New Bush Budget Shows GOP Priorities

President Bush unveiled his budget proposal for 2009 today, and did an amazing job of eradicating the last vestiges of fiscal conservatism. The GOP's budgetary policy is the same as it has ever been: benefits for the rich and punishment for the poor.

The budget is $3.1 trillion. It freezes spending for many programs and agencies, cuts budgets by $200 billion in Medicaid and Medicare, and yet still manages to project a massive deficit:

Even with those savings, Bush projects that the deficits, which had been declining, will soar to near-record levels, hitting $410 billion this year and $407 billion in 2009. The all-time high deficit in dollar terms was $413 billion in 2004.

The mind boggles. I feel like Bush got together with his people and said "Okay, let's put together a budget that totally ignores reality, what people want, and any kind of responsibility. But then also, scoot a few things around so it seems okay to conservatives. Ready, break!" Not even Republicans are fooled, though:

"They've obviously played an inordinate number of games to try to make it look better," Sen. Judd Gregg, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Let's face it. This budget is done with the understanding that nobody's going to be taking a long, hard look at it," said Gregg, R-N.H.

Something tells me this first draft isn't exactly going get a warm reception.