Bruce Bartlett On Taxes
He’s an intellectual hero of the conservative movement, a stalwart of the Reagan White House, coiner of the word “Reagonomics,” and author of Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy. He emails:
I’m glad to see that a few conservatives other than myself are admitting that Bush’s policies are eventually going to necessitate a major tax increase. As you probably know, I have been saying this for five years and all it did was get me fired from my job and treated like a pariah by most conservative institutions in this country.
Such is the price of truth-telling when an idea fixe becomes the only standard of a political party, facts and history be damned. It’s sort of like being an anti-abortion Democrat. Bruce, I’m going to buy a copy of your book and send it to Kay Bailey Hutchison. I may even buy a copy for Trey.
9 Comments to “Bruce Bartlett On Taxes”
Leave a Reply
All material copyright © 2008 D Magazine. All rights reserved.
Can I count on Wick, Bruce, et al…to speak up and defend when and if a Democrat is elected in November and ultimately has to increase revenue to help pay back bills? (Translation: raise taxes) Or will we all, again, get collective amnesia and become partisan myopic?
Myopia in “Limited Attention Span” Dallas? Rawlins, bite your tongue.
Ooooh. A penny!
When 5 years of war have drained approximately 1% of the GDP, and certain people discover (again) that what goes up usually comes down, we’ll all realize that, even if higher taxes tend to harm an economy in recession, we must raise taxes because….. well, just because!
Hear, hear. True conservatives are finally seeing the light. And I think you mean “idee fixe.”
This is a critical year for the conservative movement. While I plan to vote for McCain, it wouldn’t be such a terrible thing for the Republicans to lose. The intellectual currents of the movement have atrophied and some time in the wilderness might do the party some good.
Fortunately, actual conservatives (not to be confused with Republicans, necessarily) are starting to speak up to restore some sense of sanity to Conservatism.
It might be worth taking a look at this book when it comes out:
http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Ne.....amp;sr=8-1
It’s already getting some buzz as the beginning of a conversation all serious conservatives need to have over the next few years about the state of the movement, regardless of who the next President is.
“A few conservatives other than myself …”
Oy.
Grant, I like Ross Douthat. I read his blog. Thanks for the tip. I’ll buy the book.
Hutchinson apparently sat through the first half of an Intro. to Microeconomics class and thought she learned enough from a lecture or two on Friedman and markets that she absolutely everything.
Grant, if “some time in the wilderness might do the party some good” then 8 years of prosperity and a budget SURPLUS would not have been followed by 8 years of run away spending and a war with no exit strategy…all of which McCain apparently still supports.