Personally I think the hostile takeover occurred with Reagan. There was some fiscal responsibility before that. The country did take on massive debt for WW2 but with the intention of actually paying it back and we did. Starting with Reagan the Republicans have cared about nothing but lower taxes on the rich, and we began piling up debt no one ever expects to repay. Sure, some so-called deficit hawks keep trying to eliminate the social safety net but in the end they cut taxes and keep spending because cutting benefits actually upsets the voters.

I could go on all day but typing one handed sucks.