Republicans Lack Object Permanence. Case in Point: Spending and The National Debt. The most profitable job in the United States (outside corporate boardrooms)could be 'shell game huckster' outside the Republican National Convention. These people seem to lack object permanence; like a two year old playing peek-a-boo, as soon as they can't see something, it ceases to exist... "The Era of Big Government is Over" Remember when Clinton uttered these famous words? Remember how the Republicans scoffed? Well, Clinton was true to his word. Discretionary spending under Clinton only increased 2 percent each year--while at the same time, the budget surplus swelled and the economy prospered. In my lifetime, there has never been a Democratic president who has run up more debt than either their Democratic predecessor or successor. I challenge anyone to find evidence to the contrary. Under Bush, federal spending has increased 23.7 percent and discretionary spending has grown 6.5 yearly. Did these statistics come from some partisan liberal think tank hostile to the president? Nope. They came from the ultraconservative Club For Growth. We have a deficit for 2004 that will be around 500 Billion dollars. Partisan sources? Think again. Try Joshua Bolten. Why do Republicans still conceive of themselves as "fiscal conservatives". It's simple. If nobody mentions the deficit, it ceases to exist. Like saint Ronald Regan, President Bush can't keep his hands off the nation's credit cards. While conservatives criticise the welfare state, they perpetuate the corporate welfare state. Sure, your federal taxes may have gone down under Bush, but how about your state, local and property taxes? Have your insurance premiums gone down? Who will pay off the massive debts we're accquiring? Jackson Thoreau, as usual, provides an astute, well-documented commentary: "Another lie Bush often tells is that he appreciates workers and helps them get ahead. According to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Bush's 2003 budget proposed a 9 percent, or $476 million, cut to job training programs and a 2 percent, or $8 million, cut to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Similarly, his 2004 budget proposed a $60 million cut to adult job training programs and a total elimination of the Youth Opportunities Grants, which provided job training for younger workers." The Bush Administration: Making you poorer and ill-prepared for the future. Democrats are better than the republicans on the economy. Greens would be better than republicans on the economy. Spongebob Squarepants would be better than Bush on the economy. Republicans are the party of fiscal irresponsibility...Remind them of this continually, and thereby hasten their cognitive development.