The answer, it seems, is that elected Republicans never actually cared about the deficit in the first place. When Obama was president, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell became one of Washington’s loudest voices against the Democrat’s proposals, in favor of reducing the federal deficit. Four years after Obama’s stimulus passed in 2009, McConnell warned that unless immediate steps were taken to address the national debt, future generations of Americans may not have access to current entitlement programs like Social Security.
“Only one thing can save this country, and that’s to get a handle on this deficit and debt issue,” said McConnell, then-Senate minority leader. “No action means the demise” of entitlement programs, he continued. “We have to assure they will be there for future generations.”
Fast forward to 2018, and President Trump occupies the White House, Republicans control the Senate, and McConnell is begging his current Senate colleague and Tea Party loyalist Rand Paul to keep his mouth shut over continued runaway spending.
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