Negotiated Surrender
As I watch what is going on with the various bailout discussions, I can’t help but step back and look at the bigger picture. The entire mess is a completely nightmarish GOP public relations debacle.
And while I’ve been for no bailouts in principle, that taxpayers can’t be held responsible for the private failures in the marketplace, the fact that Bush and McCain very publicly supported the financial bailout gave Republicans the black eye. In other words, though Democrats were all for it, we get all of the ire from a public that was strongly opposed.
And potential gubernatorial candidates like Congressman Zach Wamp supported the financial bailout because they were “lied to.” Uh-huh. And he didn’t see the problems with empowering Treasury Secretary Paulson to pick and choose winners? He couldn’t google Paulson or the Constitution?
Now look to a bailout of the Big Three automakers. Suddenly we’ve got bailout religion? No bailout unless the monkeys dance first? Socialism lite? You’ll get your taxpayer dough if you jump through hoop A and walk under bar B? It’s easier to take a stand against the autoworker than the banker?
To the average man on the street who is out there working for the capital that our political slime and Wall Street thugs are trying to steal from us, it looks like nothing short of hypocrisy.
GOP to Automakers: Dance for your bailout!
Or perhaps this is the public perception of the entire negotiating process?
Unions: “Give me my bailout, GOP clowns! ”
GOP: “But we want you to make your wages competitive…”
Unions: “Whatever! Just give us our bailout, funny guys!!”
Now I’m not advocating that because you were wrong the first time you need to be wrong the second time. No bailout. Sorry.
But we really missed a chance to speak to larger issues that Americans do understand. Getting government out of our lives. Reflecting on the problems like the fact that Washington telling Detroit how to make cars is a failing disaster. That our Congressional energy policies and Wall Street lawlessness gave us $4.70 a gallon gas that in turn killed not only the SUV business, but many a business across this nation. That government is part of the problem. That we’d like to help with any advice or assistance that we can (like encouraging the unions to be competitive), but we’ve got our own entitlement issues to deal with. That our CAFE standards have hurt Michigan but not the foreign companies. That the big three need to respond to the market.
Heck, Saturday Night Live did a great job of putting it all in perspective. Watch the clip here.
But instead, we carry chief negotiator Bob Corker on our shoulders as a hero who is taking it to the unions.
He’s done nothing of the sort. He only amplified our hypocrisy and furthered a false stereotype that Republicans are the party of the ivory tower when in truth, it is the Democrats and Barack Obama who are the hedge fund candidates of choice.
Why for instance, would someone like national radio host Laura Ingram say Senator Bob Corker is a new face of conservatism as she did on her radio program last week? We’ve praised Senator Corker on the radio when we like his votes, for instance, his vote against the big housing fiasco bill that passed anyway.
But Corker was for expanding SCHIP, that is, making taxpayers pay health benefits for 25 year old children who may be married and have their own children, who may in some states make up to $86,000 a year. It’s socialism creep. And Corker was for the Wall Street bailout, that is, getting $866 million of it for First Horizon in Memphis.
And Corker was quick to join a gang, the Gang of 10 that created a so-called energy plan that allowed only a minutiae of drilling, yet generated new taxes, and gave out pounds and pounds of pork for government intervention in the energy sector in the name of independence.
Suddenly the boys from the Gang of 10 are our heroes?!?!
And now folks are saying they are so proud of Corker for taking it to the unions? He’s pointed out many of the problems with our American auto industry that our friends at the CATO Institute and the Heritage Foundation have pointed to. Unions. Unions. Unions. And that discussion is welcome and for that he should be praised.
But let’s be realistic. Because Senator Corker was negotiating for unions to make concessions, we’re all supposed to get thrills running up our legs? The reality is, he was still negotiating for a taxpayer surrender. You and I were still going to be on the hook for kabillions. And so are our kids. And grandkids. Bush is wrong. The Democrats are wrong. And though Corker took the opportunity to point out the problem of unions, he’s still wrong.
Senator Corker is emblematic of THE problem with the GOP. There is no consistency. No governing principles. They see government as the answer in some form or fashion, maybe with just a little more flavoring here or there and elephant instead of a donkey. And the American public sees it. Witness the ‘06 and ‘08 ass kicking.
He was for the financial bailout. Then he’s against the auto bailout. Do you know how damaging all of this has been for the Republican Party?
Many Republicans in this nation have become fans not players. What is the difference? A fan can only bring enthusiasm and encouragement to the team and dollars to the star. But a player affects the game.
Too many Republicans have rested on their hindquarters assuming the clowns in Washington will carry their principles for them. You have got to get involved and sometimes that means flat out educating your Congressmen or his staff. You’ve got to not only tell them where you stand and how you hope he/she will vote, you must explain the why.
Trust me. Most of these politicians aren’t any smarter or well versed or recipients of more than their fair share of common sense than you are.
You have to stop cheering for your team when you know in your heart they are wrong. You need to take them to the woodshed in love. Meet with them. Call them. Call them out. Help get them on the right track. Like it or not, you really are a player in this representative republic.
It’s time for the GOP to go on offense. A good defense prevents a score, but its main purpose is to give you the opportunity to run your own ball over the goal line. I’ve got my own ideas about what we should be addressing. I’ll discuss that tomorrow…
In the meantime, look at Fred Thompson’s video in case you missed it. We played portions of it on air when it first came out. It’s good stuff.
12 Comments so far
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They keep saying it’s not a bailout but a bridge loan. Yet GM says the company won’t last thru the end of the year? An earlier precedent has this bailout headed down the wrong track. AMTRAK. Started as a loan then turned into another GSE leeching the taxpayers now for $2bn a year.
AEI:
In 1970, Washington created Amtrak as a way to rescue passenger rail service, which hadn’t made a profit since the end of World War II, thanks to the unleashing of air and auto travel. Since its advent, Amtrak has never made money. Subsidies total $30 billion.
Amtrak’s audited statement for fiscal 2003 (the most recent figures) show a loss of $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2002. Amtrak’s payroll alone exceeds its ticket revenues.
So why not get rid of it? It would be cheaper, on some routes, for the government simply to buy plane tickets for train travelers.
The brilliance of Amtrak is that it creates a constituency in the 45 states in which its trains roll. Typical was a comment I heard at a congressional hearing a while back. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sternly admonished Amtrak’s CEO that “sharp pencil budgeting was required,” but in the next breath, the senator reminded, “It’s not a national rail system if you leave Pendleton, Ore., behind.”
At the same hearing, the chair, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, told the CEO she was giving Amtrak “one last chance.” That was in 1997. Between 1998 and 2003, Joseph Vranich shows in his excellent book, “End of the Line,” Amtrak received 29 official warnings about its financial condition from various government agencies. Yet the trains still roll.
By Rick Forman on 12.16.08 5:20 pm
First of all, Amtrack sucks in that portions of the Country are paying for this boondoggle even though they do not get the service. I checked last Summer when planning a trip home to Dallas. I could take a train from Atlanta to Chicago to Memphis to two or three other cities for hundreds of bucks and over 50 hours of a train ride.
Secondly, I read somewhere that Michigan’s governor (at least I think it was Michigan’s) was comparing the South’s anti-bailout mood to the Civil War era. I have a huge problem with this – in addition to the historical accuracy of the comparison. It is patently unfair to have an area (The South) which is self-sufficient and not burdened by labor costs jump to the rescue (tax money) of a bloated, unethical union system which is eating itself.
Finally, on the news today (100.3)…. (Sorry Terry, I have to change the radio at the top of each hour. I will not listen to ABC News on AM 850). I heard that some union on campus run by faculty wants a bailout of secondary education. I say the bailout should be the taxpayers. Or, maybe professors would be willing to be paid fairly for the sub 40-hour workweek that the majority of them work.
Anyway, this bailout is a can of worms. It’s stupid for a capitalist economy to have bailouts in the first place as it is nothing more than an excuse to grow the government’s influence on society – something for which you know me to be avidly against.
By Ty on 12.16.08 6:00 pm
“Do you know how damaging all of this has been for the Republican Party?”
Who cares? I am more concerned about how this is damaging our country. Loyalty to the Big Two will only get you more.
“I have a huge problem with this – in addition to the historical accuracy of the comparison.”
I don’t know. It seems a pretty fair comparison to me. They are both about stealing money from the Southerners and using it disproportionately in the North. Maybe they could somehow throw our slaves of today (illegal immigrants) into the mix, start preaching amnesty, and tie it to the bailout to champion their cause.
It was the party of Lincoln, the Republicans, that declared war on US citizens in the name of money. It was Republicans that destroyed and depressed the South. It was Republicans who cheated Southerners both black and white with the Freedman’s Bureau, amnesty oaths and carpetbaggers.
I will support the Campfields and Duncans who demonstrate conservative beliefs with actions, but it sure isn’t because of the letter behind their name.
By Eric Holcombe on 12.17.08 10:18 am
Ty,
Academic budgets may be bloated, but many of your profs work more than you think. At RSCC, we are required to be on campus 37.5 hours a week including all duties. But with grading after hours it works out to more.
Remember that when I assign a 10-page paper to 70 students, I have to read and correct 700 pages in a timely fashion. Moreover, I run our Normandy/Paris summer program which adds much more work to my load.
I’ve done lot’s of very demanding jobs: Room service, waited tables, painted, been a salesman, etc. Professor is just as difficult as any other job I’ve had, oh but the time off is just grand.
By casey on 12.17.08 2:01 pm
Casey: I know you work hard. I was speaking more towards professors in state colleges that have TA’s that do the majority of the “gruntwork.” I knew a TA at the University of Texas – where I started my education – that told me his professor worked, maybe, 4 hours a week. The TA did all the grading, put slides together for the lecture, gave many of the lectures, etc… Professor just came in gave an occassional lecture.
Eric:
The accuracy to which I was speaking pertains to the fact that the North exploited the South before and after the Civil War and the way in which this governor is speaking is insinuating that the South is currently exploiting the North.
As per accuracy’s sake, there are a lot of similarities between Reconstruction and today as far as the split between the North and the South. For one thing, the Federal government – like it did in the 1860’s and 70’s is playing “God” and punishing the South for its financial independence. Recall that the South was and has historically been anti-tariff, anti-Federalist and anti-taxation. Taking OUR tax money and applying it to a problem created by unions in the North and Midwest is very much what I Founding Fathers would have been against.
By Ty on 12.17.08 5:31 pm
Ty,
I forgot you were at UT. I was one of those drudges, I mean I was a TA. It would be nice to have one at my level. I’m sure you are aware that most of your profs teach a 2/2 load which means 2 classes in the fall and 2 in the spring, and get $5,000+ for teaching a summer class.
Of course, they are expected to publish or perish and most folks miss that th research part is the most important part of their job. It determines their job future. Many of them hate teaching. There are even a few research-only faculty. I bet that won’t last much longer in Tennessee.
May I ask your major?
By casey on 12.18.08 10:20 am
I look at this “bailout” and “surrender” fever that the GOP is afflicted with. It’s nothing new. They’ve been a carrier for years. They’ve been infected and didn’t even act like it, going on and trying to be brave while they go on with this terminal disease.
Surrender? They did that long ago when they sat on that dirty toilet seat and caught “welfare” fever and let this issue creep into our society.
“Bailout”? What is welfare? We are all up in arms about bailing out companies and CEOs with money while they don’t change anything about their businesses. They still go on the big dollar trips and get they HUMONGOUS bonuses. We are afraid to bailout the automakers because they won’t change how they do business. The unions won’t give much nor will the upper echelon of the car companies. So we are calling it a handout. Why not give it to them? Isn’t that what we do each and everyday? Or at least once a month? We give to people, who continue to make the wrong decision at every turn, money to continue to make the wrong decisions. We don’t hold them accountable for changing their “business plan” do we? Hell, we don’t even require them to look for a job or attend job training. We not only give them money, we give them more money to eat, talk on the cell phone, money for free health care, education, housing, additional food for the children they often times don’t want and probably shouldn’t have had since they can’t afford to keep or raise them.
Bailout? We do it each and everyday. Surrender? It happened long ago. My only concern now is when is it my turn? I want a free car from the automakers, a no-interest credit card from those investment companies and those welfare recipients to work in my community. That is what I want for my personal bailout.
By BCB on 12.18.08 6:46 pm
Ironically to being a true Conservative, my major is Education. I hope to coach/teach at the middle-school level in a couple of years. My wife has her undergrad and Master’s and is an ESL teacher here in Knoxville.
Also, ironic is the fact that both my wife and I were extremely liberal at earlier parts of our lives. I grew up with ultra-liberal (read: Communist) parents and my wife was an Anthropology major when I met her. We both changed political ideologies for different reasons. Myself, due to a custody battle over my daughter; my wife due to 4 years at Head Start.
By Ty on 12.19.08 9:12 am
What should be criminal about this whole bailout issue is that we the citizens have no transparency into the Fed. We have no idea what entities are being shoveled tons of cash or what we are getting in return as assets if anything.
Transparency, remember that term during the financial missiles of October? Right! Fox Business filed a law suit against the Fed yesterday on FOIA grounds to force the Fed to be “transparent”. We already know the ruling before it hits the courts, FBN has no standing or some such nonsense.
It’s no surprise that Congress is sitting on their butts and not demanding this information. Henry Gonzalez proposed legislation years ago to force more transparency with the Fed such as recording and publishing the actual minutes and not summaries. Video taping the Fed meetings and otherwise letting the citizens of the U.S. know what kind of back door dealings are being conducted there. Heck even Barney “Fannie” Frank supported it. But it went nowhere because evil can’t survive in the light. Even the black box agencies have to attend oversight hearings in Congress but not the Fed.
The reason? Oh, the Fed has to maintain it’s independence from politics. OK, we’re supposed to swallow this crap? A private corporation with no accountability tied to the largest private banking cartel in the world and we’re supposed to take them at their word they are looking out for us?
The big news all over Wall Street is about the Madoff ponzi scheme and it being the largest like it in history. When in fact the largest ponzi scheme in the history of the world was created in 1913 with the Federal Reserve System. What else would you call collecting interest on nothing?
By Rick Forman on 12.19.08 11:11 am
Surrender? Some closed minded people may call it that, but I call it LIBERATION!! You see, I was always stressed about my time and talents that I use to eke out a living being taken from me at the point of a gun so that they could be “given” to those less fortunate. I mean, it’s only fair, right? After all, I am evil. I am the great oppressor!! I am a white male. I am white so I have victimized people of color since the beginning of time. I am a male, so obviously I have been working to keep women barefoot and pregnant since Eve started shopping for fig leaves at the Garden of Eden Mall. I have a job so obviously I’m keeping some other person from working. See my dilemma? I am a terrible person. I work so that my family can buy food shelter and transportation instead of sitting on my duff and waiting for the government to do it for me.
Well ladies and gentlemen I am liberated!! I am no longer the great white mope! I have finally achieved the status of MYTHICAL CREATURE!! Yes, that’s right. No longer will my overachieving paycheck go to just one step on the economic ladder. No sir. Now I get to support the life style of those that are less fortunate AND help maintain the lifestyle of those MORE fortunate. Isn’t that great! I’m multi-tasking at work and my paycheck can too! I’m so excited because since apparently there aren’t many of us left that don’t have their hand shoved down the pockets of the few of us that ACTUALLY work for a living, we have risen to the level of being geese that are apparently capable of laying golden eggs. That’s right, we can be all things to all men just by doing what comes naturally: working and taking care of our families. And by doing that, our nasty “by products” (income) are used by others to make them rich. I can’t wait to see how proud my mom is to know that I am the subject of a fairy tale.
Ooops, wait a minute, what happens in the end to that goose? I knew my sins of being, white, male and employed would come back to haunt me. I wonder how long until the Federal Government comes to examine MY entrails for anything useful.
They just haven’t thought out what happens when we, as candles, are burned at both ends. The light just goes out.
Will the last person left that believes in freedom please burn the flag?
By BCB on 12.20.08 8:44 pm
I will not be buying a UAW built auto. My protest against the bailout.
By Sid on 12.31.08 2:39 am
I agree. My personal protest will also take place in the campaign arena and in the ballot box when I vote. At least while I can still vote I will.
The tack that the GOP has adopted is much like the local fire dept burning your house down but putting a mist on the structure to keep it from burning too fast. The house will burn down but they will have pictures of them with the hoses spraying so they can say they’re doing something about it all.
If the GOP expects to survive, they might want to stand for something within their own ranks and then maybe, just maybe, I will start to believe them again and our country can grow and remain free with limited govt.
By BCB on 12.31.08 10:53 pm
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