Who are American politicians beholden to? The People? The Constitution?

[DinoDoc]

(cue the "he rode Reagan's coattails")

He did and lost the election for his second term when he was to have been judged on his own merits.

[C0ckney]

Unlike Greece, you lack the ability to print money and already have one of the highest tax levels in the US. Perhaps you could tell me the value of racking up a higher and higher debt load while pretending it doesn't exist?

greece can't print money.

[DinoDoc]

greece can't print money.

While interesting to know and I thank you for sharing, I don't particularly care 1 way or the other as it isn't relevant to the point I was making wrt California's fiscal situation.

[Imran Siddiqui]

He did and lost the election for his second term when he was to have been judged on his own merits.

How many goalposts are you interested in moving?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Besides, what does "national office" mean aside from the Presidency, anyways? Or are we counting cabinet officials too?

[DinoDoc]

How many goalposts are you interested in moving?

If you have someone other than the guy who served as the placeholder for Reagan's third term before being thrown out of office in the very next election after that, I would be interested in hearing about them. Damn man we have a case study in what happens to the Moderate Republicans you claim to want who seek national office in the form of the 2012, 2008, and 1996 elections. They loose and you don't vote for them.

[regexcellent]

greece can't print money.

Neither can California.

[DaShi]

[C0ckney]

quite.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If you have someone other than the guy who served as the placeholder for Reagan's third term before being thrown out of office in the very next election after that, I would be interested in hearing about them. Damn man we have a case study in what happens to the Moderate Republicans you claim to want who seek national office in the form of the 2012, 2008, and 1996 elections. They loose and you don't vote for them.

The fun part is that the "Moderate Republicans" in 2008 and 2012 decided they needed to act all "hardcore conservative" and tack way right. That'd be the reason I didn't vote for them, btw. I wholeheartedly would love to see a 2000 McCain in office. A 2008 McCain, not so much.

[giblets]

I think it's hilarious that there are people here defending his policies. Just about every part of his presidency was a disaster.

That sounds suspiciously similar to Reagan and Bush Jr.

[DinoDoc]

The fun part is that the "Moderate Republicans" in 2008 and 2012 decided they needed to act all "hardcore conservative" and tack way right.

I'd have been overjoyed if Romney had tacked to the right. It would have been a refreshing change from the milquetoast seemingly reluctant to refute the idiotic attacks on how he made his money that actually showed up to the election. I for one was disappointed that he made a bold pick in Ryan and declined to actually follow up by forcefully engaging the election on the arena his Veep choice had laid out for him. And what was hardcore conservative about the campaign McCain ran? The very reason Palin was chosen was a transparent attempt to shore up his weakness with the Conservative base.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Please, Romney went from a pro-choice, pro-universal health care Governor of Massachusetts to strongly the opposite in both. I think that was actually one of the main talking points against him in the Republican primaries (ie, he may sound like a conservative, but he doesn't really mean it because look at how he governed - aka, he was tacking to the right).

As for McCain, he voted for the Bush Tax cut extention in 2006 after voting against it in 2001 and 2003, and during the campaign even made noises seemingly supporting a flax tax. He ran as a huge deficit hawk in 2000, but by 2008 was all for more tax cuts. Also during the 2008 campaign he basically disavowed his support for a cap and trade system which he devised in 2003 (it obviously failed in Congress). As for Palin, the choice before Palin (McCain's #1 choice) was Joe Liberman - yeah, he was really that concerned with support from the conservative base.

[regexcellent]

quite.

lol I missed what you were referencing. My bad.

[MrFun]

I'd have been overjoyed if Romney had tacked to the right.

Where have you been? Romney DID tack way to the right.