 for the Montana World Trade Center, and on and on. A poll shows approval of Congress down to 22 percent. Who are those 22 percent? Regarding the almost erotic pleasure of spending other people's money, many Senate Republicans adhere to Oscar Wilde's advice on how to deal with temptation: Succumb to it. That is how many conservative voters will respond to the growing temptation to boycott this November's elections." Source: Of course, George Will would prefer that we cut all domestic spending and fund the war through the budget, at which point his sensibilities would be assuaged. But his initial premise is still a valid one: why, after over three years of continuing war, are we still treating Iraq as an off-budget item? The answer is clear: the Republicans don't want to bear the political cost of cutting the budget. They want to get credit for cutting taxes, while still keeping the coffers open to reward their supporters, provide "bringing home the bacon" money to support local Republicans, and leave the tough job of real spending cuts or tax raises to the Democrats. I must admit, it is fun to finally be in a position of ridiculing a Republican Congress for its easy spending practices, rather than trying to defend those of a Democratic Congress. But I had better enjoy it while I can, as it appears the Republicans will soon lose control of the House of Representatives again. And mark my words, the Republicans will then argue that George W. Bush and his tax cuts for the wealthy was the origin of any booming economic recovery which will appear down the road (no matter how distant or unrelated to his policies); castigate the Democrats for being fiscally responsible and raising taxes; laugh at the difficulties Democrats face in making politically difficult domestic spending cuts; and even blame the Democrats for the budget deficits in the first place (conveniently forgetting that they were bequeathed a budget surplus, which they quickly turned into the largest deficit in U.S. history). Posted by RHP6033        Copyright 2006-2007 - Brookridge Associates Inc. All rights reserved.