Imitating Christ: Being a Stranger and Sojourner
8 hours ago
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Yesterday's Vote
Move over Ronald Reagan. I am convinced that the modern Republican party has a new idol. Or more correctly three. Smoot, Hawley and Hoover. I think we would have to go back a long ways to find such a dedicated act of political pettiness and suicide. The only thing more scarce than bank credit right now is true leadership in the GOP. These people don't have a clue about economics. What's worse is that a lot of them seem to know it and still don't care. Their almost glib sound bite comments keep referring to party principals and fiscal conservatism (where were these principals over the last eight years?). The GOP is setting itself up for one of the most crushing electoral defeats in history, and rarely has a party been more deserving of it.
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11 comments:
I certainly agree, but with the rather dismal observation that the Democrat candidate for president hasn't shown an iota of leadership in this issue, either.
We appear to be without ANY credible leadership. Now what?
We are in deep trouble. Obama is playing it safe. He can afford to. Most people are blaming the Republicans for this mess (not without some justification).
But you are correct. The dearth of leadership is really distressing.
ICXC
John
Not so fast there, John. I blame most of this on Barney Frank. He rebuffed the attempts by McCain and Bush to regulate the mortgage industry away from the risky mortgages now coming home to roost back around 2003. He said that fear of instability was just a Republican ruse to deny the poor housing they could not afford. We got here because of Democrats using the market to further their social engineering agenda. Sorry to make your tidy assessment less tidy.
Besides, the Dems have a majority in both houses and dont need the Republicans to pass this or any bill.
Yup, that, too. Plenty of blame to go around.
People are going to blame it on the Republicans, though; that is the popular perception. McCain and his deregulation philosophy and so forth...
"People are going to blame it on the Republicans, though; that is the popular perception." True enough, but what is the reality? Rather different, though.
And in fact, it appears that the Dems fully expected this to fail, and were very content with that. It has been reported nationally, and confirmed by a local Democratic congressman, that they did nothing to "whip" their members. Add Pelosi's petty, spiteful speech before and the virtually instantaneous appearance of talking points that the Republicans voted against it because they got their feeling hurt afterward. It is rather hard to avoid at least the high likelihood that this was yet another Democratic political play over statesmanship. Rather than chide the Republicans for the perception, how about correcting the misconception, and go after the source?
"how about correcting the misconception, and go after the source?"
Do you mean rich people?
A more accurate way to put it, if I've understood it at all, is that the Dems weren't about to accept unilateral responsibility for this plan and were determined not to pass it without a certain number of Republican votes - which they didn't get.
But one really cool thing is that every single member of the House is up for re-election this year... I say we've got nothing, nothing whatsoever, to lose by turning them ALL out. Of either party.
Let's at least start over with a fresh batch of crooks!
And then let's get involved in our local politics to clean that up, and the effect will be, eventually, to have honest representatives and senators, and maybe even an honest president.
I should run for Congress. I agree with everyone, except Anon.
The reference to Smoot, et. al. is breathtakingly apt.
The root of the problems are deeper: Asset inflation (housing) in the midst of stagnant incomes led folks to a 20-year leveraging binge capped by terms banned after the depression only one "better" in the NINJA loans. So just how did anyone think that was going to work out?
BOTH parties have been well paid to turn a blind eye. Sef-serving elites came a cropper after looting the average guy to the point where there were no additional funds for Minsky's "Ponzi Finance". And so the Minsky moment... is no surprise or is it?
FWIW... the Whigs and the GOP may have something in common in a few years.
I agree with everyone, except Anon.
Why? It's obvious the cause of all this is greed on the part of the very wealthy.
Do you really think the wealthy, of whatever political stripe, ( which, in the end, always runs to those who will serve their needs not the populace's), are interested in what your situation is?
I'm always, and shouln't be, amazed at how incredibly naive people are regarding the wealthy.
I'm even more amazed at how people who claim to follow Christ get suckered by the wealthy.
Who do you think crucified Him?
The wealthy crucified Christ? I thought a wealthy guy provided his tomb.
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