"Ideas" from the Party of Ideas

I came across this photo on Pundit Kitchen today. It's so true, so very true:

I see via Politico that House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) has put together an online "Solutions Center," which purports to answer the four big questions Americans are asking. Patrick O'Connor and Mike Allen see this as the GOP scrambling "to show it has ideas," which suggests, perhaps, that they didn't spend too much time on the site. Because in all their scrambling, House Republicans didn't come up with much that hasn't already cost them the last two elections.

Here's an abbreviated version of the problems Americans face, and the solutions the GOP is positing.

Q: How will I keep my job? A: We'll give your boss a tax cut!

Q: How should we use taxpayer money?
A: By giving it back to you through tax cuts!

Q: How will I grow my savings?
A: We'll toss out capital gains tax on new assets. And then we'll let you write off up to $10,000 in losses on your taxes.

Q: How will I keep my house?
A: With a $5,000 refinancing tax credit, of course. We'll also give your lenders a tax credit if they help you out. But just in case they don't, we'll make it harder for you to sue them.

Also included in there is a pitch for the House GOP's failed alternative budget--so it's not just about cutting taxes. It's also about freezing spending. Let's see--where have I heard this all before.

What's that they say about gold-plating shit? Yeah. It's still shit. Hate to break it to the GOP, but putting inane, discredited and discarded ideas on a snazzy new website doesn't make 'em fresh and new. Especially not when the site looks like it was created for the Children 4-8 set.

Sad, sad, sad.