Or perhaps it is SOF and I watching West Wing on DVD, and reminding ourselves of the last 8 years of insanity. I think of that when I opened my blog roll this morning to read that John McCain will oppose the stimulus bill as it is written. That is all fine and good. Hell, most of us are unsure how this is supposed to work. The monumental f*$king up of the economy will not be fixed overnight, especially as the Republicans who did the damage continue to offer their suggestions. McCain is doing just that demanding more tax cuts and that Bush's irresponsible tax cuts be made permanent.
Seriously, what in the hell is up with Republicans? Do they all have a carbon monoxide leak? One that tells them that no matter the situation, you must cut taxes? Especially for the wealthiest of Americans?
Perhaps I have a carbon monoxide leak, because just looking at some of these asshats who orchestrated our economic downfall makes me nauseous. I still heard from a conservative friend this week who swore that "supply side" economics was true conservatism, and Bush hadn't done that enough.
The wealthiest among us got richer, and the poorest got poorer, and these people want more of the same. All the while telling us that their moral values are the strongest.
Sigh.
****
Speaking of moral values, one of the more odious parts of the last 8 years was that constant refrain that conservative Republicans were more moral. Their arrogance was understandable in the aftermath of the Monica Lewinsky story, but the lack of interest in anything beyond the vapid, and supposed faith and family of the Bush's pretty much undermined that belief. Well, not that you could tell from conservatives these days. Over the last few months, we were told that Michelle was not "American" enough and not "Patriotic" enough. They demanded that she prove her loyalty. And our now President was also questionable. His middle name was the same as the former King of Jordan (oh wait, we loved that Hussein), and was suspicious for those who didn't want to admit the racism in their hearts. They persisted even after the election, sending to SOF and myself emails about Obama's supposed invalid citizenship.
Not American enough. Not loyal enough. Not Godly enough. God, I am tired of that nonsense.
I was struck by how many Republicans (and certainly many Democrats) are so quick to speak of their family values. Governor Palin could hardly speak (at one of her canned events) without talking about her great family values. In between stoking the crowds into racist anger, she would remind us all that she had 5 kids and was all about family.
Yeah, right. Whatever.
But one thing that more than a few commenters noticed, was that the more we saw of the Obama family, the more we saw of a normal little family unit. The supposed defenders of family values seem to miss that. Anyone who watched the first couple dance at one of the 10,000 inaugural balls the other night, could not quite miss that these two people genuinely (as far as anyone of us could ever tell from a distance) care about each other. This photo (h/t to SOF) is yet another, that seems incredibly hard to fake.
Make no mistake about it. Even if Michelle and the President loathed each other, I voted for him to actually govern. Their personal life is their personal life, and since they now live in this little fishbowl, we will all observe and take notes. I didn't give a rat's ass that Bill and Hillary had a marriage different from mine, and I also could not care less if George and Laura genuinely care for each other. What mattered was their ability to get things done. But I just want the religious right, who loves to brag about their superior approach to family--I would just love for them to watch this couple and tell me that liberals and Democrats don't care about family.
**
Now, I will go take some decongestants and see if I can get some sleep.
Peace
7 comments:
"The monumental f*$king up of the economy will not be fixed overnight, especially as the Republicans who did the damage continue to offer their suggestions."
While there are many diveregent opinions on who/what/how the economy was broken, few exclusively blame the Republicans. Given the size of the American economy it is naturally complex. Blaming Republicans exculsively is simply put too simple.
"McCain is doing just that demanding more tax cuts and that Bush's irresponsible tax cuts be made permanent."
I've never understood how cutting taxes on the rich can be attributted as a cause of the problem. I can understand the desire to have taxes cut on others instead of the rich, but I don't see how lower taxes on the rich makes a problem worse (though I can see how some would argue it doesn't help).
Actually, LB, I agree with you. The destructive conservative economic philosophy is to blame, as far as I am concerned. I am not talking about responsible conservatives, but those who follow the Grover Norquist "All taxes are evil" and "all regulations are evil" mentality.
But I was imprecise (sometimes happens when I write quickly like that) because unfortunately, conservatives have been very good at winning the public debate about these things, and as a result, there are a lot of democrats who also hate taxes and regulation.
You are right, cutting the taxes of the rich didn't cause this problem. But it is making things worse by the day. Not the housing crisis, or the banking credit crisis, but the steady erosion of the gap between the rich and the poor.
Though, come to think of it, had Bush a reasonable fiscal thought in his head, perhaps we would have had a much smaller deficit, and therefore a bit more leverage and flexibility to fight this economic problem.
check out my interview with Grant from Frightened Rabbit: http://www.halfcute.com/2009/01/q-with-frightened-rabbit-breaking-and.html
But I was imprecise (sometimes happens when I write quickly like that) because unfortunately, conservatives have been very good at winning the public debate about these things, and as a result, there are a lot of democrats who also hate taxes and regulation.
While I think it is certainly unfair to say that all taxes and regulation are bad, it is equally unfair to say that all taxes and regulations are good. Some can have a very negative effect on the economy and don't even achieve what they were supposed to do. I think it hard to discuss this without looking at specific regulations and taxes.
As an example, even at it's peak, the inheritance tax generated very little revenue and could trace it's origin to the protestant work ethic and that some people thought it was immoral to inherit money and that people should earn it themselves.
it is equally unfair to say that all taxes and regulations are good.
But I have never said that. Hell, no one I know has said that. Of course they are not all good, but that isn't what is being argued out there. Actual Republicans are actually arguing that all actual taxes and regulations are bad because the market will magically self-correct. Fear that chinese toys are laced with poison? Never fear, because Republicans will cut the funding for the agency that inspects such things. Salmonella in your peanut butter? No fear, the market will automatically self-correct.
These are the arguments out there. No one is arguing that there are no such things as bad taxes or bad regulations.
(Sorry if I am a bit short today, we are experiencing another ice storm and that has everyone here on edge. )
The only people I hear saying that there should be no regulation are die-hard Libertarians and kooks that think they don't have to pay income taxes. Republicans seem to be ok with some level of regulation.
But I have never said that. Hell, no one I know has said that.
I didn't mean to imply that you did say that.
Salmonella in your peanut butter? No fear, the market will automatically self-correct.
Has anyone really said this? I am sure to some degree the market will pressure companies to be more careful. I did a search on peanut butter recall to see if we had any of the products and the first item retunred was a lawfirm that only does food poisoning cases. ; )
(Sorry if I am a bit short today, we are experiencing another ice storm and that has everyone here on edge. )
No problem. I hope it is over fast and that you stay safe and warm. I hate ice storms.
Don't look now, Steve, but those die-hard Libertarians and Kooks" have been running your government (or at least the taxation and regulation portion) for the last 8 years. Do you think that Grover Norquist is just some fringe idiot? Maybe now, but certainly under Bush he was not.
Salmonella in your peanut butter? No fear, the market will automatically self-correct.
Has anyone really said this?
I was playing with language here. No one has said that directly or literally, but that certainly has been very much the spirit of the last 8 years of Republican leadership.
No problem. I hope it is over fast and that you stay safe and warm. I hate ice storms.
Thanks. We are fine right now, and neither of us has to go anywhere tomorrow. We will hunker down and ride it out.
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