David Stockman: GOP Candidates “Checked Out of Reality”

Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook here!

Former Michigan Congressman and former Reagan official David Stockman is a vocal critic of President Obama's Keynesian policies but he's also not very pleased with his GOP cohorts running for the White House.

As he details in the accompanying interview with Aaron Task, Stockman believes the Republicans are off base in their refusal to even discuss the notion of higher taxes at a time when the government faces an insurmountable debt burden. "I think it's absurd. It is willful ignorance of the facts of life."

At the Iowa GOP debates last week all candidates in attendance said they would reject any debt reduction compromise featuring a 10 to 1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases. An incredulous Stockman's reaction: "that means the Republican party is checked out of reality."

Out of all the current contenders Stockman favors Texas Congressman Ron Paul. "If I were to pick any candidate who's saying the right things on the core issues of foreign policy and the need to end this credit card imperialism, and the need to get the central bank back into the narrow slot it should be in," Stockman believes Paul's "a lot closer than anyone else."

Does Paul have a shot to win?

Stockman isn't so sure but does think he could make a real difference if he runs as a third party candidate.