Hey, Mark K, you do understand that the Bush numbers would look vastly worse right now if it weren’t for the fact that he’s padding the budget with about $400 billion in Soc Sec and Medicare surpluses, right? And that at this moment, those two programs bring in more money than they pay out?

If we end Soc Sec and don’t raise taxes, we’ll need about a half trillion dollars in non-Soc Sec and non-Medicare expense cutting to balance the budget. So where are you proposing we cut? The next biggest thing is the military. You wanna’ go there?

We should cut all of the pork barrel projects except Fort Worth’s new town lake and Trinity development, because I live withing the boundries of that pig.

Meanwhile, this admin has pandered — albeit insufficiently, to hear some tell it — to the “cultural conservatives.” Since when should the federal government be arbiters of our culture? Terri Schiavo was the height of their folly in this regard. Also the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. Leave us the eff alone.

Whoever wins in November, it will be good riddance to bad trash as far as I’m concerned.

Does this motivate our organization to expand? No. Does this motivate us to find ways to cut costs? Yes. The quickest way would be to reduce labor costs and find ways to increase productivity of the remaining staff. Not layoffs, just leave open positions unfilled.

I’ll bet those complaining the loudest about taxes are the same ones demanding all the services our taxes support.

We’re bankrupting our nation with our taxes, yet you talk about raising rates… As if it were some “intellectually honest” thing. No, it’s stupidity X 1,000,000,000!!!!

To those still in denial about the current carnage… I appreciate your intellect, but seriously, you tend to turn the message on its ideological ear. Perhaps you need to re-read Allison’s post to which we are supposedly responding.

What WicK is saying in his response to Senator Hutchison (a possible VP candidate) here is not the least bit vague. Rather, it is profoundly specific. And those ‘illegal earmarks’ you allude to were largely GOP congressional this century and all until recently signed at the ‘Y’all come’ White House’. During the 6 years of total GOP congressional control, according to no less than the WSJ, over 15,000 earmarks in 6 years went un-vetoed vs. 1,500 in the previous administration. But here you mention Senator Byrd?

It’s like if someone shot a priest in rural Delaware, like a slingshot you’d roll out the ‘Dems did it’ one liners. Why remain so inflexible in the face of serious rage sounded by serious conservatives with whom you would instantly agree…IF they too spouted wind up doll mantra, ‘the Dems did it’. Did what?

What Wick Allison and Rod Dreher…both died in the wool Republican Conservatives say today…Rod in response to Wick and Wick in response to Kay…. that this decade has been a mockery of everything the GOP in general and Conservatism specifically, proposed to ’stand for’. That is their words and trust me, they can back them up. And PS: W.F. Buckley said as much before he died.

(And no, I am not a blind partisan. I actively supported Senator John McCain when he was running in 1999, thank you very much and FYI, President Ford against Jimmy Carter, so keep that powder dry.)