You'll probably be voting Democrat/Republican in 2008:

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by August

Like a $4.9 Trillion debt is something to be proud of? This sounds like the old Democrat "vote for us because we're not as bad as the republicans" argument.

No, but it sure as hell beats what it is now. From 1996 to 2001 the federal debt dropped nearly 1 trillion dollars. From 2001 to 2007 the debt rose 5 trillion dollars. This isn't about voting Democrat or Republican it's about fiscal responsibility. It's about paying as you go or as close to it as a goverment can, not "I have a checkbook and I can spend as long as I have checks". It's as I've said countless times and voted countless times it's not the party I'll vote for it's who has the right message be it Republican, Democrat or Independent. But if a thread turns into a Republicans are smart and Democrats are stupid thread I'll do my best to make Republicans look even stupider.

The truth is that each year since 1969, regardless of who is in charge, Congress has spent more money than it "earned". Even when they claim budget surpluses they were still spending more than they were taking in.

I don't see how that would be but even if so that doesn't give reason for mindless spending, being in a war, and then turn around and cut taxes. It doesn't make sense to me. The return isn't there and it was proven it wasn't before it was enacted.

Without the line item veto he has to approve or disapprove an entire annual spending bill rather than just stripping the unrelated pork from it like most of the governors in this country can do when their legislatures start going hog wild with the people money.

To nullify or "cancel" specific provisions of a bill, usually budget appropriations so I would take it that it was open to other uses also.