The Republican Ralph Nader

26 Oct 2009

Posted by Bruce Bartlett

Actually, I'm an independent.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/26/blogs/coopscorner/entry5422574.shtml

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Bruce, I enjoy your

Bruce,

I enjoy your perspective and I'll buy your new book as soon as I can. I think you have it right that higher taxes are inevitable and that VAT is the way to go. I also think you have it right that the tax-cuts are bad medicine for the current situation.

But I wonder what you think of the politics of your suggestions. Do you think that if Republicans adopted your ideas that they would ultimately gain seats in Congress? It seems like there are a couple of problems there. First, if Republicans walked away from the "we're the tax cut party" brand, what keeps their coalition together? Second, what would make Republicans fundamentally different from Democrats?

I guess what I'm ultimately asking is, how does the GOP tactically get from where they are today back to where you think they should be?

Posted by jack0fspeed on Oct 26th, 2009 at 11:22 pm.

GOP

I see no reason to believe Republicans would benefit politically from my ideas. All the evidence suggests the opposite. That's isn't what bothers me about the party. I understand that politicians will always do what is in their political best interest unless they have a gun to their head so to speak.

The problem is that even in private they don't have a clue about the true nature of the fiscal problem. And even if they do, it's buried very deep in their consciousness. I think they really believe their rhetoric, which is just a tiny notch above the sort of nonsense Glenn Beck peddles.

Posted by Bruce Bartlett on Oct 27th, 2009 at 7:55 am.

That's overstating it a bit

That's overstating it a bit don't you think? I'm sure your friend Greg Mankiw would bristle at being called a notch above Glenn Beck.

If your view is that none of these ideas would be helpful to the GOP, then I'm curious as to your target audience. I'm listening to you because I'm a disgruntled conservative. But I ultimately would like to see the GOP get back to cutting spending and balancing budgets. I'm by no means ready to write the party off.

Who else is buying your book?

Posted by jack0fspeed on Oct 27th, 2009 at 3:44 pm.