Fred Thompson is looking more and more like a candidate. Yesterday he had an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal which will make conservative Republicans very happy as he repeated their mantra that tax cuts always result in more growth and increased tax revenues. This I disagree with vehemently, but youll never get an Extremist Neocon Republican to admit this is not always the case. By their logic a tax rate of zero would bring in the most money of all.

There must be a limit where the benefits of lowering taxes does not mean more tax revenue as the rate is too low to bring in sufficient funds to support necessary funding. Extremist Neocon Republicans see themselves as being a John Galt (from Ayn Rands novel Atlas Shrugged) and think they can create wealth in the business sector as a result of their own will and hard work, with no need for the infrastructure which makes our economy possible. Lack of adequate money for government is not a problem which these Extremist neocon Republicans can conceive of.

While Thompson cites the tax cuts under Calvin Coolidge as evidence for his position, The Mahablog presents arguments to the contrary, blaming his cuts for subsequent economic stagnation and ultimately the depression. Ezra Klein presents some tough questions for those tho see cutting taxes as the ultimate panacea, wondering where expenses will actually be cut. Presumably this will lead to greater deficits, as weve already seen from previous Extremist Neocon  Republicans.

Steve Benen asks, "Does the GOP really need another standard bearer who doesnt like to work hard, doesnt care for details, and has zero foreign policy experience? (In other words, given Bushs humiliating presidency, shouldnt the party be looking for someone who has an entirely different set of qualities?)"

Thompson actually does have the qualities that Republicans want, and the economic arguments dont matter. Hes played a President on television, perhaps making him even more qualified than Ronald Reagan. That means he can deliver the message the Republicans want with a straight face and perhaps even convince others that he is right. It does no good to present economic arguments that Extremist Neocon Republican policies dont work, and ultimately risk even making the wealthy become less rich as the economy sours.

The Extremist Neocon Republican mind set is simple. They want to pay less taxes. Period. Thats all they have, and all they really believe in. They work backwards from that point to present economic theories to justify cutting taxes, and no amount of evidence will make a difference. If the religious right can help deliver votes, they will throw them some bones, and dont worry about the consequences as long as they will pay less in taxes. If extremist neoconservatives will back them they dont care which country they invade (on credit, of course) as long as they can pay less in taxes. If the Constitution and Bill of Rights get shredded under Republicans from Nixon to Bush they dont care as long as they can pay less in taxes.

The appeal of paying less taxes is strong for everyone, not only the wealthy. Sometimes we get a wake up call that this does not always work, and that sometimes government spending is necessary. While many factors led to the repudiation of George Bush, the impact of Katrina can not be under-estimated in showing voters what could happen when taxes are cut too much and there isnt money to spend for emergencies. The health care crisis presents another area where an increasing number of people see the needs for government action. "Voodo Economics" [Daddy Bush's term not mine] is getting harder and harder to sell, which is why an actor who can convincingly present Extremist Neocon Republican views be what the GOP needs if they are not willing to reconsider their policies. I'd love to see how my Neocon friend Reggie responds to this or will he just ignore it and cherry pick what he wants, or take my opinions of what I post out of context as he usually does.

While I may have political ideological differences With Fred Thompson, he is a man I can respect, despite the political differences. This is not the case with Bush.