-Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Mort Zuckerman, Chris Stirewalt-
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Issue One: Crackdown on Wall Street
Issue Two: Obama Giving us Buyers' Remorse?
Issue Three: Loose Lips Sink Gibbs
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While I've got some real problems with Pat Buchanan's isolationism, tepid support for Israel, and distaste for overseas military challenges... in domestic policy he's often right-on, plus an original thinker to be sure- and I did enjoy his Death of the West. This exchange re. the national debt crisis between hyper-liberal twit Eleanor Clift and the pugnacious, rightist-nationalist (9:00) is illuminating...xxx
Buchanan: These people (Bowles-Simpson Deficit Commission) are going to come-in with the recommendations -the Democrats will have lost -say- 30 seats, they're not going to cut Social Security, MediCare, MedicAid, unemployment insurance, veterans... the Republicans aren't going to give them a dime in tax increases... and they're not going to cut the budgets for the wars.
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What you've got is this deadlock of democracy, where we've got 10% of the entire GNP for a deficit -for three years running- I think we're headed toward the cliff. They'll come up with something... but Congress ...will say "no way you're telling us what to do".
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Clift: Well, their (deficit commission's) rhetoric... is damaging... because it's this "deficit first" mentality when the economy really does need juicing... all this deficit talk is an anchor.
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But they are right when they say that the deficit is a cancer on the economy, and it really has to be addressed... and Bill Clinton showed us this cancer can be cured...
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Buchanan: Well, those Reagan tax cuts really got the economy going, Eleanor...
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Clift: (blah blah blah...)
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McLaughlin: Did you hear what he said?
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Clift: No, I'm listening to myself speak...