May 14, 2002
THE REVOLUTION EATS ITS OWN :
Reversing Course, Bush Signs Bill Raising Farm Subsidies (DAVID E. SANGER, May 14, 2002, NY Times)President Bush reversed six years of Republican efforts to wean farmers from huge government subsidies, signing into law this morning a bill that increased those federal payments by at least $83 billion over the next 10 years.
This fight actually ended six years ago, when the GOP caved in to Bill Clinton and reopened the government in the Winter of 1995. That represented an acknowledgement that the Party wasn't willing to take the political heat, which was considerable, for trying to cut government spending in the face of stiff Democratic opposition. Real cuts will have to await a Republican majority akin to the one Democrats enjoyed in the 30s and the 60s/70s. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 14, 2002 10:13 AM