What are you kidding me. Anti choice anti gay, anti women..PLEASE

The GOP talks the fiscal responsibility talk, but has been tremendously irresponsible in practice. Saint Reagan's deficits exceeded those of all previous presidents combined. The Bush tax cuts are a major contributor to the current deficits. And the GOP continues to reject the reality pointed out by every bi- or non-partisan commission that it will take a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to balance the budget again. No GOP president since Eisenhower has even proposed a balanced budget. Both Johnson (during the Vietnam War!) and Clinton achieved it.

I am a millennial. I was born under Reagan, learned about politics under Clinton and cast my first vote against Bush. Mr. Jacoby can't understand why I would choose the Democrats over the Republicans because he believes the Republicans are more worried about the deficit, yet in my life the only President to balance the budget and run a surplus was a Democrat. Indeed, the crushing debt we now find ourselves under was in large part created by Republican administrations, George Bush being the worst offender. A trillion dollars spent in Iraq and Afghanistan and corporate welfare in the form of Medicare Part D are just a couple of examples. While President Obama has also run deficits, he has done so in a time when to do otherwise would dramatically harm the future of this country. Which is to say, my future. By continuing to help people when they need it most, he has ensured that brighter days are still ahead for my generation. There is a valid argument that we must keep our debt in control, but to blame it on this President is obnoxious, foolish and objectively false. Check out this post by Ezra Klein to get a clearer picture: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/obamas-and-bushs-effect-on-the-deficit-in-one-graph/2011/07/25/gIQAELOrYI_blog.html

Apparently Jeff Jacoby's m.o. until the election is going to be week after week of simplistic, hate-filled, anti-Obama propaganda. To understand the Republican Party's lack of appeal, Mr. Jacoby should start by re-reading David Brooks's column from last July 4 when Brooks said that "the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative. The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. ... The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. ... The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation's honor. The members of this movement have no economic theory worthy of the name." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/opinion/05brooks.html

The only time so called deficits might burden future generations is improper and destructive national investments. For heaven's sake those that take out mortgages or loans on cars or finance a new business do so to improve their lives. What is ugly is that reactionary Republicans do not want to take responsibility for government programs they voted for. Further national debt has never injured our future and even now is not at levels seen in the past. Our prosperity does not seem to flow with amount of debt but rather from a mindset that reaches as many in society as possible. This can not be done by government and the government borrows when too many countrymen forget about their fellow citizen. So now where did this debt come from? It came from borrowing for 2 wars initiated by President Bush, unfunded Medicare Part D, bailing out banks, stimulus outlays to counter the awful behavior of large corporations so people would not lose their jobs or would have a safety net until they could find another, and a bloated military budget(it was a fight to veto money for a jet engine the Pentagon did not want). So much focus on debt is only warranted if it is not being invested to lay the groundwork for future growth. Long term directed funds put in place have benefited the nation: Medicare, Medicaid (the bulk of the money supports patients in nursing homes), Social Security, Disability, National Parks, safe drugs food, and water, defense, and support of education to name a few. Reactionaries(a strong element of Conservative thinking) do not seem to realize that they also benefit from these laws since they show an irresponsible objection to paying for them.

Was this column accidentally run a week early? It must have been meant for April Fool's Day.

Boomers favor smaller governments, etc... sure they do until you try to take away one of THEIR government programs. This is a statement that is made in the abstract, because once operational those same boomers will be crying all the way to the Capitol. And that's not in the abstract. Furthermore, Obama has raised the deficit, no doubt. Of course no President had to deal with as a distressed economy since the great depression, and the stimulus, which accounted for a significant portion of additional debt, certainly mitigated further declines. Let's also remember that under Bush not only did the debt skyrocket, but that financial malaise began under his administration and was compounded by his mandate of extensive tax cuts, a Republican ideology, which lowered revenue and furthered hemorrhaging.

Another weak column that has apparently failed to persuade the readers who chose to post on it. It is disingenuous and Mr Jacoby knows it. He writes as if he is telling readers about events and policies of which we had no prior knowledge.

Mr. Jacoby would do more of a service to young people by writing about political action taken entirely out of frustration and disappointment and taken against those in power, regardless of who's responsible for the debt. Our history shows significant swings to the "other party" during tough times, though the results have often been dismal. The GOP offers a "message" to young people in keeping with their future benefit, but offers history and behaviors that are quite the opposite. And its impact has had little if anything to do with generational segmentation or shifts. Its behavior and impact have proved almost entirely driven by wealth levels. Bunk, Mr. Jacoby, when you could be writing something interesting.

Mr Jacoby, you sir, are a liar and you are trying to mislead people. The only reason the Globe employs you is so the higher ups can say "look, we have far right conservatives on our staff".

I agree with the previous commenter. You don't see Jacoby interacting with commenters like Scot does, because his columns don't make sense even to himself. He is a paid spoiler.

When Republicans stop their wars against women and science and stop preaching budget magic, call me up. What happened to New England Republicans?

Note to editors, please stop allowing JJ to put "Dems" in the title of his propaganda -I know, I know, it's there to let everyone know that the piece is opinion but we already have a rag in town . Plus his columns run in the opinion section! We get it, please stop. Again, debt in general is bad but it's amazing how those on the right continue to speak out against something they actually promote for the rest of the year. Our entire system operates on debt. Trillions of dollars sounds scary but if the amount is less than the output of the US for one year, then the US is in exactly the same boat that most patriotic Americans are in. How many people are more than one years worth of salary in debt if you count mortgage, car debt, and credit cards? According to "Repugs" those folks are the perfect Americans.

Mr. Jacoby, are you completely unencumbered by rational thought? Young people are, if anything, drawn to third party candidates, because they have accurately interpreted that BOTH Democrats AND Republicans have mutually exacerbated the problems this country has concerning debt, deficit spending, and Congressional gridlock.

Jeff, another outstanding opinion piece. You have made the right wing misinformation machine proud yet again! The way you cherry-picked information and left out information that would fully inform readers was truly masterful. All freshmen students of English Composition have a new hero to emulate! For instance, you left out the Bush "greatest hits" to the national debt that continue now. 1)Tax cuts for the rich continue to add to the budget deficit EVERY YEAR since 2001. (The national debt is the accumulation of all annual budget deficits.) 2)You also chose to leave out how the republicans in congress in 2010 insisted on continuing the best practices of our 39th best president (out of 44)—or they would put the federal government out of business. (They fell as little short and only lowered our credit rating.) 3) Almost immediately after starting the Iraq war on false pretenses, the republican congress voted to allow all of the federal dollars going to Iraq contractors, mostly from Texas, to "offshore" the revenue so they wouldn't have to pay any federal taxes on those profits. This too continues. 4) Tax cuts to the oil industry, who collectively earn hundreds of billions in profits every year, also adds to annual deficits, and the national debt. Since 2008: 5) republicans have taken breakfasts from poor kids (60% white), and heating oil assistance from our elders 6) republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have continually blocked our country from getting out of the ditch, and blocked efforts by the democratic party to create jobs. Only recently have republicans in the House introduced a jobs bill. I am sure that it's only a coincidence that it is now an election year. 7)Republicans, and the right wing misinformation machine have misinformed Americans every day using various media by insisting on cutting taxes as their way out of our mess. For an American worker, this would be the equivalent of asking your boss to cut your pay while you are going deeper and deeper in debt. 8)Republicans in congress, including the Koch brothers Tea Party members have even signed a pledge to NOT raise taxes which trumps their Oath of Office! Stimulating the economy requires Federal spending, especially when big business is reluctant to do so. Look it up.

@FlyingDutchman: And Clinton wiped out RECORD BUDGET DEFICITS with a financial plan that did not get even one Republican vote! http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-03.html You are either spending money to help people live a better life or you are of a mindset that if you are poor, it's you own fault...go to work. Take a good look at the Republican candidates, a circular firing squad, and determine if this is the USA you wish to live in, from absolute dimwits like Ron Paul, who has no social justice structure, to Romney, who has no firm core principles, to Gingrich, who obviously is trying to forestall the inevitable, to Santorum, who would have us live in a quasi-religious country. Conservatives? All head and no heart. This is the President I want: The Clinton Presidency: Historic Economic Growth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore launched their economic strategy: (1) establishing fiscal discipline, eliminating the budget deficit, keeping interest rates low, and spurring private-sector investment; (2) investing in people through education, training, science, and research; and (3) opening foreign markets so American workers can compete abroad. After eight years, the results of President Clinton's economic leadership are clear. Record budget deficits have become record surpluses, 22 million new jobs have been created, unemployment and core inflation are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years, and America is in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our history.

EARTH-TO-JEFF! Is there anyone home?? If what you're attempting to do here is convince the youth of America that the Republican Party has become such a bunch of hopeless looney tunes who have sunk far, far below Richard Nixon, you are doing a fine job at that and perhaps even inspiring a lot of young people to join the ranks of committed, steadfast Democrats. But with friends like you, I worry that the Republican Party's viability as a going concern is increasingly at risk. You are also putting the important check-and-balance in our country of having a multi-party political system. One of the largest components of our national debt today is the Iraq war, created by your pal G.W. Bush. G.W. claimed that the U.S. had a morally valid reason to invade another country: That Iraq possessed WMDs that could be a threat to U.S. domestic safety. But that was a lie invented by G.W.'s own employees. Can you imagine if China had invaded the U.S.--and tried to kill our president--because it had made up a lie about us? That's exactly what the U.S. and the Republicans did to Iraq, and the whole world has been watching us, Jeff. The Republicans--in their inimitable schoolyard bully style--were so brazen as to demonize the French for not supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq (even going so far as to ban French Fries from the Congressional Cafeteria) even though the French were right and we were wrong. Notice the symbolism to the rest of the world of how the Republicans treated the country that gave us our very own Statue of Liberty. That criminal act by GW Bush and the Crazy Republicans left us saddled with >$1T of debt and thousands of innocent Iraqis & Americans dead. President Obama was the only presidential candidate who always opposed the Iraq war and pointed out that we lacked sufficient evidence to take such a violent, hostile act against an innocent people. If Republicans had 2% of the awareness and common sense of President Obama, there would have been no Iraq war and we would not be $1T in the hole right now. For you to imply that Mitt Romney would be a budget hawk runs counter to Romney's own statements. Romney advocates creating a new arms race with the rest of the world. He has said that he would spike our military spending to 4% of the U.S. GDP. If the most hostile, powerful military force on the planet dramatically expands its own killing force, do you think other countries are going to sit still and not grow their military budgets as well? In the end, Mitt Romney would bankrupt this country, while dessimating public education and cutting taxes for passive investors who add no value to the economy. The only winner under Mitt would be China, which manufactures an ever-increasing majority of goods consumed by U.S. citizens. The primary financier of all of our spiraling national debt will be China. Without a competitive, well educated workforce, the U.S. can easily become a tragic memory in the ascendency of China, Brazil & India a

This column would make a lot more sense if Mitt Romney had a serious deficit reduction plan.

Funny how Mr. Jacoby neglects to mention that non-partisan analysis show that Romney's plan adds to the deficit much more than Obama's plan. And in congress, Paul Ryan's plan would add to the deficit even more, while taking away resources that the middle class wants, including medicare and education .

"Still, younger voters can hardly be blamed if they haven't noticed that Republicans are "consumed with the idea of getting federal spending down.'' " Hmm. I would say, rather, that younger voters can hardly be blamed if they haven't noticed the BLATANT HYPOCRISY of the right-wing disinformation machine that widely proclaims these Republican corporate shills I mean politicians who say: We're fiscal conservatives. That's why we're constantly giving needless tax breaks to the rich and the most profitable, destructive corporations on earth. That's also why we're giving billions in subsidies to Big Oil, starting wars as often as possible to enrich contractors, and killing any legislation that invests in long-term financial stability and well being for the broader public. I think young Americans are smarter than Jeff Jacoby. Despite the right-wing's best efforts to capture and indoctrinate youth and infiltrate education (through organizations created and subsidized by wealthy oligarchs), they remain free for the most part to draw the obvious conclusions.

The Republicans are anti contraception and anti sexual activity. Young people generally think the opposite. This will not help them get elected.

Whoa, Jeff take a look at the polls. Not happening.

Yeah, right Jeff, like young people don't have parents and grandparents. When their parents finally have no more money from all the college loans, the co-payments for their medications or their flattened incomes to give the young anymore, I'm sure the young people's political response will be to double down and vote Republican. In your wildest fantasy.