The cluelessness demonstrated by many conservatives regarding the comments made by now former McCain economic adviser and surrogate Phil Gramm has been a revelation of sorts. I have discovered that my own brand of conservatism is probably as irrelevant to the mainstream of conservative thought as classical liberalism is to mainstream thinking on the left. There doesn’t seem to be any room in either ideology these days for much in the way of independent thinking and nuance.
If you stray from the merciless orthodoxy imposed by political necessity and a diseased kind of group-think prevalent on both sides, you leave yourself open to the most withering kind of criticism and the ultimate disapprobation shown by your erstwhile ideological allies; you are accused of being the enemy.
No matter. I realize that my take on the Phil Gramm controversy does not comport with that of most conservatives. And the defense of Gramm’s remarks by the likes of George Will and economic historian Amity Shlaes (in the Washington Post no less) show an even greater divide between what I used to think mainstream conservatism represented and my own views. What this bodes for the future, I cannot say. All I know is that this dust-up over Gramm’s remarks has me at odds with most people I considered my ideological allies.
Forget that Gramm’s remarks about America being in a “mental recession” and that our fellow countrymen are a “nation of whiners” were insensitive, crass, stupid, and abominably ill-timed. They were just plain bad politics and trying to justify them as “true” in any sense whatsoever is the heighth of political ignorance.
To chastise your fellow countrymen who are genuinely worried about the way the world seems to be giving way underneath their feet as change and uncertainty sweeps across the country in the form of ever rising energy costs and a housing crisis to which there doesn’t seem to be any bottoming out bespeaks an obliviousness to the political realities of what is happening beyond your own small corner of the world. Your appeal to an economic Darwinism as a model for the American people to follow is as outmoded as it is despicable.
“Shut up and take it” seems to be the message most conservatives want to send to the American people. That and the fact that “technically” we are not in a recession because we haven’t had two full quarters of negative economic growth. This is not only a suicidal political strategy, it shows conservatives with as much empathy for their fellow countrymen as that of a three toed sloth.
Telling people who are genuinely hurting that they are essentially imagining the fact that they are having problems making ends meet because energy costs have doubled or that the idea that we are bleeding jobs in this country shouldn’t cause them any concern, or that affordable health insurance for them and their families is a pipe dream so you better not get sick, or saving for their kid’s college education is an impossibility so plan to go into hock up to your eyeballs, is idiotic. And then accusing them of being spoiled brats for voicing their concerns is so politically tone deaf as to be beyond belief.
No, we are not in a depression and our economic situation is not as dire as it was in 1980. But consider the following and then tell me that the 80% of people in this country who make up the middle and lower classes are imagining how times are tough.
- Payrolls contracted for the 6th straight month in June despite the unemployment rate holding steady at 5.5%
- Wages have grown only 2.8% this year – below the 4% rate of inflation. And you wonder why people are worried about falling behind?
- We have lost 578,000 non government jobs – down every month – since last November. The rate of job loss has increased each of the last three months.
- Decelerating wage increases coupled with a rising rate of inflation reveal a weak bargaining position not only for unions but for most others who count on that pay raise every year to maintain their standard of living.
- 345,000 jobs lost this year in residential construction with another 51,000 lost among non-residential builders. No one has a clue when or where this housing meltdown will end. With a government bailout of secondary mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now a foregone conclusion, things may get even tighter in the housing markets.
- Another 33,000 manufacturing jobs lost. That makes 24 straight months of losses in the industrial sector.
- The number of underemployed workers has skyrocketed; 9.9% of the total workforce is now considered underemployed. Most of these people are part timers who would rather be working full time. The total number of underemployed workers has increased over the last year from 4.3 million to 5.4 million.
- “June’s 5.5% unemployment rate represents a 1.1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate since March 2007, and an addition of 1.76 million to the unemployment rolls.”
- “Workers paychecks are under attack from three sides: diminished jobs and hours, slower hourly wage growth, and faster price growth. Moreover, most workers lack the bargaining power necessary to fend off these attacks.”
(Source: Economic Policy Institute. Quotes are direct from this report)
These numbers are not made up by the New York Times. They are not hatched in the basement of the Democratic National Committee. They are available at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to anyone who wishes to delve into the details of our faltering economy.
To have stood on the deck of the Titanic and pointed to the one half of the ship that was still above water and proclaim that the ship had not sunk yet would have, I’m sure, given absolutely no comfort to the passengers. And yet conservatives have rallied around Phil Gramm, clapping him on the back for “telling the truth” regarding our weak kneed countrymen who just don’t know how good they’ve got it.
Perception is what matters in this case. And regardless of where you believe the American people got their ideas about the economy being in trouble – a biased media, the evil Democrats, or even their own personal experience – telling them they are imagining their economic plight and that if they open their mouths to complain about the doubling of gas prices or the slow torture of watching food prices rise every week at the grocery store that they are akin to blubbering babies only shows that Republicans not only deserve to lose, they must lose for the good of the country.
The American people don’t want handouts. They don’t want government to give them a job or secure their futures. They want to know someone is listening to their concerns and understands their problems. The health insurance crisis is real. It keeps real people awake at nights worrying about their loved ones and their future. Now I don’t truck with a purely government solution to this problem and neither does McCain. But unless we understand how fundamental this concern is to the vast majority of the American people, conservatives deserve to be consigned to the back benches of power until they are educated about what affects the real lives of real people.
What defending Gramm shows is that conservatives live in an opaque bubble where they can only see shadows and undefined shapes outside of their little cocoon. They know that the people are out there but they have no insight into what their dreams and desires might be. They don’t have a clue about what moves them, what causes them concern, what worries they have about their children’s future. They are oblivious to their fears. And to top it off, they appear to be uncaring if they suffer.
Does this sound like an ideology you would vote for? Is this the recipe for conservative victory at the polls?
To demonstrate such ignorance and then be proud of it bespeaks a monstrous disconnect between political reality and the way conservatives have taken values like self-reliance, prudence, independence, and thrift and turned them into a club to beat their fellow countrymen over the head. There are ways to encourage people to practice these values without disrespecting their perception of their own personal economic situation.
Gramm and his defenders have failed to do that and have instead substituted a gross economic “survival of the fittest” critique that demonstrates a singular soullessness when it comes to lecturing their fellow citizens about how conservatives have gleaned the “true” economic conditions in the country and that any other theory that contradicts this revealed truth is evidence of mental disease.
This is not the conservatism of Reagan or anyone I am familiar with. One needn’t disconnect the brain from the heart to be a conservative. But for the defenders of Gramm, there appears to be some faulty wiring that has not only led to turgid logic but also a misfiring of the empathy gene.
Not a good combination if you’re a conservative and expect success at the polls.
7:53 am
The GOP is screwed, their new mantra is as follows
“I reject your reality, and substitute my own.” -Adam, Mythbusters
You are absolutely right Rick, just an iota of compassion or empathy could go miles, but “no” we need “tough love” well they will pay the price for their disconnect. I feel for McCain because he is different than the pack of wolves he is running with, not perfect, but he is experienced and experienced in the right ways for the POTUS in the coming four years. Bush will have paved the way to make Obama the most powerful President in history, that is a very scary prospect with a majority DEM congress and Senate, C’est la Vie!
11:35 am
I disagree Rick
Americans have become a nation of whiners they expect gov to solve all their problems without lifting a hand to do anything for themselves. Yes Americans are a spoiled self absorbed bunch.Gramm was right on the mark.
11:45 am
“They want to know someone is listening to their concerns and understands their problems.”
True. Our society has become totally Oprah-fied. Americans can’t be suffering that bad—60% are overweight or obese. We don’t want to reduce our dollar footprint independently, or improve our job skills. We want a Führer to solve our problems.
I’m stunned that McCain (D-AZ) distanced himself from Gramm’s Straight-Talk in favor of PanderTalk. This is just more proof we’re going to get Schwarzeneggered should Komrade McCain get elected—he’ll pass every ounce of socialist slop the Democrats send his way.
11:58 am
Rick,
I completely baffles me why you would want to call yourself a Republican. It’s like you’re stuck in this world where you can’t possibly vote for a Democrat, because, well, they’re Democrats.
And the party you side with seems (from your writing, anyway) to share only a small portion of your ideology. I can only imagine how much it kills you that you’ll be voting for McCain in the fall.
3:05 pm
One really has to wonder what you are talking about. Yes the economy is in for hardtimes because of the policies put in place by corrupt politicians and idiot voters who voted for them. For thirty years we have seen industries destroyed to save the spotted chipmunk, and no one cared because they weren’t impacted. We destroyed the lumber industry but who cared in NYC because it made you feel good to know that all those furry creatures were safe.
Who cared if we put so many restrictions on mining and coal industries that entire towns died, just so long as your job was safe. Who cared if our politicians were mettling with their Community Revitalization Act that would create another financial disaster just as they did with the S&L industry.
So now we see the harvest of reckless financial policies and political game playing and instead of demanding reforms and punishments for the coorrupt we hear the endless whinning of those who have maxed out their credit cards to buy things that were wants rather than needs. We hear the braying for a bailout that will payoff the profiters, the corrupt and special interest groups. Why for example will La Raza get money from this bailout. Nuff said.
Instead of the shameless posturing wouldn’t it be better to focus on why we are in the mess we’re in and tak the steps to clean up this mess?
As far as the whinning goes, anyone who lived through Jimmy Carter knows what bad times are. Today’s conditions are mild compared to that era. And if you think its bad now wait for the next four years as we see the Fed expanding its regulatory powers, an expansion of those brillant capitalists in the government, and economic conditions that would make Lennin happy.
No matter who wins this election count on higher taxes, more regulations a bigger government. Crying about conditions now, just wait the government will give Rick something to really cry about.
Its too bad so many people have forgotten how to grow up and sucjk it in and have become good metrosexuals.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Suck it up.
By challenging my sexuality, I can only assume you are uncomfortable with your own.
Ed.
3:42 pm
@ BETTY:
“Americans have become a nation of whiners they expect gov to solve all their problems without lifting a hand to do anything for themselves. ”
What specifically should citizens do in regards to nationwide job loss? I’m all for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, but some problems go beyond individual ability to rectify.
Although something tells me that come November, you’re going to see quite a few of the whiners lifting a hand to do something for themselves.
4:03 pm
Great article, there is a dangerous disconnect between politicians and the American people, and I mean both parties. Of course they don’t want us “whining” as we watch their incompetence and corruption.
They don’t have the courage to be honest with the American people about our economic situation – Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., blamed for the IndyMac’s failure by the most corrupt private monopoly in America – the federal reserve. All he did was say our banks are in trouble, and mentioned IndyMac.
And, the SEC regulators are examining whether securities firms adequately police rumor- mongering. Call your investment agent and you will find that your phone call is recorded – the SEC is bullying agents to avoid any “bad news” for the stupid and whining American people.
We are losing our freedom of speech in America to the despots who want time to get their money out of the system before the little people (the whiners) by soft talking the problem.
I have to firmly disagree with your comment that “No, we are not in a depression and our economic situation is not as dire as it was in 1980.” We are in dangerous unchartered waters – worse than anytime in our history, save the great depression. And, the plummeting economy and currency are just beginning – the worst is yet to come.
Our economy passed the tipping point some time ago. We are extremely fragile right now, and the storm is about to become a tornado. Any one of the following scenarios would collapse our economy and nation as we know it:
_________________________________________________________________
1) If China, Japan or Saudi Arabia stop buying US treasury bills, or if they start selling their existing T-bills. Add Russia to that mix as they are becoming large T-bill owners and buyers. These countries have incredible leverage with our government right now – which they are exercising.
2) If the huge credit default swaps (CDS) begin to fail – which many economists are saying is very likely – it will sink our already “credit crisis” economy. It is estimated that there is around $60 trillion in CDS’s.
3) If OPEC stops dealing in petro-dollars, our currency will be quickly worthless. Iran and Venezuela have both been suggesting that OPEC adopt the Euro (petro-euro anyone). Iraq had the audacity to secretly drop the “oil for food” petro-dollar (France had privately urged Saddam Hussien to move to the Euro). We attacked them shortly afterwards.
4) The Federal Reserve can stop putting money into our economy. We have no control of what the Federal Reserve does, they are never audited, there is no oversight. This is how the great depression began. After the liquidity orgy of the roaring 20’s (which the Federal Reserve caused), the Federal Reserve reversed policy – they made money scarce. The result was the great depression. Interestingly, we are just concluding a Federal Reserve liquidity orgy.
5) The Federal Reserve may continue flooding the world with liquidity. All the money they are creating, out of thin air, devalues our currency further – last month alone our dollar dropped 5% compared to the peso!. In the past year, the dollar has dropped 40%.
_________________________________________________________________
The really bad part, we have an unsustainable trade deficit, by far the greatest in the western world. No other country could survive with our deficit ratios. We can for only one reason – we recycle the petro-dollars. The trade deficit will make it much more difficult to rebound than back during the historic “great depression.”
The politicians are not honest. They know we are melting down. They pretend like they can tinker with the system to make things right. They pretend we are not bankrupt by extending and adding unfunded entitlements (we’re up to around 60 trillion in future entitlement pay-outs), adding debt through war and the worst lie of all – “we can fix healthcare.” And, even though we are technically bankrupt by general accounting standards, we continue to give away foreign aid, which we borrow. Israel for example, is in much better shape than us, but they receive tons of foreign aid – close to $15,000/year for every man woman and child in Israel.
The reason and blame for these problems does not lay with the “whining” American people. The reason is simple – the Federal Reserve system (owned by private individuals, mostly NON-Americans) has been a huge parasite on our national prosperity for many years and they have corrupted and taken control of our politicians and media.
4:10 pm
For all the hysteria of some of your commenters, we are not dealing with communism or naziism or any other ideology likely to result in gulags and concentration camps. We are Republicans and Democrats. By the standards prevalent in most of the western world our parties are about as far apart as aqua and turquoise. We agree on 90% of everything. There is far more overlap than there is separation.
The very concept of swing voters demonstrates this reality. Are there “swing voters” between fascists and Trotskyites?
Sometimes I think the fact that we have so little of substance to disagree about is what makes our politics poisonous. Having so little reason to actually hate each other, we have to posture and exaggerate and demonize in order to achieve what for some is a necessary minimum of hostility.
What’s strange is that the two presidential candidates have so little in common temperamentally and ideologically with their most obnoxious supporters. (Let’s say Gramm and Moulitsas, respectively.) I believe McCain and Obama are good, decent men who sincerely want to make this a better country. I admire McCain, I always have. I won’t vote for him, but I’ll admire him no less. I don’t know why that is such a difficult thing for so many people, to oppose without hating, to disagree without demonizing. Hell, I disagree with you, Rick, but I’d sit down and kill a bottle of Macallan with you without feeling the need to throw punches at any point.
5:41 pm
rick,
zing… it went over their heads, those who refuse to learn from history are bound to repeat it. simply put there are two new kids on the block, china and india, and they play the laissez faire game much better and without a conscious than we ever did. that simple fact negates all their rub some dirt on it and get back in there b.s. no this is not the 80’s y’all are right, this is something of our own creation that is much more globalized. seriously, you all just sit there and blame the other guy or this or that, but the GOP is living up to it’s stereotype of being the stoic party, we are in an age of “caring” and it will show in november. my god do you people read the crap you write and think how someone else who has lost their job or fallen on hardtimes should feel. well for all those poor souls who have tried to do it the right and honest way and have been screwed, y’all can go F#%k yourselves, and believe you me for you lack of compassion you will in november.
7:07 pm
Jambrowksi—
I advocate what Enlightenment thinkers called “the system of natural liberty,” i.e. capitalism, precisely because I have a conscience.
Government programs do not help me. Period. For example, I will get a horrible return on the money the government confiscated from me and placed into social(ist) security. Other programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, are raising the equilibrium market price for those not getting the subsidies. On top of this—these braindead programs designed to help a person like me making 28K yearly are funded by REGRESSIVE payroll taxes. They’re not progressive taxes, or even flat taxes.
On top of this, I have to pay extremely high gasoline taxes here in the State of Illinois, again, to keep the Democrat Party fat, in addition to satisfying the aesthetic environmental concerns of affluent liberals.
So if you want to help an actual working person, I’ve given you clear suggestions. I suspect the “suffering” people that matter in your analysis are the greedy SUV liberals afraid they might have to drive reasonably sized automobiles like the rest of us.
7:19 pm
In short, if you do-gooders want to help a person like me, cut my taxes, and allow me to opt out of compulsory socialism.
“Compassion” doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
Raising the cost of consumables by opposing free trade isn’t helpful, opposing energy exploration isn’t helpful, attacking businesses that save me money like Walmart doesn’t help me—progressives can write books like “What’s the Matter With Kansas” but they can’t do the math.
Now, I don’t specifically need help at this moment. But some things are more preferable than others. Don’t fool yourselves by thinking green subsidies for agribusiness giants, or Obama’s corrupt corporate welfare for construction companies (as if we don’t have enough road construction already) will improve the quality of my life.
7:58 pm
Please, explain to me why you can’t see the “whiner” comment is on the mark?
Have a child out of wedlock; complain about it and Uncle Sam runs to your rescue. Buy a home you could not afford in the first place, complain now that you can’t make the payments and Uncle Sam will run to your rescue.
You “whine” about how union members are losing barganing power and I would remind you that when they have secure jobs working on the line where the most popular GMAC vehicle is made, they went on strike.
You “whine” how construction jobs are decreasing in the housing market but don’t mention how a huge percentage of those jobs are now held by illegal immigrants who are outsourcing their paychecks to other nations not putting it back into our economy.
You “whine” about the June unemployment rate being 1.1% higher than it was in March, but never mention that part of that is due to students who are looking for work during the summer and the fact that the brilliant plan of increasing minimum wage has lessened the number of low wage jobs available.
Yes, we are on a economic downturn, but I am not ready to stick my Colt Python to my temples yet. I understand that there is good times, and there are bad times, and the wise person prepares for both.
Yes, we have become a nation of whiners. And wasn’t it you, Rick, who pointed out that if left up to today’s American’s the west would have never been won? I wonder, how many of those who were affected by Katrina said “well, I live in a hurricane zone and we can expect this to happen”? What you say was one continous loop of whiners who are still whining almost three years later.
My grandparents were proud they had indoor plumbing. Now people whine if they can’t afford a 60” plasma TV. My parents were proud to own a two bedroom home. Now people whine if they can’t afford three bedrooms, two car garage, plasma TVs, X-boxes in each kids room, a new car and clothes in their closets they wear once and never wear again.
We are at war. We have been at war before. And Americans had Victory gardens, collected scrap iron, bought war bonds to help pay for the war, rationed gas, butter, meat and numerous other things, women drew lines up their legs with an eyebrow pencil to give the appearance of having on stockings.
Now no one wants to be bothered as the it is only the military at war; Americans are at the mall.
Yeah, I would say that Gramm hit the nail on the head and you, sir, should realize that due to entitlement programs the whining will only get worse.
10:26 pm
I did not read Gramm’s comments in full, but the squib I did see simply said in effect that we are making things far worse through fear than they need to be. There is a ring of truth to that. Not that the downturn is benign, but that it is accelerated further by the fears of many. That is what makes a panic. That is what causes runs on banks that are in fact quite able to survive, but for the instant demand for cash not on hand.
If Gramm mentioned that liberals are the biggest whiners going, he is merely stating a proven fact. That accounts for a goodly percentage of the population. This has been shown to be so by at least one study that I know about.
Put the two things together, add the real difficulties we are in for a host of reasons, and you have a volatile mixture that is self-reinforcing.
If this is the full substance of Gramm’s remarks in essence, then this post is one huge maudlin overkill, and, it is also true that neither Gramm’s nor Moran’s comments are very helpful in this hour of stress.
I said “IF”.
1:59 am
Sir:
I did not challenge your sexuality but I do detest those who cannot bear the responsibility for their actions or believe that whinning is the best response an individual is capable of. If the nation is reduced to such a state, as it appears to be, then heaven help it if something like a real depression occurs.
Rather than spout bromides about the economy a clear sighted investigation into the causes of the economic crisis we are now in might be a better course of action.
Why not for example ask why loans were made to people who had no income or jobs? Why did Fannie Mae push such loans? Who made the money from such loans and why haven’t arrests been made?
Of course this would require a clear and hard look at the policies our politicians have pushed as well as the electorate that put them into office.
I am comfortable with such an investigation and would urge the government to see who within it pushed such bankrupt policies. If this means I am somehow sexually uncomfortable so be it. I do not at least project.
7:41 am
A spot on analysis right there, Mr. Moran. It’s quite interesting how many commentators here (and in all media in fact) have missed the point that you are making, mainly that is is bad news for John McCain. It doesn’t matter who whines most, or how many government programs we use or don’t use, nor how effective our tax dollars are being spend. The fact is, this was a heartless thing to say that reinforces a negative stereotype about republicans, therefore conservatives come off looking bad. And with it goes McCains chances in November. I personally think that Phil had a point, but then again, so did the New Yorker. In the end, both come off looking dumb.
8:01 am
j.h. bowden,
i am not disagreeing with you, what you fail to see, or shall we say the GOP and you fail to see is that not all people fall into the liberal categories posted by you and your enlightened cohort retire05. good god man, i am in the top tax bracket and it makes me shudder to think that my wife and i will be taxed around 41% (or more) if Obamessiah gets elected. my point is, playing the tough love gamut is not going to win this election. using what you got available is, there is no such thing as overkill in politics. people are hurting, yes some of them may be there because of their own choices, but if you tell them they are idiots who are suffering because of their choices, you will not get there vote (period). I live in Western Pa, and at the heart of it these people are conservative, but McCain and the rest of the Republicans running this November will get their arses handed to them if “we” conservatives continue to hammer them like some bad children. simply put, it is not about YOU this election, it is about the state of the nation, and though we as a whole may be exaggerating the condition of our economy, the perception is there, so work with that knowledge when talking to them.
8:21 am
@manning:
You might want to look at the full quote. He didn’t call liberals whiners. He called Americans whiners. You. Me. Every poster in here. He didn’t say that the ecconomic downturn is being enhanced by FUD (Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt)—he said that there wasn’t an ecconomic downturn—it was just the whining:
“You’ve heard of mental depression? This is a mental recession . . .You hear this constant whining, complaining, about the loss of our competitiveness, America in decline . . . we’ve never been more dominant, we’ve never had more natural advantages than we have today . . . we’ve sort of become a nation of whiners . . .”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBVIwO5n9hk
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/09/mccain-adviser-addresses-mental-recession/
So America has never been more domininant ecconomically speaking. If you don’t think so, its all in your head.
Given that recent polls are showing approx. 75% of the country worried about the ecconomy, either 3/4ths of America are liberals or there are conservatives worried about the ecconomy too. Weak minded whiners. Guess they don’t realize how good they have it.
9:33 am
Rick: while Barack HUSSEIN Obama (PBUH)(SAW)(SWT) has completed his move to the “center”; you are slowly completing your move to the Left!
That’s okay, at least they even out, balance is what we need!
10:25 am
Phil Gramm puts foot in mouth…
Very bad politics. Rick Moran has got this right. One quote:Forget that Gramm’s remarks about America being in a “mental recession” and that our fellow countrymen are a “nation of whiners” were insensitive, crass, stupid, and abominably ill-t…
11:03 am
“Given tht recent polls are showing approx. 75% of the country worried about the economy, either 3/4ths of America are liberals or there ae conservatives worried about the economy too.”
And just exactly where do those Americans get their economic news? NYTimes? LATimes? And do you really think that those publications are not pandering to the Democratic Party? Remember, it is not the Congress that gets blamed for a bad economy (although Pelosi has managed to drag it’s approval ratings down to single digits), it is the current administration.
With the desire to see another Democrat in office, do you really think that the MSM is going to give any other picture beside doom and gloom? Do you think they will honestly report on the highs and lows the American economy has always had?
If you think we are not rapidly becoming a nation of whiners, you have no look no furthur that New Orleans after Katrina. There is your citizen that believes that if they whine enough, Uncle Sam will come to their rescue.
1:04 pm
Why so he did, Busboy! He chopped Americans that whine. And which Americans whine the most? The MSM and liberals, as was verified by Pew surveys, the American National Election Study, and the World Values Survey. Seems that whiners on the left are about twice as numerous as whiners on the right. They are more angry, too, whether they need to be or not. This puts Obama squarely in the whiner camp.
Such whining can only make things even worse. The Chicken Littles are at it yet again, and are also looking for a scapegoat upon whom to vent their anger. Phil Gramm won’t do—he is out of it—though he will continue to draw fire.
The next message will be from Obama, claiming that his tax increases will solve all of our problems—just wait and see! He just might add a few tens or hundreds of billions to his tax ideas on the off chance that some of it might trickle down through layers of leftist managers and foundations to the needy. What we need, he will say, is a heavy stimulous from the government(meaning we rich taxpayers that make over $50,000 a year).
There is dumb, and there is dumber—on the voter side as well as the political side.
2:09 pm
Retire05:
People get their economic news from their bank balance, their mortgage bill, their paycheck and their credit card balance. Not the MSM.
8:32 pm
“Republicans” revealed their lack of conservative character by allowing GW and his congressional cohorts to play I am a liberal for most of his administration.
The President didn’t know what a veto was till about three or four months ago.
Most Americans are whiners, and they do look for government to cover their butts.
Gramm has always been a typical political blowhard so his comments do not surprise me.
Of course John McCain immediately started to craw-fish.
Rick you don’t seem to know where you are politically.
10:17 pm
michael reynolds, yes, people get their “personal” economic news from their bank balanaces, but show me one bank that includes national economic news along with the statement. If you think Americans are not listening to the MSM and their constant harping about “doom and gloom” you are out of touch with the rest of the nation.
Do you have a job? 94.5% Americans do. Has your salary been reduced? Most Americans have not had their salaries cut. But even if you look like Angelina Jolie and people keep telling you that you are ugly, you will eventually begin to believe it.
Americans, for the most part, trust the media. And the media, for the most part, is in the tank for the Democrats. What better way to ensure a Democratic sweep in November than to convince the nation that we are heading toward another Black Friday?
You think Americans don’t whine? Don’t give me that crap. I went to New Orleans right after Katrina to do volunteer work. I was so sickened by the lack of personal responsibility and the whining about the “government” that I left after just a few days. I spent over a year in Mississippi dealing with people who DID NOT whine but instead just wanted help putting on a roof or finding a place to live. You think all those people still living in FEMA trailers are talking about how great this natin is? If so, you have another think coming.
We are a nation of whiners, not doers. And until we stop thinking that the government is the answer to all our problems, it will continue to get worse.
12:37 am
What would be nice is if Government would stop torpedoing the economy,$8,000.0000.000.000 in debt is unconscionable,protecting the shimp industry from illegally dumped foreign shimp while allowing millions of illegally dumped foreign workers is insane,encouraging Americans to “buy into the American dream” with artificially low interest rates then laughing as the poor dumb rubes go under is criminal,running the printing presses flat out for years to devalue the dollar is just plain stupid.Time for a change alright a change to a decent third party.
8:52 am
Retire:
I have a house I can’t sell. Like a lot of people. I see my stock portfolio dropping. I see that gas is a lot more expensive. So is food. I see that we’re talking ow about having to bail out Fannie and Freddie. I see deficits out of control and the dollar dropping like a rock and GM on the edge of bankruptcy. Like most Americans I don’t trust my health insurance.
And you know what? I’m actually pretty well off.
3:16 pm
Let me guess retire05, the blacks in New Orleans were the lazy whiners and the white folks in Mississippi are the ones who wanted to work right? LOL!! Talk about a tired ass narrative…if only those savages would have appreciated your help!!
9:55 pm
Rick Moran, the thinking man’s conservative. Lonely?
The meta-narrative of your essay is not about Gramm, it’s about not merely goose-stepping along. Look what it gets you.
Pariah, yet proud. You’re the man!
10:00 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House » THE CONSERVATIVE’S SHAMEFUL DEFENSE OF GRAMM [...]
10:31 am
Augustine, like all liberals who scream “racist” when anyone who makes a comment that you don’t agree with, you seem to know little about the demographics of Mississippi. Until the 70’s, Mississippi was 70% BLACK. Most of the people I volunteered to help in MS were BLACK. Collins, MS is 80% BLACK. Sumerall, Seminary, Hattiesburg, Columbia; all have large BLACK percentages.
So please, stick you head back up into your anal orifice as that seems to be where you pull your opinions from.
11:55 pm
I sometimes get worried about future health care costs too. For personal reasons that don’t need to be explained. Am I going to loose my house, my savings etc. Am I a bad conservative for having these thoughts? Am I a whiner too? Or is it that some posters are just too in love with their rugged individualist, truck driving, Garth Brooks listening, pseudo macho image?
You are right on Rick!