From the LATimes: -- WASHINGTON — Without the unprecedented stimulus actions by the federal government triggered by the 2008 financial crisis, the Great Recession might still be going on, according to a study by Fitch Ratings --
The report goes on to identify negative effects of the stimulus, but it is clear that these pale in comparison to the negative effects which would have resulted from inaction. So why do Republican candidates and officials continue to attack these successful actions? The answer is because they:
1. ...don't believe in reality. Ideology is real, facts are not. This gives believers a sense of absolute security in a confused and uncertain world. Facts are not simple and unchanging. Reality is messy and difficult. Practicing mindless ideology means never being wrong, never having to change your mind, and never having to say you're sorry.
2. ...care about the Party more than they care about their country. This is partly true of the membership of any party, imagine a Democrat saying his party's candidate isn't as good for the country as the Republican would be. This sometimes happens, as with so called Reagan Democrats, but it is unusual among voters and unheard of among either Party's leadership. Due to the increasing radicalism of the GOP, Republicans who even might consider voting for the better man have been declared Rinos and are now independents.
3. ...have turned membership in the Republican Party into a religious movement. It is an article of faith, an unassailable religious doctrine that Democrats are evil by nature. It follows that nothing done by Democrats can be good. This is true even when Democrats enact a Republican plan, like Health Care. This extremism will not last. The GOP will either turn back from extremism, or will go the way of the Whigs, the Mugwumps, and the Know Nothings.
Forgot to post this draft from loooong ago.
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