That was a very fair, sobering assessment of how we got into this mess.

My only criticism (and it's a big one) is that I think Phillips goes *too far* with the 50/50, i.e. Repubs and Dems are equally to blame.

Before someone jumps in to say that I'm biased, hear me out. I am NOT saying it's a 100/0 proposition, or even a 90/10.  But 50/50 is bullshit.

Why? Well, let's think about this for a second. Where did these economic policies (slashing taxes on the rich and corporations coupled with massive deregulation) come from? Yeah that's right, from conservatives/libertarians.

Not from the left, but clearly from the right.  Can we finally all agree that Milton Friedman is now dead both literally *and* figuratively?

At any rate, it was the policies and philosophies of the Reagan Administration and Grover Norquists of the world that gave birth to this mess we're in. Sure, Bill Clinton and his fellow DLC dems made sure it made it through middle school and high school, and Bush Sr. and the Republican Congress helped it graduate with a PhD in economic disaster.

But never lose sight of the fact that even though Clinton was a Democrat in name, he was promoting (and signing into law) CONSERVATIVE Economic Policies. This is where someone argues that it's not *true* conservative policies but that's an excuse hiding behind semantics.

If you ignore that fact you'll fall into the easy 50/50 trap when assigning blame. 50/50 my ass! Progressives understand that the DLC Dems are just about as bad as the Republicans!

PS---There were less than 50 (fifty) registered lobbyists when Reagan took office. Today there are well over 34,000. In other words, the Reagan Administration and philosophies gave rise to the explosive corruption and lobbyist influence we see today. I know, I know, corruption has always been around in some form, but there are degrees. And Reagan & Co made it legal and institutional.

Not to mention the fact that Reagan & Co fundamentally undermined the very offices they held by openly bashing it. The bottom line is that You Can't Govern If You Don't Believe In Government.

by Tom Hanc on 09/20/2008 01:44:29 PM EST