Urban Thought Collective

There’s nothing new about conservative Republicans being hypocrites when it comes to taxes and government spending, but their two-facedness has become glaringly apparent during the debate over President Obama’s plan to send 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan. The federal government has dumped $243 billion into Afghanistan since 2001 and now, thanks to President Obama (the man we elected to bring about change), we’re about to spend billions more. Republicans on Capitol Hill are all up in arms over the cost of Obama’s healthcare reform plan, but they apparently have no qualms about the price of escalating the war in Afghanistan. In fact, one of the most prominent, high-ranking Republicans in the Senate has suggested a very non-Republican solution for paying the bill: raise taxes!

When asked about the astronomical cost of Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan, Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN, “We may wish to discuss higher taxes to pay for it.”

Wow. An esteemed, senior Republican actually said the T-word!

Ask Republicans about the cost of health care for uninsured Americans, jobs programs, housing assistance, child care for working moms, public schools, financial aid for college students, etc. and you’ll get a lecture about the dangers of big government, the need to reduce the deficit and the economy-destroying effect of higher taxes. Ask Republicans how to pay for a war – even one that has lasted almost a decade with no measurable results — and they say we ought to raise taxes.

The fact is that Republicans LOVE to spend money. They just hate spending it on social programs that benefit everyday, tax-paying Americans. But when it comes to military spending, the GOP will spend every dime they can get hold of, even if that means borrowing from ethically questionable foreign powers like China or increasing the federal debt. Remember, the GOP ran up humungous federal deficits under Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush. The government had a surplus when President Clinton left office, but “Dubya” wiped that out in no time thanks, primarily, to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

So, I appreciate Sen. Lugar for dropping the pretense and pulling back the curtain on the unabashed hypocrisy of his party. Now, are we gonna let them get away with it?

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is a Los Angeles-area native whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.