RNC spokesman says Republicans will follow Bush economic policies, 'just updated'

Mission Accomplitude. Heh. I'm no political strategist, but I'm pretty sure that if someone asks you whether or not your candidate's economic plans are the exact same ones as promulgated by George W. Bush, Worst President in Modern History, policies that went so badly awry as to help cause an economic catastrophe so bad that people are still arguing about what to call it (The Great Recession? The Long Recession? Depression 2: Financial Boogaloo?), a worldwide bloodletting that we will be digging ourselves back out of for the next 10 years or so, you probably should say no.

During an interview last week on The Fernando Espuelas Show, Alexandra Franceschi, Specialty Media Press Secretary of the Republican National Committee, said that the Republican party's economic platform in 2012 is going to be the same as it was during the Bush years, 'just updated':

FRANCESCHI: Well, it's a message of being able to attain the American dream. It's less government spending, which a Tarrance Group poll, came out last week actually, shows that the majority of Hispanics believe that less government spending is the way out of this deficit crisis. It's lowering taxes so small businesses can grow and they can employ more people, because we understand that the private sector is the engine of the economy. It's not the government. [...]

ESPUELAS: Now, how different is that concept from what were the policies of the Bush administration? And the reason I ask that is because there's some analysis now that is being published talking about the Bush years being the slowest period of job creation since those statistics were created. Is this a different program or is this that program just updated?

FRANCESCHI: I think it's that program, just updated.

No! No, you don't say that! Yes, the policies are the same. Yes, the demand for tax cuts on rich people, and fewer regulations on businesses, and more aggressive pro-clusterfuck deregulation of Wall Street are all identical, but you're supposed to at least pretend you are not going to do the exact same thing that landed us up Poop Creek without a working septic pump.

Here's the thing: Nobody wants to go back to the Bush years. Not even Republicans want to go back to the Bush years, which is why you will hear Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum or All The Rest talk about the Bush years approximately never, plus or minus one "when hell freezes over." There was no aspect of those years that wasn't a foul up of epic, can't-believe-you-could-even-fuck-up-that-bad proportions. The first rule of Republican Fight Club is that you do not talk about George W. Bush. You don't even talk about George H.W. Bush, because you still have to say "George" and "Bush." No, as far as campaigning Republicans go, you've got Ronald Reagan, then a whole lotta nothing happened for 20 years until Barack Obama showed up and was mean and stuff.

When you've got an actual press person for the RNC saying that the plan is to go back to the Bush economic program (he was "the CEO president," remember that?), I can only come to two conclusions. One: This person is off script, and badly. Two: The Republicans have learned absolutely nothing from the Bush failures. Not a damn thing.

I'm not sure how you can look around at the outcome of Bush's supposed economic policies and honestly say to yourself, "Yeah, that was great. We should do that again." Which part was it, exactly? The rampant financial corruption? The deficits? The no-jobs part? That recession-thingy that people still seem to be mentioning? Still, though, we're getting the nonsense about lowering taxes on rich people and stopping government from regulating stuff is going to make everything all better, and totally not do the thing it did that last time around. Or the time before that. Or any other time.

As bad as it is that the RNC has an actual press strategist who doesn't understand that Republicans still need to distance themselves from Bush policies, having a Republican Party that honestly, truly seems to think those same policies were the bee's knees is much worse. They really have learned nothing. They want a do-over'and we haven't even recovered from their last try at it yet.