Once again taking advantage of our collective refusal to put anything into context, Republicans today claimed that the national debt ceiling needed to be raised by $800 billion -- to $8.2 trillion, 70% of economy -- because of recession.

On July 31, President Bush said "America has a strong economy, and we are growing stronger every day". Unanswered is how Republicans have managed to achive simultaneous growth and recession, boom and bust.

It is appalling that the same people who were proclaiming a Bush boom in April, claiming that their economic policies had produced the best economic growth in 20 years, are able to claim that recession has caused the massive, structural deficits which 59 million people are willing to pass along to our children and grandchildren.

We won't have accountability in Washington until we agree to hold our representatives accountible. That means you can't start a war without being ready to pay for it, and you can't blame a war for a deficit when your tax cuts are three times more expensive than even the most expansive accounting for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan allow.

House Ready to Send Bush Debt-Limit Hike AP, November 18, 2004

Democrats and Republicans clashed over deficits and tax cuts Thursday as Congress moved toward sending President Bush an $800 billion boost in the government's debt limit.

The bill would increase the debt ceiling from its current $7.38 trillion, marking the third massive increase since Bush took office in 2001. The government reached the cap last month, paying its bills since with cash from a civil service retirement account, which it plans to repay.

The Senate approved the legislation Wednesday by a near party-line 52-44 vote. With no alternative but an unprecedented federal default, the House debated the bill Thursday and planned an evening vote.

Democrats were ready to oppose the measure en masse, saying it should have been accompanied by a requirement that tax cuts or new spending be paid for with budget savings. They blamed Bush's tax cuts for the relentless increase in government debt, a trend analysts expect to continue indefinitely, and noted that Republicans delayed the vote until after the November 2 elections.

"That didn't take long," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Massachusetts. "On just the third legislative day after the election, we are yet again confronting the need to raise the nation's debt limit."

Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics with the issue. They blamed the recession for the red ink and said failure to increase the debt limit would cause default, higher interest rates and an inability of the government to pay its liabilities.

---

Blogs for Bush

Bush Boom: Best Economy in 20 Years

The U.S. economy grew at a 4.2 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, according to a Commerce Department estimate released today. That's the third straight quarter of growth above 4 percent, the first time in 10 years the economy grew faster than 4 percent for three straight quarters. And GDP growth over the last year, 4.9 percent, is the best since 1984.

---

ed: You think there's a script to follow?

HobbsOnline

Bush Boom: Best Economy in 20 Years

The economy hasn't seen a year of growth this good since 1984. The U.S. economy grew at a 4.2 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, according to a Commerce Department estimate released today. That's the third straight quarter of growth above 4 percent, the first time in 10 years the economy grew faster than 4 percent for three straight quarters. GDPP grew 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 and by 8.2 percent in the third quarter of 2003.

---

WJGR-AM Jacksonville

THE BUSH BOOM - KAPOWS!!!!!: Beating even the most liberal estimates - the jobs picture in May just landed a huge pat on the back to President Bush. These figures just out beat the expected job growth of 216,000 jobs by roughly 32,000. What this means is that March-May of this year 976,000 jobs were created - in only those three months. That is the single biggest job growth in three months in over four years... And what is the source of all this economic growth - tax cuts, letting people use the money they earn to develop this economy and keep it humming...