Today in Republican Values

You knew it would be quite a day beginning with the Today Show. Since Scott Mclellan has no credibility left, they rolled out Nicolle Wallace, a sweet faced white chick you'd probably not mind being seen with. Not a single sentence was missing its parenthetical element nor was a single unpracticed word uttered and it's all the evil Democrats' fault. How anyone can't see through this ruse, present a sweetly spun message through a sweet-looking white chick evades me.

Apparently the ranks of the blind are down to 34%. These performances, these (with deference to Rod Stewart) well-rehearsed ad-lib lines are having the opposite of their desired result. Mr. Bush, here's something you may have never considered. When your credibility is in the toilet, as yours is, there's only one strategy that works, the full, unadulterated truth. Fortunately we can look forward to further sagging poll numbers because, Mr. President, I don't think you're capable of telling the truth.

Congressional Republicans' antics today were a reflection of their values, starting with the attempted swift-boating of Rep. John Murtha. House Republicans took his words, effectively a recommendation to withdraw our troops from Iraq as soon as possible, and turned them into circus by proposing a resolution designed to fail: Withdraw immediately. It doesn't take a five-deferment Vice President with more important things to do to see that one of these things is not like the other. It also doesn't take an AWOL from the Air Guard President to see that the Republicans' stunt is designed to reflect badly on those of us who want our troops back from a senseless war as soon as possible. My thought is that the American people are smarter than their leaders and will see through the ruse. In either case, the value demonstrated here is to avoid debate. Attack, prevaricate, submit bogus proposals but don't debate the issues, particularly when you don't have a leg to stand on.

Then there's the budget. The Bridge to Nowhere is gone, de-earmarked, as it were but don't expect Katrina victims or food stamp recipients to see any of it. It stays with Senator Ted Stevens's home state of Alaska to spend as they see fit, even on the Bridges to Nowhere should they decide to go ahead and build them. Republicans can now truthfully claim they removed the Bridge to Nowhere from the budget. Now Alaska has a cool half-billion to see as it sees fit, Stevens has lost nothing and the Republican "Stump the Chump" tactic has been aptly demonstrated.

The House and Senate budget machinations are even more sadly amusing. The House today passed a "Deficit Reduction Act", one they claim "slows the growth of mandatory entitlements". Here's what happens. Medicaid is cut so more poor children don't get medical care. Two hundred twenty thousand working Americans lose their Food Stamps so they can try to eat while earning minimum wage. There are fifty billion dollars of cuts in this bill, most aimed at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. Remember that number, fifty billion. The Republican Senate passed a tax cut on the same day worth sixty billion dollars. First, that's ten billion dollars more added to the deficit - we're giving up sixty billion dollars in income for fifty billion in savings. Deficit reduction? Second, the tax cut will benefit those of us with money to invest by extending the reduced taxes on capital gains and dividends. Most of us drawing capital gains and dividends won't be affected by a cut in food stamps or Medicaid. Here a couple of Republican values come into play: Do it fast enough and they'll never know it's really a deficit increase and rob the poor to pay the rich cause the rich give campaign contributions.

You determine values by observing actions. The Republicans have demonstrated theirs adequately today. I don't think their values represent the American people or the values we have as a nation. Unfortunately, they've managed to fool a number of people into believing they do.