Good, Bad and Ugly Republicans

Keep in mind that the first author is a Congressman from Texas, and, believe it or not a Republican. It's long but a good and satisfying read.

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The Blame Game

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 7, 2005

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2005/cr120705.htm

Our country faces major problems. No longer can they remain hidden from the American people. Most Americans are aware the federal budget is in dismal shape. Whether it’s Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or even the private pension system, most Americans realize we’re in debt over our heads.

The welfare state is unmanageable and severely overextended. In spite of hopes that supposed reform would restore sound financing and provide for all the needs of the people, it’s becoming more apparent every day that the entire system of entitlements is in a precarious state and may well collapse. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that increasing the national debt by over six hundred billion dollars per year is not sustainable. Raising taxes to make up the shortfall is unacceptable, while continuing to print the money needed will only accelerate the erosion of the dollar’s value.

Our foreign policy is no less of a threat to us. Our worldwide military presence and our obsession with remaking the entire Middle East frightens a lot of people both here and abroad. Our role as world policeman and nation builder places undue burdens on the American taxpayer. Our enormous overseas military expenditures-- literally hundreds of billion of dollars-- are a huge drain on the American economy.

All wars invite abuses of civil liberties at home, and the vague declaration of war against terrorism is worse than most in this regard. As our liberties here at home are diminished by the Patriot Act and national ID card legislation, we succumb to the temptation of all empires to neglect habeas corpus, employ torture tactics, and use secret imprisonment. These domestic and foreign policy trends reflect a morally bankrupt philosophy, devoid of any concern for liberty and the rule of law.

Read it all at the above link, i.e.:
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2005/cr120705.htm

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But there are bad and really ugly Republicans. For example Gale Norton and Elaine Chao. You make the call on who gets the bad/ugly label. But even the mainstream press may be on to their lies, in this case about the Arctic Refuge and oil.

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Arctic Oil Gets an Administration Gusher

By Dana Milbank, Tuesday, December 13, 2005; A02

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR200512...

Interior Secretary Gale Norton, campaigning to win oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, had the urgency of a saleswoman falling short of her monthly quota.
"ANWR would supply every drop of petroleum for Florida for 29 years," she told a friendly audience at the Heritage Foundation yesterday, "New York for 34 years, Illinois for 43 years, California for 16 years or New Hampshire for 315 years."

So how many years would ANWR's oil keep the whole country fueled up?

Norton balked at the question. "When you look at it for the whole country, you really get somewhat of a deceiving picture," the secretary answered. She said that's "not the way this operates," and said the question "assumes that unless a source of energy is going to meet all of America's needs then it's not worth looking at."

For the record, ANWR's oil, using the administration's own estimates, would supply the whole country for 13 to 17 months before it runs out. But Norton's argument -- that it is acceptable to promise New Hampshire oil for three centuries but "deceiving" to ask about the whole country -- underscored the tension gripping ANWR-drilling proponents as Congress approaches another climactic decision on the Alaskan refuge this week.

In the afternoon, it was Labor Secretary Elaine Chao's turn. At a news conference at the National Press Club, Chao told the cameras that, according to "congressional estimates," the ANWR project could create a million jobs.

A million jobs? Chao repeated the forecast to incredulous reporters after the event. "Congress has made estimates that about a million people will be involved," she affirmed. Is that over the life of the project? "I don't think so," Chao said. "That's probably over a year or so."

A million jobs in one year would be so compelling that even environmental groups might be willing to chase the caribou out of ANWR. But Chao was a bit off. The Congressional Research Service, to which Chao directed reporters, put the job growth in the range of 86,000 to 245,000. The million-job forecast, it turns out, is not from Congress but from a conservative think tank and was based on a far larger project than the ANWR drilling.

Read it all, it's short, at the above link.

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