Boy howdy y'all ain't gonna like this

[4bonhoffer]

If past is prologue that Republicans will get away with this awful bill . Ever since Ronald Reagan when the Republicans are in power, they raise the debt as far as possible, and when they are out of power, they point to the debt and say we cannot spend money on social programs because the debt is way too high and it’s the Democrats fault. They have literally been doing this since Ronald Reagan, and for some reason the Democratic Party has refused to call them out on this. This is so simple to explain. There’s a name for it, it’s the Jude Wanniski two Santa Claus theory. Even now, with all the outstanding points that are being made by the Democrats I have yet to hear a single one of them point out that the Republican Party has been doing this since Ronald Reagan. So in a few years , when these god-awful programs kick in , the Republicans will point to the debt that they caused , And they will say we cannot do anything to fix the problems because of the amount of the debt. With the amount of media that they control they will probably get away with it , again.
I really hope I am wrong, but again I’ve yet to hear a single Democrat point out that the Republicans have literally been doing this since Ronald Reagan. I hope the Democratic Party gets its messaging together and starts pounding the table about this very very simple point , to the point Where the general public will become aware of it.
Tom HARTMANN has been talking about this for as long as he has been on the air, and yet it has gained no traction within the Democratic Party. I just don’t get it.

[dalton99a]

1. They'll start screaming and yelling Debt and Deficit next week

[no_hypocrisy]

2. The Two Santa Claus Theory

The Two Santa Claus Theory is a political theory and strategy published by Wanniski in 1976, which he promoted within the United States Republican Party.[15][16] The theory states that in democratic elections, if members of the rival Democratic Party appeal to voters by proposing programs to help people, then the Republicans cannot gain broader appeal by proposing less spending. The first "Santa Claus" of the theory title refers to the Democrats who promise programs to help the disadvantaged. The "Two Santa Claus Theory" recommends that the Republicans must assume the role of a second Santa Claus by not arguing to cut spending but offering the option of cutting taxes.[15]

According to Wanniski, the theory is simple. In 1976, he wrote that the Two-Santa Claus Theory suggests that "the Republicans should concentrate on tax-rate reduction. As they succeed in expanding incentives to produce, they will move the economy back to full employment and thereby reduce social pressures for public spending. Just as an increase in Government spending inevitably means taxes must be raised, a cut in tax rates—by expanding the private sector—will diminish the relative size of the public sector."[16] Wanniski suggested this position, as left-liberal observer Thom Hartmann has clarified, so that the Democrats would "have to be anti-Santas by raising taxes, or anti-Santas by cutting spending. Either one would lose them elections."[17]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_Wanniski#:~:text=The%20first%20%22Santa%20Claus%22%20of,the%20option%20of%20cutting%20taxes.

[unblock]

3. You nailed it with media control. Democrats say this all the time.

Go to a rally or obscure podcast or whatever and you'll hear democrats saying things like this and other sensible and obvious truths, cogent analysis, etc.

But the media controls the topics and the questions the guest list, and the politicians know who gets invited back and who gets painted as an extremist and so on.

One of the bigger editorial techniques of the msm is simply volume. There are stories and themes and questions and catchphrases they use over and over and over again and others they gloss over and quickly move on to something else.

So they keep coming back to themes like republicans are "deficit hawks" and how anything any democrat proposes will raise the deficit and if a democrat ever points out the republicans are responsible for something like 80% of the debt, they say sorry we're out of time, we have to get to our next topic.

They've got many democrats blaming democratic politicians when they're largely doing the best they can when republicans control the microphone.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. "for some reason the Democratic Party has refused to call them out on this"

Yes, and it almost seems like a scam, doesn't it? When one party gets to fleece the nation and the other party takes responsible action to build it back up without telling the public how and why we got here, it almost, almost feels like they are part of the scam.

No wonder nobody wants to vote for Democrats. They act like stock employees doing clean-up on aisle 7, all the time. Who wants to identify with that job?

[LiberalArkie]

7. But our party never seems to put everything back to the same place where it worked. I have never figured it out.

We know that the old 90% and 70% top tax rates allowed the US to build the interstates, public hospitals, public mental health system, build public housing, fund medical research and wipe out polio and other diseases. Improve the educational system, build modern telecom, put men on the moon etc. But now we can't seem to bring ourselves to realize what the solution is.

[rubbersole]

12. We realize it. Biden realized it.

The concentration of wealth and the Supreme Court (Citizens United, etc.) have destroyed our democracy. Getting it back will take generations. Time we/ the planet don't have.

[LiberalArkie]

20. I have a weird feeling that if we ever get control of anything again, the wealth tax needs to be reimplemented. Even

if it is as an executive order. Trump has shown that even the executive orders can be use to undermine the constitution, maybe even remove it.

[Gingermolly]

5. Such an obvious truth

Every Democrat should be pointing this out in every conversation and every speech. There's no logical consistency at all to the Republicans' broad arguments.

[Turbineguy]

6. The democrats keep saving them

Maybe this time the consequences will catch up with them.

Unfortunately, us too.

[jmbar2]

8. Sheldon Whitehouse has been calling this out for a long time.

Others are as well. The Sunday nite speeches by Democrats against the bill were powerful, deep and persuasive. But not enough to peel off Republicans from going towards the cliff.

"People are gonna Die" is a much more visceral message than a history lesson of how we got here. The history is important, and it's out there for anyone closely following the speeches. But it is not changing hearts and minds. Yet.

[stopdiggin]

15. thanks. Democrats have been making plenty of noise

and pointing directly at the chicanery that the OP derides. If the message is not being taken up - that is the fault of the listener, not the speaker. There is no 'secret' here - just a large amount of people that are willing to go along with the flim-flam

[EndlessWire]

9. You left out the part where

Last edited Tue Jul 1, 2025, 04:43 PM - Edit history (1)

they blame Biden for their own actions.

I'm sorry to see Santa dragged into this.

[Arazi]

10. Bernie's been on this for decades

That is all

[orleans]

11. yes. i remember he was on hartmann's show (was it one a week?) & the segment was "lunch with bernie" nt

[mdbl]

13. It is true that Repugs have cause most of the debt

and then the dems have to clean it up but get blamed for the fallout while they are trying to fix. I have seen some reporters point this out over the years but it obviously fell on deaf and dumb ears. It almost makes me wish the repugs stay in power for another term just to get the heat they deserve - almost. The only problem is they will still get their idiocracy to believe it wasn't them causing it. They just find other groups to hate and blame.

[Martin68]

14. Yup.

[gfarber]

16. GOP Duplicity

Since Reagan, they spend without pause,
Then cry, “Cut the help!” with faux cause.
They broke all the banks,
Then gave Dems no thanks —
It’s the old Two Santa Claus laws.

The GOP spends with delight,
Then vanishes deep in the night.
"The debt is too high!"
they all shout and cry—
Though they set it soaring in flight.

The Right racks up debt with a grin,
Then blames it on Democrats’ sin.
"No programs!" they bark,
While trashing the park—
It's a game they’ve been rigging to win!

[SalamanderSleeps]

17. Plain and simple, the GOP is a mafia with a Borgia papa on the top, and women that fall in line.

10% of the U.S. Senate, do the nasty on papa's "private member" whenever their eyes are open.

Marsha Blackburn,

Katie Britt,

Cindy Hyde-Smith,

Susan Collins,

Lisa Murkowski,

Cynthia Lummis,

Shelley Moore Capito,

Deb Fischer,

Ashley Moody,

and Joni Ernst;

they are merely towel girls that like their spot on daddy's lap.

-

Their like Phyllis Schlafly's GOP sorority girls, perky, well spoken, stupid, but somehow really wealthy.

[Rigpa108]

18. I'll leave this here...

"signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton"

"In practice, it gave way to one of the largest consolidations of the telecommunications sector in history"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

[Gingermolly]

19. I say this all the time

Every Democrat should be pointing this out in every conversation and every speech. There's no logical consistency at all to the Republicans' broad arguments.