October 19, 2009

Good news/Bad news for Republicans

According to a report by Democratic pollsters, the conservative wing of the Republican party does not hate Obama because of his skin color. That is the good news. The bad news is that they do hate him for irrational reasons. They believe that he has a "'secret agenda' to bankrupt the United States."

Better than open racism, and actually confirms a lot of what I see myself, but not terribly wedded to reality. What is further interesting and confirming, is that while this group tends to mock minority groups for their "victimology," they themselves are absolutely whining that their shared beliefs are mocked by elites. Of course, when some of your shared beliefs include a belief that Obama as President wants to bankrupt the country, perhaps some of your beliefs need to be mocked.

11 comments:

James Brown said...

I'm not sure Obama intends to bankrupt the country, but his policies are doing that. The results are the same, regardless of what he intends.

Streak said...

That is part of the delusion. If you are upset about fiscal irresponsibility, the time to bitch was during the last 8 years when that fiscal nightmare was being enacted under the guise of conservative economic policy.

LB said...

Streak, by your comment above, are you implying Obama has not been fiscally irresponsible?

Streak said...

Actually, LB, I think he has been too conservative. The stimulus was irresponsible in that it was too small, and conservatives negotiated away some of the best provisions, especially those dollars that could really provide help at the state level. I am more and more a Keynsian in this situation, and think the best way to stimulate this economy is from the ground up.

So, no, I don't think he has been irresponsible. I think he has had to respond to the reality of an imploding economy.

James Brown said...

The economy is failing, in part because of Obama, in part by other factors. Obama is going to be president during an economic calamity. Borrowing more and printing more money will make matters worse, not better; but Obama does will do it anyway.

Streak said...

" but Obama does will do it anyway."

Hard to argue with that.

James Brown said...

Apology for the extra word.

Mr. Obama, and the Congress, are going to borrow and print money like no one has ever done. Don't see how borrowing money and devaluing money is going to lead to prosperity.

Streak said...

Hmm. Perhaps you are not the troll you seem? Are you really interested in talking about this in a meaningful way? Because you have not started out with much. Obama and the Congress have had to respond to the economic calamity that was the Bush admin. Even conservative economists recognize that Bush did nothing positive to the economy, but simply cut revenue for the government. He didn't cut spending at all, in fact he spent like crazy. But he refused to raise taxes to respond.

Obama will have to raise taxes, but that will not be a bad thing. Look at the history of taxation in the last 100 years. Tax increases have not, as conservatives have claimed, killed the economy. In fact, some of our best economic growth periods have accompanied tax increases. As for the stimulus, to say that Obama was irresponsible is to miss the big picture. He was irresponsible in not spending more. But doing nothing (or cutting taxes as the GOP wanted to do) would have put us in a depression bigger than the 1930s.

steves said...

I think Obama has been doing a good job in some areas, but the economy isn't one of them. This article by Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi outlines the latest problem. I don't think Obama is purposefully bankrupting the country, but I also don't know how to explain what he is doing.

Streak said...

I will read that later, but am reminded that you have not been a fan of Taibbi in previous articles. :) Just saying.

But seriously, anyone who thinks that Obama is purposefully bankrupting the country is deluded. Come on.

steves said...

No, I haven't and I had directed a great deal of scorn at Rolling Stone, which had some great writers and had declined a great deal in the past decade. Taibbi had rubbed me the wrong way with some of his stuff, but a friend had sent me some links by Matt in regards to the bailout and the economy. I think that he has done some good work and has been asking the tough questions. The MSM, IMO, has really dropped the ball on this topic.