The GOP wants to reduce the debt by gutting social security. There are way too many Democrats who give the GOP the time of day on this issue and that includes Pelosi.

Oh, they have ideas. They just don't want to openly share them because they'd be throttled come election time. I asked a Tea Partier today what he wanted to do to fix the deficit. He said, "Stop foreign aid, stop Medicare and Medicaid (note: he said that they weren't needed now because of "Obamacare"), privatize Social Security because it's being raided anyway, and stop the bailouts." I didn't even know what to say to that. He also advocated a scorched earth policy when it comes to nuclear weapons. He said, "Warn other countries that if they launch then so will we until there is nothing left of them." When I advised him that he was advocating for complete global meltdown, he said, "So?"

tackscutz, not buttsecks!

The republicans only policy is to make rich people richer. Everything else they do flows from that.
Health reform -- rich insurance ceo's wouln't get cricher.
Student loan bill -- rich bankers wouldn't get richer.
Bush tax cuts expire -- rich wouldn't get richer.
Climate bill -- rich oil execs wouldn't get richer.
Reduce Pentagon spending -- defense contractors won't get richer.

There is only one underlying theme to any republican position and want seems illogical in many of their stances and speeches isn't if you understand that they only thing driving them is that the rich get richer.

I'd like to know when did Nancy Pelosi become bff's with the GOP? This is one of the most ridiculous I've heard coming from the FDL camp.

And if you press Republican leaders on how they'd prefer to lower the deficit...

..they will always and everytime tell you "Cut waste and fraud." It's as predictable as the sunrise.

Now if you ask them to name a trillion worth of waste and fraud, then they start dancing.

The Democratic health care reform proposal lowered the deficit ... and Republicans opposed it.

The Democratic student-loan bill lowered the deficit ... and Republicans opposed it.

The Democratic effort to let Bush tax cuts for the rich expire will lower the deficit ... and Republicans oppose it.

The Democratic energy/climate bill would lower the deficit ... and Republicans oppose it.

The Democratic effort to reduce bloated Pentagon spending would lower the deficit ... and Republicans oppose it.
=-=-=-=-=-=

Republicans moan and Republicans bitch:
"Our rich are too poor, and our poor are too rich!"

This is kind of getting into "dog bites man" territory, don't you think?

It is impossible to look at the events of the last 30 years (or more) and still pretend--in good faith--that Congressional Republicans care about the deficit. They make noises about it to placate the elements of their conservative base who actually do care, but whenever the issue comes up for a vote--whether it be climate change, health care, jobs, you name it--the Republicans put conservative shibboleths before deficit reduction every single time.

The modern Republican party has no principles--only dogma and corporate donors that must be obeyed regardless of the actual outcome of the policies in question.

With the health care bill, we heard nothing about the deficit savings, instead the Republicans talked ceaselessly about how much the bill "cost" where how much it "cost" was the cost of implementing the bill disregarding any revenues or savings that would result. They were challenged in no significant way on this, so obviously they'll try the same thing with the climate bill.

Let's not forget the "Pay-Go Legislation" that passed in the Senate Jan. of 2010. Every single Republican voted against it. Not ONE Republican voted for this effort at fiscal responsibility. Everytime an imcumbent Republican candidate talks about fiscal responsibility, the Dems should be running an ad about this "NO" vote.

They (the republicans) don't care about the economy they only care about power and political gain. It couldn't be more obvious.

Loved your list of deficit lowering policies they oppose. They have no policy but opposition. They cannot be reasoned with or worked with or for that matter taken seriously or even tolerated as policy makers. The party of no and the party of hypocrisy.
"We must make every effort to lower the huge deficit we created except those policies proposed by democrats". Fix the broken senate so the country can get moving again.

Great post, Steve! The facts absolutely destroy the GOP propaganda, don't they? I wish every Limbaugh dittohead was forced to read this (if they can read) and was required to respond to your analysis. Needless to say, there is nothing to say other than Republicans are so full of shit, their eyes are brown!

$19 billion exceeds the $18 billion of earmarks that Candidate McCain denounces so the cause of the deficit !

And if you press Republican leaders on how they'd prefer to lower the deficit, they can't answer the question.

Since the national debt skyrocketed under Bush and the Republicans, I'd assume they are concerned mostly with their personal "deficits", which can only be improved with more tax cuts for the rich.

When I try to share the link on facebook, a different story appears.... Can you fix it?