Guess which political party is the yin (child) gas pedal and which one is the yang (adult) brake pedal?
It would have to be the Republicans who are tromping on the gas (and acting like children).

We have a republican controlled congress that even some republicans like John McCaine say is the most fiscally irresponsible in modern times. During the first 6 years of the Clinton administration the Dems had pay as you go strategies and had virtually eliminated the deficits (of course the stock market was boomimg then so it was easier). Now deficits are at scary record highs.

Bush is going to put the pedal to the metal in the coming months in his attempt to "save" social security by stripping half the life out of it, eliminating its traditional safety net role, and turning it into nothing more than a retirement savings account (which we already had). We have been running for decades, and are still running surpluses in social security funds and both Reps and Dems have irresponsibly "borrowed" these surpluses for other government spending programs, with no intent of ever paying them back.

Al Gore wanted to put the brakes on this 'stealing" from social security (the lock box) but he was not elected and the stealing has gone on every month. I think social security is a safety net for everybody and should be saved but not turned into a savings account that just funnels money from a government program into the stock market.

There are hundreds of other examples of the republicans wanted to radically change our country as fast as possible.

Some of them :

Faith based initiatives (giving churches free federal money), pre-emptive war, withdrawing from major treaties like Kyoto global warming, geneva conventions and arms control with russia. Stopping American's ability to burn the flag in protest, overturning Roe vs Wade, allowing prayer in public schools, writing discrimination against gays into the constitution. Setting up their own shadow defense dept (office of special plans) run by Dick Cheney - the first time this has been done I believe, most aggresive tax cuts for millionares in modern history. Blocking scientific advancement by withholding federal funds from types of science that they "morally" object to. Pushing the Patriot act down America's throat and now pursuing passing Patriot 2 ....

And on and on and on ... they got the pedal down (on aggresive change) and they aint letting up for at least four more years.