Bumpersticker 2010

They used to be the Party of Tax & Spend. Now, they are the Party of Debt:

It began with a massive stimulus bill. Then news of enormous debt accumulation over the next ten years in the first two Obama budgets began to sink in. Now voters worry the European debt problems playing out across the Atlantic represent a picture of America’s fiscal future.

The Democrats’ growing debt blitzkrieg is also at odds with how American households are responding to the current economic situation. While citizens across this country continue to “de-leverage” – paying down consumer loans and modify spending – Democrats in Congress are in the midst of a massive debt crisis of their own and would rather kick the can than deal with it.

Some say proposing an austerity program in an election year is too risky -- spending fecundity increases incumbent popularity, the story goes. Politicians who slash popular programs will incur the electorate’s wrath. But the Party of Debt may confront a chilling new dynamic this November. Perhaps the greatest hazard is doing nothing at all.