Schoen: Voters to Democrats: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Wall Street Journal ^ | Feb 18, 2010 | DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN

[SmartInsight]

Evan Bayh's withdrawal from politics could be a harbinger of doom for the party—but it doesn't have to be.

Let's be clear. The Democratic brand is in trouble—big trouble. There are at least eight Senate seats up for grabs, and another two or three potentially in play, putting control of the Senate in play.

What then, do the Democrats need to do?

First, they need pro-growth, fiscally conservative policies.

The tea party movement is strong enough to elect a Republican House and Senate and shake up politics in ways we haven't seen or considered. A commitment to deficit reduction and spending cuts, as well as a willingness to consider a continuation of the Bush tax cuts for another year until growth is stimulated, is critically important to reviving the Democratic brand.

[SmartInsight]

"First, they need pro-growth, fiscally conservative policies. "

If they were for that, they wouldn't be Democrats...

[Persevero]

hard for a party to do, since its twin mantra seem to be “business is evil” and “spend your way out of poverty.”

[Hypo]

bttt

[ari-freedom]

clinton balanced the budget, not Bush. :|

[ari-freedom]

“When Bill Clinton adopted the bulk of the Republican ideas on taxes, spending and welfare reform in 1996, he was able to seize some political ground and demonize House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.”

[Jabba the Nutt]

Clinton had a conservative, principled Congress. Bush didn't. Bush also had 9/11 in his first year. Clinton allowed Bin Laden to escape with his life several times before 9/11.

That said, Bush expanded the Welfare State with 'No Child Left Behind' and adding prescription drugs to Medicare and by not vetoing anything.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

Clinton also didn't have to budget for the Cold War, which was over before he took office. When Clinton took office, the Cold War was over, the economy was growing, the tech boom was already on, and the stimulus created by Y2K was still to come.

As for the deficit we had under Bush, Clinton's apparent failure to take any effective action against AQ had a lot to do with it. But even with that, Bush and the GOP Congress were on their way to balancing the budget until, um, what happened in 2007?