One of the things I’m struck by during the primary race for the presidential nominations for both Democrats and the GOP is the disparity in what is being discussed. Democrats spend their debates speaking about serious issues in a serious way - whether it’s Iraq or health care, foreign policy or domestic policy - there is substantive, concrete policy discussions taking place. The only time when the debate moves on to unnecessary topics are when the moderator moves the discussion to subjects that are a waste of time, such as Tim Russert did in the most recent Democratic debate. In addition, save for Mike Gravel (who is a joke) and Dennis Kucinich (who is running again for no apparent reason, drawing a primary challenger in his House district in the process), all of the candidates speak reasonable and seriously about how they would govern as president.

Not so on the Republican side. It’s not just the fringe candidates (religious fundamentalist Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) or hypocritical libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)) who have outlandish beliefs that can’t be taken seriously, but the so-called ‘top tier’ candidates are equally deserving of ridicule. Whether it’s former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), who was considered by Richard Nixon to be dumb as hell (and hasn’t exactly proven to be the sharpest knife in the drawer), or former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who believes we should double the size of the Guantanamo Bay prison, it’s hard to believe that any of them would make credible nominees that the American people would take seriously. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), once considered the presumptive frontrunner on the GOP side, has taken a hit because of his stubborn embrace of the Iraqi conflict. Rudy Giuliani was once known as ‘America’s Mayor’, but those who would not consider voting for him at all has risen considerably in the last 6 months.All one needs to take a look at is tonight’s squabble over tax cuts during the Republican debate to recognize how lousy the Republican field is:

“I cut taxes 23 times. I believe in tax cuts,” said Giuliani, former mayor of New York and leader in national Republican polls.

Romney initially conceded that, but quickly criticized his rival for once filing a court challenge to a law that gave President Clinton the right to veto spending items line by line. “I’m in favor of the line-item veto,” he said, adding he exercised it 844 times while governor of Massachusetts.

Romney also said that while mayor, Giuliani “fought to keep the commuter tax, which is a very substantial tax … on consumers coming into New York.”

The problem for Republicans is that in the two presidencies that taxes have been massively cut (Reagan and George W. Bush), record budget deficits followed. For Reagan, he helped to compound the problem by overspending on defense. Bush has sunk billions of dollars into a neoconservative fantasy-turned-nightmare in Iraq. Both have proven something that serious economists have known for some time - that trickle-down economics doesn’t work. Yet the GOP clings to the notion that it does - just like they cling to their fairy tale in Iraq and the righteousness of ‘family values’.

The voters saw through it in 2006. And they’ll see through the GOP facade again 2 years later, when it’s the Democratic Party introducing a bold agenda of universal health care and a return to a sane foreign policy - while the Republicans are still campaigning like it’s 2002 or 2004, thinking that ’staying the course’ in Iraq and cheap rhetoric about God, guns, and gays will win it all for them. It won’t.