Republicans-----fiscal conservatives? (a special editorial by John Lucia)

When George W. Bush leaves office in 19 months, the last three so called conservative republican presidents will have served 20 years at the helm without balancing one federal budget, without sending one balanced budget to congress, piling up record deficits and increasing the national debt to levels never heard of before. Ronald Reagan started it all with record federal deficits, then the Bush 41 broke Ronald Reagan records and then the present Mr. Bush broke both his fathers and Reagan's deficit spending records by whopping margins.

For the record, when Reagan left office after 8 years of deficit spending his administration added over $1.9 trillion to the national debt. When George H.W. Bush left office after 4 years of deficit spending his administration added over $1.1 trillion to the national debt. The combined deficit spending of Reagan-Bush (12 years) was over $2 trillion.

Now we come to the new champion of deficit spending, the present Mr. Bush. As of August 14, 2007 his administration has added over $3.1 trillion to the national debt and still has 18 more months to go in office and will add more. This despite a projected $5 trillion surplus left by the previous Clinton administration. The Republicans controlled congress during the first 6 years of this administration and rubber stamped Bush's deficit spending habit.

The Clinton administration inherited 12 straight years of budget deficits from the Reagan-Bush years, brought down the deficits and balanced the budget with record surpluses his last four years in office and paid down a net $14.2 billion of the national debt. When the democrats controlled congress in the early years of Clinton's administration, they passed his deficit reduction package and his economic package while not one republican voted yes.

Only two presidents in the past 45 years balanced the federal budget and had surpluses, both were democrats. Lynden Johnson's administration had a surplus of $13.4 billion in FY 1969 and Clinton's administration balanced the budget his last four years in office with record surpluses.

Try to understand this, Reagan and the two Bush's did not send one balanced budget to congress in their 20 years at the helm. Where were their character of courage? They try to seduce the tax payers with tax cuts that benefit the most wealthy and the average american and middle class end up paying more taxes because of their deficit spending and increases in the national debt.

Interest payments alone just on the national debt during the 12 years of Reagan-Bush cost the tax payers over $2 trillion. Interest payments on the national debt on the present Bush's watch will exceed by far the above payments of Reagan-Bush. Just think of what $4 + trillion could have paid for or provided had the tax payers not been saddled with their reckless spending habits. The interest payments on the national debt for FY ending September 2006 was $406 billion. Yes, you are reading correctly, that's $406 Billion.

The facts tell us those 3 republican presidents have been more than just reckless with spending tax payers money. They have misled the people about their true intentions and as a result, Americans have never received the benefits they deserve. When Ronald Reagan took office the national debt stood at less than one trillion dollars. The national debt as of 14 August 2007 was over $8.9 trillion.

Conservative Republican Presidents? Think Again!