And furthermore...

Speaking of the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917...

What if someone ran for the White House on the promise of repealling that Act? Prior to 1917, all government debt was voted on by Congress annually, meaning it was determined what was needed, and that was balanced by what could be paid off in a single fiscal year. From 1787 to 1811, there were only two years with a "budget deficit"... and fourteen with a surplus. And THAT was at a time when the revenue base was 44% smaller than it is today (in proportion to GDP).

I would bet you your dollar to my paycheck that NO candidate (GOP or otherwise) would follow through on THAT promise. That kind of limitation would have crippled Bush Jr. just as quickly as it would have crippled Obama 8 years later, and no one in the GOP is going to forget that.