President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), continue moving at lightning speed and, in the process, causing Democrats to lose their collective minds. When multiple elected Democrats publicly say “F@%K Trump,” it’s clear they’ve gone berserk and have nothing left.

The point of DOGE is to reduce waste, inefficiency, duplication, and fraud within the federal government, principles Democrats supported when Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were president. 

Clinton launched numerous initiatives, placing Al Gore in charge of what eventually became known as “Reinventing Government.” 

Between 1993 and 2000, the Clinton administration eliminated a net of 426,000 federal jobs, most from the Department of Defense, which lost eighteen percent of its civilian workforce. Clinton used various methods to achieve the reductions, including offering buyouts of up to $25,000 to eligible employees who left voluntarily.

The Clinton administration claimed $111.8 billion in total savings from its Reinventing Government initiative. However, given that Clinton took office shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Gulf War, some defense savings may have occurred regardless of who was president. 

A 2000 House hearing examined how much of the savings stemmed from Reinventing Government efforts. A Brookings Institute examination concluded that the overall figure was generally correct, with about $55 billion from workforce reductions and $12 billion from procurement savings. Those are the savings most closely tied to the administration’s efforts. 

Obama took office vowing to reduce the deficit and national debt. He did what presidents usually do to solve big problems: set up a blue-ribbon committee.

In February 2010, Obama established the Simpson-Bowles Commission, officially the “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” co-chaired by Republican former Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The commission’s goal was to propose recommendations for balancing the budget. 

Among the commission’s recommendations:

–$4 trillion in deficit reduction through 2020

–Tax reform, including eliminating most tax deductions and credits

–Reducing tax rates and consolidating brackets, including lowering individual income tax rates to 12, 22, and 28 percent and reducing corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

–Capping revenue at 21 percent of GDP

–Cuts to both defense and non-defense discretionary spending

–Healthcare cost containment measures

–Social Security reform – Increase the retirement age to 69 by 2075

–Cap discretionary spending through 2020

–Reduce both defense and non-defense discretionary spending by $200 billion

–Cut $341 billion in federal healthcare spending

–Reform Medicare and contain health care costs

A second 2010 task force was formed to propose solutions for reducing the growing federal debt. The Domenici-Rivlin Debt Reduction Task Force was a bipartisan group co-chaired by Former Senator Pete Domenici and former Congressional Budget Office Director Dr. Alice Rivlin. 

The Domenici-Rivlin task force conclusions were similar to the Simpson-Bowles. It recommended tax reform, including consolidating and cutting income tax rates and reducing corporate tax rates. It also recommended a national sales tax. It proposed spending cuts, health care reforms, including changes to Medicare, and Social Security reforms that included raising the retirement age.

After digesting the recommendations of the prestigious committee and task force, Obama promptly shoved the reports in a desk drawer or placed them on a shelf somewhere. Cutting taxes? Forget it. Raise the age for Social Security? Not on my watch! In June 2011, Obama announced the “Campaign to Cut Waste.” Some might call it a kinder, gentler version of DOGE. 

Here’s part of the press release announcing the initiative:

“The [Obama] Administration has moved to eliminate wasteful spending, streamline what works, and modernize how government operates to save money and improve performance. The President has asked the Vice President to lead the “Campaign to Cut Waste,” an initiative to hunt down misspent tax dollars throughout the government.”

That sounds like Washington-speak for what Trump and Musk are doing now.

Here are some of what Obama’s White House website claimed the “Campaign to Cut Waste” would do:

–“Get the most out of our government by ensuring that limited resources are not wasted on duplicative, outdated, or ineffective programs.”

–“Reducing administrative overhead by $2 billion: In 77 cost-saving measures.”

–“Disposing of unneeded federal real estate.”

–“Reducing the number of federal data centers”

–“Curbing spending on contracts.”

–“Improving efficiency and moving from paper-based records to electronic records wherever possible.”

–“Reducing improper payments by $50 billion.”

–“Recapturing at least $2 Billion in improper payments.”

–“Pursuing those who cheat Medicare and our seniors.”

–“Expanding USASpending.gov to provide more information to the public.”

–“Launching PaymentAccuracy.gov to track improper payments.”

Trump and Musk are aggressively pursuing goals similar to those of Obama and Clinton.

It’s more apparent when you hear Obama in his own words:

–“Everyone knows that getting rid of the deficit will require some tough decisions. And that includes cutting back on billions of dollars in programs that a lot of people care about.” 

–“But what should be easy is getting rid of the pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody.”  

–“We’ve pulled the plug on all kinds of ridiculous practices. Apparently the government used to overnight containers filled with nothing. Don’t ask why that is.”

–“Sure, some of these cuts aren’t that big. But no amount of waste is acceptable.”

–“Did you know the Federal Government pays for a website devoted to a folk music ensemble made up of forest rangers? They’re called the ‘Fiddling Foresters.’”

–“And there are hundreds of similar sites that we should consolidate or just get rid of.”

–“We need to go after every dime.”

If the Trump-haters looked at DOGE rationally, they would find there is a lot in common with the statements Obama made. They might limit their objections to egregious areas – everything is not the end of democracy.

Listening to Obama and reviewing Clinton’s records makes me wonder – why are Democrats against DOGE? Why aren’t we working together to rein in the size and scope of government, starting with wasteful spending not in the national interest or outright fraud? 

I understand that Trump and Musk are moving quickly. They are swinging axes. Obama and Clinton used scalpels.

There’s a good reason Obama and Clinton could use scalpels, and Trump needs to use an axe.

In 2000, the national debt was $5.659 trillion, about 56 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

By the end of fiscal year 2010, the total federal debt reached $13.562 trillion, 93 percent of GDP.

The debt is growing at an accelerated pace. It’s over $36 trillion and is projected to reach $37 trillion in June. The debt is now over 130 percent of GDP. The impending disaster is obvious and coming fast. 

It’s long past time to take an axe to the federal government and spending.

To use language Democrats understand, the debt is an “existential threat” to the nation – and sorry, there aren’t enough billionaires to tax our way out of this. The United States doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. 

In 2008, the country voted for “big change.” We tried it Obama’s way. He attacked the debt with a scalpel. To be blunt, we tried it my way, with more standard-issue conservatives. And here we are with $36 trillion in debt, over 130 percent of GDP.

In 2024, the country voted for “big change” again, electing a disruptor – and got exactly what it asked for. Aside from those who have always hated Trump, Americans are happy to see their government finally taking action.

The hate some people have for Trump, and now Musk, overrides the logic of reducing government spending and cutting the federal bureaucracy. It’s time for the haters to stop pretending they’ve never seen a president take charge through executive actions. 

In 2014, Obama famously declared, “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone. And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward.” He added that he wasn’t waiting for legislation.

Where was the opposition, the lawsuits, the singing, the swearing, and the warnings about democracy ending then?

What Trump and Musk are doing isn’t that different from Obama’s goals. Yes, Trump is more aggressive and pushing the bounds of presidential power. Those questions will be settled by the Supreme Court, and he must abide by its rulings. 

When Trump-haters lose their minds trying to defend ridiculous government spending that previous Democrat presidents also tried to cut, they become “Chicken Little,” screaming, “The sky is falling.” Soon, they won’t be heard at all. The wolf in the chicken coop is the debt, and it’s time all Americans get on board with cutting it.

Andy Bloom is President of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT, WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles, and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President of Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc., and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @AndyBloomCom.