Dems show their tax raising defeatest hands

NY Post Editorial:

Flap-jawed friends of Barack Obama are making the Democratic candidate's road to the White House rockier than it needs to be.

Case in point: Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who has told a hometown newspaper House Democrats will seek a 25 percent reduction in defense spending upon Obama's ascension.

Oh, and stand by for a big tax hike.

Talk of an eviscerated Pentagon and higher taxation rates meant to fleece Joe the Plumber, et al., is tonic to the party base.

Undecided voters are probably less likely to be persuaded by Frank's vision - even if he does sugarcoat it a bit.

Deep defense cuts mean a quicker exit from Iraq, Frank told the newspaper - but not to worry, because "[T]he people of Iraq want us out, and we want to stay over their objection."

That's not remotely true, of course.

They want their country back, to be sure, but they certainly don't want a precipitous abandonment of the sort Frank seems to be seeking.

...

He was one of the folks who pushed so hard to turn the federal housing lending corporations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into virtual social-services agencies; under pressure from Frank & Friends, Fannie and Freddie made innumerable improvident loans - in no small way precipitating the current financial crisis.

...

Actually Fannie and Freddie bought a lot of bad loans with the encouragement of Frank and friends. The cut in defense spending is completely irresponsible. It is just absurd. We need to increase defense spending to rebuild the military and increase its size. We are still suffering from the effects of the Clinton cuts that has made troops have to extend tours and has reduced training for other types of warfare.