Critics Still Wrong on What’s Driving Deficits in Coming Years Economic Downturn

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By Kathy Ruffing and James R. Horney

Some critics continue to assert that President George W. Bush’s policies bear little responsibility for the deficits the nation faces over the coming decade — that, instead, the new policies of President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress are to blame. Most recently, a Heritage Foundation paper downplayed the role of Bush-era policies (for more on that paper, see p. 4). Nevertheless, the fact remains: Together with the economic downturn, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years (see Figure 1).

Budget_Figure 1

The deficit for fiscal year 2009 was $1.4 trillion and, at nearly 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was the largest deficit relative to the size of the economy since the end of World War II. If current policies are continued without changes, deficits will likely approach those figures in 2010 and remain near $1 trillion a year for the next decade.

Pinal Dems Cranking up the Phone Banks!

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President Obama's Weekly Address: Moving Forward on the Economy vs. Moving Backward

July 23, 2010--Following the signing of historic Wall Street Reform legislation, the President contrasts his economic plan focused on the middle class and moving America forward with the Republican plan focused on the very wealthiest Americans and moving us backward.

Dems agree with Hayworth: GOP candidates should renounce Babeu endorsements

Arizona Democratic Party

PHOENIX -- On Wednesday, Republican Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth called on Sen. John McCain to pull his campaign ads featuring Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu because of the sheriff's recent appearance on a "pro-White" radio show in Tennessee.

Hayworth is right.

Babeu's excuse (claiming he was "unaware" of their pro-White agenda) was quickly undercut by the radio hosts themselves, who said Babeu spoke with them in advance of the show and they were crystal clear with him about their positions [Arizona Daily Star, 7/20/10].

McCain, however, isn't the only Republican who needs to renounce Babeu.

The sheriff has endorsed Paul Gosar in CD1, Ben Quayle in CD3 and Jonathan Paton in CD8, to name a few.

"Surely, these Republicans don't need campaign endorsements from a sheriff who willingly participated in a White nationalist radio show," said Don Bivens, Arizona Democratic Party chairman. "If they do, then the Republican Party has a much bigger problem on its hands."

"The Political Cesspool Radio Show" has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and is known as a White nationalist program.

In the first segment of the radio program, before Babeu came on, the hosts and their invited guests:

    * Were permissive about people who use, "horror of horrors, the N-word" [2:22]
    * Accused Nelson Mandela of masterminding a terrorist bombing. [15:40]
    * Said white Southerners were "invaded" by Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. [16:12]
    * Blamed Jewish people for many of the country's problems. [4:33, 5:26]

As they waited for Babeu to call in, one co-host said his excitement about having Babeu as a guest was on par with his excitement at meeting the well-known KKK leader David Duke.

At the end of the segment, Babeu even said he would be "honored" to welcome one of the radio hosts to Pinal County, calling him a "great American."

Bivens said, "This kind of affiliation is unacceptable in Arizona, or anywhere in America. These candidates should do the right thing and cut ties with the sheriff."