Right Wing Rhetoric vs. Democratic Demogoguery

An interesting blog that anybody who is interested in old fashioned politics should check out is Modern America, an account of political events from the perspective of an individual from McDowell County, West Virginia. The man's name is Brandon Brewster. He's a good writer.

In one of his posts, Brewster rebukes a claim by Rush Limbaugh that Democrats "try to forget 9/11 and cut homeland security spending". His response is a typical one in politics : "WE SPEND MORE THAN YOU DO!." While this claim is true, and in the weeks after the London bombing the Democrats joined with moderate Republicans to pass homeland security funding that was largely opposed by the GOP, it illustrates the absurdity of campaign rhetoric. No constituent, and most members of congress, knows exactly how much money needs to be allocated for a specific program or security measure. They follow their party's advice and either announce that more funding is needed, or that their opponents are spending tax dollars on pork barrel projects.

However, often times, it's simply both sides taking credit for spending more money. John Kerry was pounded for voting against the $87 billion for Iraq military operations and likewise, Republicans have recently taken heat for voting against mass transit funding. Nevertheless, it's impossible for ordinary citizens to know how many billions are needed to protect New York subways. Although it's fair to make estimations and try to educate oneself, it's foolish to simply assume that one politician's claim about his opponent's cuts in funding hold water.