When Edward P. Mangano ran for county executive of Long Island's Nassau County as a libertarian tax-cutting Tea Partier, he promised that if he were elected he would cut taxes, cut spending and that the county would become a Tea Party Paradise. Everyone could "keep their own money and be richer!"
It was predictable. Everyone wants to cut taxes and cut spending - they just don't want the services they depend on cut along with it. Don't listen to those with experience, and especially ignore the guys who actually look at those pesky numbers and make decisions like accountants! They are pretending they are better than the voters and are lying to them, right?
The incumbent Mangano ran against knew that the county voters would not cut the services. They were unwilling to part with them. He ran against Mangano by telling the truth. The voters bought the lies of the Tea Party scammer and rejected the experience incumbent. Where was the media? Oh, wait. The media, especially FOX and the right wing radio gasbags were pushing the scam!
It's been a little over a year. The inevitable has happened. Nassau County is in a financial crisis that it cannot deal with, so the state has taken over Nassau County's finances.
The Tea Partiers are now trying the same scam on the government of the United States. That's what all the shouting in the House of Representatives is all about now that John Boehner and the conservative Republicans have taken over. And what are they shouting?
Cut taxes, cut spending and that the nation will become a Tea Party libertarian Paradise.
Tell me. When the nation buys the Tea party Libertarian scam and then collapses, who takes over? The United Nations? The World Bank? Forget it. The inevitable collapse of the United States finances if the scam is put into practice cannot be nearly as easily dealt with as the collapse of Nassau County finances will be.
[H/T to Steve Benen at Political Animal.]
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