The past eighteen months have seen the Bush tax cuts take the blame for a domino effect of economic problems. Democratic leaders have told us how the tax cuts were responsible for the declining economy. The tax cuts supposedly greatly contributed to rising unemployment and the falling stock market. The $40 billion Bush tax cut has even been blamed for the $400 billion swing from a surplus to a deficit. Basically, the Democrats have claimed the Bush tax cut to be an absolute disaster for America.

Well, Tuesday morning saw one of America’s most hailed politicos trumpeting the virtues of even more tax cuts to jump start the economy. This figurehead of conservative economic policy ideals went on to tell his listeners, "In the short term, let us do what many economists have suggested and prime the pump so more money goes into the economy."

It’s going to be interesting to hear how the liberals react to this proposal. Why I can just see little Tommy Daschle throwing another fit on the Senate floor, telling America this is "outrageous!" as his veins bulge on his forehead. No doubt Al Gore will demand prime time coverage to voice his displeasure.

All of the Democrats will want to jump on this one. Dick Gephardt will tell us, oh, wait a minute. HOLD THE PRESSES!!! Dick Gephardt said it! How can that be? How can the Democratic leadership blame the Bush tax cut for virtually all things economic, then turn around and say we need more tax cuts?

As Gephardt spoke to his Economic Policy Institute audience Tuesday, he even eclipsed the disastrous $40 billion Bush tax cut by telling his plan for a $75 billion cut. His stimulus plan would also include $25 billion for school construction, $25 billion to help state and local communities protect key facilities from terrorism, and $75 billion for tax payer financed health care. By my math, Gephardt is proposing $200 billion in tax cuts! If Bush’s $40 billion cut created our current economic situation, imagine what this will do!

The truth is, for once, Gephardt is making some sense. The Democrats don’t like to admit it, but common sense says, if you want to stimulate consumer spending, give the consumers more to spend! That’s not that difficult to understand, but very difficult for tax and spenders to admit.

So where is this all coming from? Did Dick Gephardt have some dream of revelation Monday night, or is this just more posturing? The election is but a few days away, the dems are desperate for an issue. Is this a rehash of the ploy to move to the right before election, only to jerk the rug out from under voters after the election? We’ve seen that one before by the dems, but it doesn’t wash here, as Gephardt is not up for re-election.

I think Gephardt is playing the sly fox. He sees the trouble his party is in. He’s looked at the polls. He knows Americans are paying little attention to Al Gore, they thought little of the recent Daschle tirade, who has allowed Americans to see the real Tommy Daschle, which is not a pretty picture. No one seems to take Hillary serious anymore. I think Gephardt has seen the trouble the democratic leadership is in and is making an effort to distance himself from the pack. He has visions of the Democratic Party nod in 2004, and is posturing for popularity among the people. But if that’s the case, he is doing so at the risk of alienating himself from the party in general and the DNC specifically. Terry McAuliffe must be hemorrhaging right about now! It will be interesting to see how this pans out in days to come. No doubt, it will have a mixed reception among the democrats.