The talking point of blaming Democrats for everything has worked like a charm and it won’t be stopped anytime soon. The Los Angeles Riots of 1992 were blamed by Fitzwater of a Republican administration on LBJ, who retired in 1969.

People jump and scream if you give 1% for feeding kids from the USA. They don’t mind spending a bunch on pork projects in their own districts, so long as they benefit.

They’ll simply upgrade to whichever Democrat managed to get into power for a short time, like Carter in the 80s and until 1993. Update the Democrat is what they’ll do.

A pretty good analysis, except for one major flaw. Sanford didn’t “allow” anything. He pushed, prodded and jumped up and down trying to get the legislature to control its spending. He’s issued about eleventy-kabillion budget vetoes, only to see them overridden. In 2006 he vetoed the entire budget. If you’ve got any suggestions on what else he could have done, I’ll bet he’d be glad to hear them.

The problem is, whatever happened to personal accountability? Seems like Republicans in Washington were “spending like Democrats” during the first 6 years of the Bush administration (the Republican Bush did not veto their bills) and Republicans in Columbia have been “spending like Democrats” too during the Sanford administration (the Republican Sanford allowed this spending to go on). And in Washington and in Columbia, the budgets are busted.

So I guess what I’m getting at is two things: 1) “Personal accountability” seems to be more of a slogan than anything else, and 2) since the Democrats haven’t been in control of the levers of power in Columbia or in Washington (at least not until January of this year), the charge that “Republicans were spending like Democrats” is a lie because if that were true, they wouldn’t have been spending anything at all.

Why don’t Republicans just admit they screwed up without trying to pawn off the blame on others? If you want to be partisan about it, since Democrats haven’t been spending any money at all under Sanford and during the first 6 years of Bush, Republicans have been spending money like, well, Republicans!

As for the printed media…look for a nice heart-warming story on the senior Mr Cooper and the Florence Fine Arts Center along with comments on how this is the type of stuff that couldn’t get done without government dollars.

Unfortunately, there is NO mainstream media in Columbia that will ever touch this type of story.

But lets get back to Will’s blog. It was a good post, talking economics in a short blog is difficult. Will at the very least, is shedding light on REAL issues. And he has a sense of humor while doing so, so, it’s entertaining. If we didn’t have all that pork spending by the general assembly, there might be more money leftover for education, but wait a minute, that means the legislature would have to put a hold on the “good ol’ boy” network and that will NEVER happen.

This post is a paper thin analysis and is intended only to generate hits to his site – and steam a few key elected officials.

Geez-a-ree, hasn’t he steamed them a few times already?

But, will’s logic is warped. Take public education for example.

Yes, we have a long way to go. The problems start with poverty and social issues that the Legislature never has had the stomach to really address. They won’t either, until a court forces them too.

If this predicted “budget deficit” does happen (and it will, someday), then one of the first and most vulnerable groups of citizens to suffer will be South Carolina’s children.

We can just hear a “prominent midlands’ elected official” lecturing us the next time funding for our schools is cut. He will point his finger at the crowd and sternly say there only “…100 cents in a dollar.”

We do agree with sic(k) willie, sometimes, when he questions how much cents and sense there tis in our Legislature. :)

Go Cocks, Beat them all.
Go Clemson, Do the Best You Can.
Go will, And Flush When You Finish.

-Believe It Not News