If we learned nothing else in 2013, we know now that bipartisanship is worse than gridlock. Conservative politicians helped the White House and Congressional Democrats accomplish bits and pieces of their agenda while the opposition dug in its heels. If that wasn’t enough, RINOs in the Senate gave in on immigration reform, a critical piece of Barack Obama’s legacy. How could this have happened? Did Republicans start believing the same old Democratic lies we have been told all along?
Here are some of the biggest left wing whoppers we heard in 2013. They are little different from what we heard in 2012, but conservative politicians seemed to be more gullible last year.
Bipartisanship is a good thing.
Not anymore. Historic divisiveness spurred by the White House’s extreme progressive agenda has turned partisan politics into a fight to the death. The winning party takes no prisoners and being the winner is all that counts. That’s how we got stuck with Obamacare and spent hundreds of billions on the Recovery Act so years later we can listen to complaints from Harry Reid that we still need to tax and spend more to create jobs:
We need to make job-creating investments and replace meat-ax cuts with smart savings that reduce the deficit by closing wasteful tax loopholes. We also need to raise the minimum wage, because too many Americans who are working full-time are still struggling to make ends meet.1
In 2013 bipartisanship continued to be a lie, used and abused as a buzzword for minimal Republican support for a bad idea. What did Democrats mean when they talked about strong bipartisan backing for the Senate immigration bill? They meant 14 members of the GOP joined every Senate Democrat to cast yea votes. 32 Republicans had the courage to shoot it down. What we really had was broad Democratic support and a small RINO sellout. Besides, Boehner’s House had already said no. So much for bipartisanship.
The Tea Party is too extreme for conservative politicians.
Considering the source we should have rejected this accusation outright, but the Republican Party’s relationship with the Tea Party was never more uneasy than during the shutdown. Why are conservative politicians buying into threats about the consequences of agreeing with fiscal conservatives while the Democratic Party endorses every extreme progressive idea that comes their way? Because Democratic lies about right wing extremism worked their magic and even pushed our House Speaker over the edge (see: Is This Common Ground for Liberals and Conservatives?).
Democrats will always do the right thing for the American people.
The American people are an excuse, not a reason to do the right thing. Ask middle class breadwinners what happened to their paychecks at the beginning of the year despite Democratic promises to protect the middle class no matter what. How many of Obama’s supporters know that the payroll tax hike he signed off on hit the middle class the hardest, because those with higher incomes max out on Social Security taxes?
With unemployment insurance benefits again on the line, the president told Americans:
For many people who are still looking for work, unemployment insurance is a lifeline that can make the difference between temporary hardship or lasting catastrophe. Instead of punishing these families who can least afford it – especially now – Congress should first restore that lifeline immediately, then put their entire focus on creating more good jobs that pay good wages.2
Jobs are where the whole liberal economic paradigm collapses. How many times do we have to listen to tired Democratic lies about how spending means job creation? They had their chance. They spent lots of our money. Now all they have left to offer the unemployed is a handout.
Deficit reduction means we need more revenue.
This is a good one. We can keep spending too much as long as we spend for the good of the American people. That’s how we got the bipartisan deal on the budget, which brings to mind another favorite on our list of Democratic lies.
Negotiation with Democrats is progress.
If you consider progress a hilarious $23 billion in deficit reduction spread over ten years, then we made progress last year (see: Did the GOP Back Progressive Extremists Instead of the Tea Party?). That’s what negotiation is all about. Democrats dig their heels in until they can shame conservative politicians into giving an inch. Then they dig their heels in again and taxpayers get a bum deal.
The government shutdown was a bad thing.
Was it? It depends on who you ask. The apocalypse never came. Instead of wringing our hands over the damage done by closing down Washington, let’s add up how much we can save by doing it every week. We can skip the part where the American people get punished because conservative politicians refuse to bow to the Democratic Party. State and local governments use furloughs to save money because they have no choice. Why not Uncle Sam? Last time I checked he wasn’t doing so well, either.
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