Bush To Nominate Anti-Regulatory Industry Lobbyist To Head Consumer Protection Agency
Bush To Nominate Anti-Regulatory Industry Lobbyist To Head Consumer Protection Agency
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from dangerous consumer products. Currently, the three-person commission has a vacancy. Media reports indicate that President Bush will likely fill the position with Michael Baroody, “executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade group that opposes aggressive product safety regulation” and “has called for weakening the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
While at NAM, Baroody repeatedly lobbied for looser business regulations, at the expense of public safety:
– Asbestos Regulations: NAM opposes tougher rules regulating asbestos and in 2003, teamed up with the asbestos industry and spent $180,000 opposing asbestos reform legislation.
– Highway Safety: In 2000, NAM successfully killed a bill in the Senate that would have helped reduce safety risks to motorists by requiring tire manufacturers to report accident data and potential defects to the National Highway and Transportation Safety Board.
– Global Warming: NAM’s official position states that scientific data have “not confirmed evidence of global warming that can be attributed to human activities” and calls for “voluntary” measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It “opposes any federal or state government actions regarding climate change that could adversely affect the international competitiveness of the U.S. marketplace economy.” In 2001, Baroody wrote to Bush and personally thanked him for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol.
– Occupational Hazards: In 2001, NAM opposed the reduction of occupational hazards by attempting to kill the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s ergonomics standard. In an attempt to mitigate the “unwarranted litigation” that NAM argued would result from the standard’s implementation, NAM filed suit in federal court.
Bush has repeatedly attempted to weaken regulations that protect the American public. He nominated Susan Dudley, who was formerly director of regulatory studies at the industry-backed Mercatus Center, to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which holds sway over federal regulatory agencies like the EPA. More recently, Bush issued a directive that would give the White House greater control over federal regulations.
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More foxes guarding the henhouse.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:15 pmThis is typical of Bush. Spencer Abraham, Bush’s first energy sec. once said that the Department of Energy should be abolished. Most of Bush’s appointees are big-business shills who will do what they can to eliminate regulation. This has happened over and over. One day the media will see this pattern and will report on it.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:17 pmFox, Chickens, Chickens, meet the nice Mr Fox.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:17 pmBe a good citizen - shut up and eat your genetically modified food, take your mercury laced vaccines, breath in the poison air, drink the polluted water and enjoy your freedom.
Corporations are your friend. Government is your friend. They would never hurt you.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:20 pmWhen I read this stuff, I don’t know wether to puke or applaud sonorous clang their brass balls.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:21 pmO . COME. ON. !!!!!!
PLEASE MAKE IT STOP !!!
big papa, this is one of those times… i’m gonna snap…
February 21st, 2007 at 5:24 pmThe banality of evil…
February 21st, 2007 at 5:26 pmi suppose this position may last only until the next administration -
right ? -
but, oh, the mess they can make in the mean time…
does congress have to approve?
February 21st, 2007 at 5:27 pmwhere is the news here? Bush actually appointing someone with the credentials to actually be in such a position, and without industry connections, that is news. This, however, is just business as usual.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:28 pmIs there any cure for Orwellian vertigo?
February 21st, 2007 at 5:31 pmBush must have a department of “let’s pick the worst possible nominee”.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:34 pmIn Rove’s closet?
So, what’s Bush’s motivation for this? Because he hates us and wants us all to die? Is there nothing more important to these people than for the filthy rich to be unimpeded in getting filthy richer? I’m sick of this crap!
February 21st, 2007 at 5:36 pmAnyone notice all the food problems we’ve had under Bush? Peanut butter killing people. Spinach killing people. Taco Bell is killing people. That was all because Bush appointed an industry insider name Lester Crawford, who also failed to disclose his stock holdings in the companies he was supposed to regulate, to head the Food and Drug Administration.
The same thing will happen with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We’ll be hearing about how THOSE products are killing people next. Cars will tip more and more. Baby cribs will be unsafe. Then the Republicans will limit your ability to sue these corporations.
This is what Republicans do best: killing people while maximizing corporate profits.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:37 pmWell Spake Brian!
February 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pmThis is why Nov. 2006 was so important.
Dems own Congress. Guy’s gotta be confirmed. Nuff said.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:44 pmAh Yes, CHIMPya’s favourite ploy–appointing a fox to guard the chicken coop–NEVER FAILS! CHIMPya and Bushland Uber Allies are NEVER on the side of the American People, for they fear those who would eventuallly OVERTHROW and DESTROY them for their UNFORGIVEABLE TRESPASSES AGAINST TRUTH, FREEDOM and THE AMERICAN WAY! SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS, THUS EVER BE TO ALL YOU Bush TYRANTS! YEEEEHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! HELL FOR W’S!!!!!
February 21st, 2007 at 5:48 pmYes . . . well . . . what we are seeing is the crash of the corporations.
No one has told them that sky-rocketing record profits can’t
February 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pmbe sustained year after year.
They’ve squeezed the life out of their products (made cheaper and more worthless by the day), raped their empolyees (slashed every benifit, wage and pension known to mankind), and toasted our environment (no penalty for destruction) for as long as they can manage.
It’s now, clearly time, to squeeze the consumer by deregulating any safety measures that might cost them a dime.
Hey . . . they may poison and kill an uncounted number of innocent individuals . . . but it’s all in the name of their GOD . . . . the dollar.
Next Bush will have Ted Bundy in charge of Catholic Girls schools
February 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pmHey . . . they may poison and kill an uncounted number of innocent individuals . . . but it’s all in the name of their GOD . . . . the dollar.
Comment by Keith H. — February 21, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
and lawsuits - those not forbidden by the 109th congress - are included in the overhead… usually, it’s cheaper for them to settle than to change…
February 21st, 2007 at 5:59 pmsnake oil, razor blades, and e.coli for every child — not just the lucky few!!
February 21st, 2007 at 6:01 pmbig papa, this is one of those times… i’m gonna snap…
Comment by katy #6
KATY!!!!
(as Scotty in that distinctive Scottish brogue on Star Trek would say)…
…I don’t know how much more she can take Cap’n…
…Bush fully intends to run this (ship of state) into the ground…
…”starving the beast” is in overdrive bec Bushiva hasn’t much time left…
…but LOSING IT!…
…only let’s those bastiches win…
…”Keep hope alive!” :)
February 21st, 2007 at 6:01 pmWhen Fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the Flag and carrying a cross. Sinclair Lewis 1935
February 21st, 2007 at 6:02 pmBetter stop this appointment or just get out of the dicator’s way.
February 21st, 2007 at 6:05 pmThe one thing the mentally challenged numb nuts does well is completely screw up.
February 21st, 2007 at 6:14 pmComment by Mali Maru #21
Damn!
That Lewis fella’s a pretty prescient guy…
…I’m going to have to read some of his work…
…this time with “feeling”…
February 21st, 2007 at 6:17 pmYou know I don’t worry about terrorists, I worry about our polluted air, water, and contaminated food supply. But hey they’re making bucks of making people sick, then over inflated medical care costs
People in Mexico now say “When you travel to America, don’t eat the food, and bring your own water.”
America #1 my arse.
February 21st, 2007 at 6:18 pmIn my almost three-quarters of a century I have never seen any one person so consistent in the complete paucity of any one of the characteristics common to the leader of a civilized society. Bush is worse than a despot, a tyrant, a dictator, an emperor, a tsar, or any other synonym that you may prefer. The bastard is plainly and simply crazy. There is absolutely no bit of his mentality that could be considered normal. The worst part of it is the fact that he hasn’t the slightest idea of what he is doing. He is just like a Pit Bull dog. His master sics him on something and he doesn’t quit until he has destroyed every bit of usefulness of the attacked item. Unfortunately for us Bush’s Corporate handlers has sic-ed him on our Country. I have a neighbor a few years older than I who hopes Bush will someday travel to our community. He claims his life would be complete if he were the one to resurrect the American dream and rid this Country of the greatest cancer ever to grow from a Democracy. I do not, can not, and will not argue with him. About now I am about to join him.
February 21st, 2007 at 6:33 pmnot only does this sound like the fox guarding the chickens, it
sounds like the most delicately rah rah vote for me garbage
to serve you, then becomes a political leech with all his
cronies.
yes sir ree, totally corrupt and enough to puke them out of
February 21st, 2007 at 6:34 pmoffice as i always say :)
Green Party Members: how’s that “there’s no difference between Gore and Bush” working out for ya??!!
February 21st, 2007 at 7:09 pmWhat is everyone groping about? Bush’s appointment is exactly what this country needs — LESS GOVERNMENT. Government solutions are always at the core of every problem we talk about because government IS THE SOURCE of all those problems! Was there widespread corporate takeover of the medical community before the FDA was enacted? Why do you think that the pharmaceutical companies are so big and report such record profits? Because the mere fact that government pays for such commodities and strictly regulates their distribution, regardless of price, the big sellers won’t have to worry about competition and will always have buyers. You people blame the “corporations” for killing us when its really the regulation made possible through governmental coercion that represses competition and allows for only certain well-connected companies to dominate their respective industries. Industries that are not tied down by government regulation are strictly regulated by the competition their competitors provide. These competitors own self-interest would lead them to offer the best product at a reasonable price for an ever-increasingly aware and educated consumer market. Seriously, in this day of almost-free access to instant information, what company (aside from the “sin” industries) would benefit from either a) killing or maiming potential customers or b) gaining a reputation for fraudulous or suspicious activity? Worthwhile companies and professionals have their own private methods for regulating their respective practices, and consumers have the resources to access any necessary information they deem necessary from the marketplace, and when they don’t, they can petition their government to help mandate that information. As a representative from a organization dedicated to promoting the production capabilities of the United States of America, Mr. Baroody is more than qualified and committed to improving our country’s economic output in an increasingly competitive world.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:14 pmHey Sved
It’s the “consumer” protection agency, not the “corporation” protection agency. And we’re not “groping”, we’re furiously griping that you neocons see “improving economic output” (translated: greed) as the only valuable goal.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:19 pmSved, assuming you’re not kidding, I would point out to you that of all the industrialized nations of the world, American corporations enjoy the LEAST regulation. If regulating corporations is so bad, why are societies which regulate their corporations more than we do flourishing? We’re the world’s largest debtor nation. More people live in poverty here than in any other industrialized society. Our government taxes corporations at the LOWEST rate in the world. We give our corporations rights as individuals under our 14th Amendment. We make it hard to sue corporations. We spend more tax money on corporate welfare than on social welfare. We allow one of the most profitable industries to get between us and our healthcare as a profit-driven middleman. We’ve been playing this “less government” game now ever since Reagan was elected in 1980 and where has it gotten us? To the brink of economic and social disaster, that’s where. Your philosophy is tired, old and thoroughtly discredited. We need a lot more regulation and taxation on corporations. Not less.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:36 pmAdd Baroody to the very long list of those “friends of Bush” who are given important positions that affect all of us. There is only one qualification necessary for a Bush appointment — give him money.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:37 pmPLC completely missed the point
My point was that the consumer protection agency, by being in existence, does more to support the corporations than it does to support the consumer. And “improving economic output” means raising the standard of living for all Americans across the board. In a welfare-driven nanny state, “improving economic output” means taxing the producers more to give to people that couldn’t earn on their own fairly and freely in the marketplace. And why the label “neocon”? Nobody really knows what a neocon is. I am a proponent of self-government and the freedom to make reasonable choices. Using unelected bureaucrats to force people to make highly regulated business dealings at the point of a gun is not my idea of free choice; that leads to corporatism, despotism, and a host of other isms I’m sure y’all are found of using.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:38 pm“they can petition their government to help mandate that information.”
Comment by Sved — February 21, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
Uh… there seems to be a little contradiction in your “government is the problem” little scheme you got going.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:39 pmThe bdecider always makes the best choice. ask chertoff.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:49 pmNothing like open the door to the henhouse for the fox to freely enter. What a f**king disaster. Just 698 more days of this incompetence.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:52 pmMust be another loyal bush buddy that needs a reward. More Peter Principle happening here.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:53 pmSvet: “My point was that the consumer protection agency, by being in existence, does more to support the corporations than it does to support the consumer.”
Only if it is not working as it is supposed to. It is supposed to look out for the interests of consumers. If we elect the right people, they appoint someone who is dedicated to the actual goal of the agency, you know, someone like a “PUBLIC SERVANT”. What you’re doing is providing the neocons with the final link in the destruction of public policy: hire guys who run the agency into the ground, take away all the funding for the agency, and then argue that the agency doesn’t work. Bull!
February 21st, 2007 at 7:54 pm…â€Keep hope alive!†:)
Comment by big papa — February 21, 2007 @ 6:01 pm
thank you, big papa… i took a break, and a walk… better now…
i didn’t see if one question was answered:
February 21st, 2007 at 7:57 pmis this appointment to be approved by congress?
can i hope they will NOT ?
.
yea, the CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY was set up before the bizarro world of everything-we-say-is-opposite-way of bushco…
February 21st, 2007 at 8:01 pmSved wants a good old-fashioned free-for-all - the anarchy of “libertarianism”. It will never, ever some to pass, nor should it - probably.
In Sved’s world, I could build my own jetliner, and if I had enough space to take off, I could go ahead and charge people money for a ride, whether I knew how to fly it or not.
silliness, and utopism.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:04 pmThe Corporations will do the right thing, and do their best to protect the consumer.
Ok, I’m cracking myself up….
February 21st, 2007 at 8:06 pmComment by katy #39
Dems plate is pretty full with strategizing on how to kill “surge” funding…
…investigating waste, fraud, and corruption in Iraqi contracting…
…and how to stop Bushiva from stacking federal courts, prosecutor’s offices and civil service department head positions with his political cronies…(”starving the beast” in overdrive)
…I don’t know that they really consider this appointment a worthwhile battle at such a crucial time…
…I could be wrong but, unless they’ve got an assured 60 vote super majority going in it’s my guess they won’t squawk much…
February 21st, 2007 at 8:09 pmHave you hugged your local resident NSA surveillance spy today?
February 21st, 2007 at 8:29 pmSven, I would suggest you read “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. The public outcry, as a result of this book, which exposed the horror of meat packing plants in the early 1900’s, brought about legislation in the form of the Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, and the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is only one example of exactly WHY government began to regulate industry.
Corporations are not moral creatures. They exist to make profits. They make every endeavor to corrupt those agencies responsible for regulating them and people being appointed to be in charge of those agencies who come OUT of the industries those agencies regulate is one of the major corrupting forces in our society. Another is the power of industry lobbyists with our own Congress (money talks).
February 21st, 2007 at 8:29 pmI can’t believe this is still going on. Someone, anyone, please rid us of these greedy, amoral plutocrats! Do we Americans have it in us to mobilize?
February 21st, 2007 at 8:44 pm“Libertarian” and “let the market decide” are just code words for selfishness. When Bush talks about freedom and personal responsibility he’s implying that we all have the amount of wealth we deserve. Since Bush is clearly well-off it must mean he deserves his wealth and that anything taken from Bush and given to someone who is less well off is wrong because they don’t deserve it.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:48 pmThe consumer protection agency isn’t trying to “force people to make highly regulated business dealings at the point of a gun”. It’s just trying to make sure things are fair for everyone.
Sorry impeachbushthencheney already did that
I have read Upton Sinclair’s muckraking account of the dark side of industry and I applaud his penmanship and commitment to social responsibility. Sinclair was a communist, so of course his recommendations to fix a problem is to create more problems with government. I urge all of you to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged for another historical fiction account of what happens when government goes too far. The point is many years ago I was a whiny, Leftist Euro-wimp like all of you until someone came along and successfully debated me using sound logic backed up by statistics and common sense rather than using conspiracy-minded and loaded Bush-bashing language full of emotion, fear, and incomprehensible b.s. How many of you don’t collect taxpayer-subsidized paychecks?
February 21st, 2007 at 9:31 pm“the Vice President should sit down and shut up while we try to un-shit this bed.â€
Exactly.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — February 21, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
Or, in this case, surgigically extricate a greasy potato in the ass right?
Spudge_I_Have_A_Humongous_Greasy_Potato_Stuck_in_My_Ass
_Boy?
As far as YOU know…???
Heh. Nice hard drive contents. The proper agencies have been alerted PEDOPHILE!
I demand to know where you live so you do not HARM ANYONE ELS’S CHILDREN!!
Are you REGISTERED?
Spudge_Boy?
Are you REGISTERED SCOUNDREL??
PERVERT!!
CHILD MOLESTER!!!
TELL THEM YOUR NAME “Bud” Potato in the ass boy!
OR I WLL!
IT IS BY LAW YOU ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER UPON BEING CONVICTED OF CHILD MOLESTATION CHARGES. HAVE YOU REGISTERED?
I KNOW YOU HAVEN’T.
I AM GOING TO REPORT YOU.
AND THE LOCAL SHERRIFS OFFICE IN YOUR LA COUNTY
I DON’T SEE YOU LISTED SPUDGE_BOY.
WHY NOT?
DO NOT TALK TO THIS MAN IF YOU LOVE YOUR CHILDREN!
HE IS A “CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER”
IN LA COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA
NO LISTING……right “Bud” ?
February 21st, 2007 at 9:34 pmWhy does Bush hate the American people?
February 21st, 2007 at 9:54 pm[…] Exhibit one- Consumer Protection Agency: The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from dangerous consumer products. Currently, the three-person commission has a vacancy. Media reports indicate that President Bush will likely fill the position with Michael Baroody, “executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade group that opposes aggressive product safety regulation†and “has called for weakening the Consumer Product Safety Commission.†[…]
February 21st, 2007 at 9:59 pm…I don’t know that they really consider this appointment a worthwhile battle at such a crucial time…
…I could be wrong but, unless they’ve got an assured 60 vote super majority going in it’s my guess they won’t squawk much…
Comment by big papa — February 21, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
i understand… good explanation… makes sense…
February 21st, 2007 at 10:09 pmespecially if this appointment only lasts till the end of bushco… right?
…
The Unbelievable has become the Expected under the Bush Administration
February 21st, 2007 at 10:13 pmThe Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from dangerous consumer products.
Baroody has been front and center defending businesses against consumer protection regulations. In one issue after another, whether it’s asbestos lawsuits, firearms manufacturers lawsuits, malpractice lawsuits, or bankruptcy laws, he’s worked against protecting consumers. That should be enough to shoot down his nomination. I just hope Bush doesn’t think he can get Baroody in as a recess appointment without sending it to the Senate first.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:31 pmDr. Condoleezza Rice: magnificently accomplished and educated woman; brilliant scholar; concert pianist; gracious lady; presidential confident and trusted advisor; dedicated public servant; political giant and National Security Advisor to The President of the United States of America. And now, Secretary of State of the most powerful country on the planet. The first African-American female Secretary of State in our history.
Why would such an accomplished American woman be so savagely and viciously trashed and dishonored by the liberal elites and the left-wing Democratic Party? Not only trashed, but insulted, bad-mouthed, ridiculed and humiliated.What does a girl have to do to win the accolades and approval of these people?
Condi Rice has garnered the scorn of her Democratic colleagues, not because of what she has accomplished, but because of who and what she is. She is a black American, who is guilty of an unspeakable crime in liberal eyes.Her crime? She does not worship at the altar of the Democratic Party. Condi Rice has committed the unpardonable sin.She has dared to carve out her own political path while black.
And so has any black American sinned who dares to look the Democratic Party in their face and say, “You are wrong. I don’t need you.I don’t want you.I can do better than youâ€. And so she has.
The Democrats haughtily assume they own black America and their votes.They ridicule and belittle any black who dares to wander off their liberal “plantationâ€.
They think any black American who seeks a life free of Democratic ownership, is stupid, ignorant, uneducated and misinformed. Condi Rice, in particular, has been labeled a bald-faced liar, a puppet, a sycophant, and a mindless, thoughtless, robotic, brainwashed slave of George W. Bush. In their eyes, any black who dares to snub the Democrats is a traitor.
Countless cartoons and articles have insulted and offended her and her blackness in ways we have not seen since the pre-Civil War south.
Condi Rice dared to tell the Democratic owners that she believes the conservative mindset is her home. She dares to be a black Republican. And so they savaged her.
The liberal elites cry foul! She is black and not allowed to be a conservative! She is beholden to them, and only them, for the freedom she has attained. They own her and she has not paid them back for the favors they bestowed upon her and her people. Not only is she uppity, she is ungrateful!
The Democratic Party is the party of Sen. Robert Byrd, a former Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan. This pitiful excuse for a human being still throws the “N†word around like it is butter, and is never corrected by his liberal cronies. This sad, pathetic man has the blind hubris to say Condi Rice is not fit to serve, when he himself is not fit, nor shall he ever be fit, to walk the hallowed halls of Congress.
Bulletin to Democratic liberals: Condi Rice owes you nothing. Clarence Thomas, who your leader, the disgraceful Harry Reid, called “an embarrassment to the courtâ€, owes you nothing.You don’t own them anymore.They are not beholden to you for anything.Stings, doesn’t it?
But isn’t that the country you’ve always preached about? At least until someone dares to leave your plantation. Then you turn back the clock and call them lying buffoons who don’t have enough sense to hold high office; too stupid to see that George Bush is a war mongering fraud.
And this same fraud just happens to be bringing freedom to a tyrannized people and is changing the face of the planet we live on; something you people have never even thought about doing and wouldn’t have the courage of conviction or the stomach to do it anyway.
And not one of you, not Robert Byrd, not Barbara Boxer, not Ted Kennedy and not Harry Reid is fit to tie Dr. Condoleezza Rice’s shoelaces.
Get over yourselves. The slaves have been freed. Get used to it. And in case you hadn’t noticed, they were freed by a Republican. His name was Abraham Lincoln.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:57 pmSo Rachel is an angry black Lincoln lover and also a rich Jewish woman who pays for friends and also, for what ever reason a rich white or black female, works on the side for the NSA monitoring weblogs for subversives.
Wow. This could be like a new saturday morning cartoon!
February 21st, 2007 at 11:22 pmdoesn’t that name come from the mists of yesteryear — the nixon white house?
February 21st, 2007 at 11:39 pmWhy would such an accomplished American woman be so savagely and viciously trashed and dishonored by the liberal elites and the left-wing Democratic Party? Not only trashed, but insulted, bad-mouthed, ridiculed and humiliated.What does a girl have to do to win the accolades and approval of these people?
Umm, i think it was when she told the mushroom cloud fhibb. Pretty much sunk Powell, Rummy went down the anchor tube as well. I mean, just look, Safavian, Cunningham, Delay, Ney, it goes on.
I tried reading Goldberg a few times. I just don’t get it. Like reading a political soap opera war dot WWF slash drama series.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:43 pmZell fired his hell fired mighty mouth missiles at the approaching democratic horde, armed with pitchforks and torches, of liberal media elites, crazed like American idol fans on ecstasy, Zell fired off one alcohol fueled lip rockets, blazingly accurate, time and time again, until the pagans, turned and fled the battlefield!!
So by concentrating all of their ammo in one sustained blast of Zellfire, they gambled that the usual counterspin about Republican “hate†wouldn’t wash.
Sounds like something a comicbook balloon caption might read.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:45 pmSved,
How do you reconcile your support for Bush with your support of limited government? You seem to espouse the classical Republican, limited government positions, NOT the current, record growth and beauracracratic US government run by unskilled cronies like Mike Brown (former FEMA head who presided over the Hurricane Katrina disaster).
That is why you probably hear the term “neo-con” so often, because the modern US Republican Party has strayed far from their old ways of limited government. They are no longer “conservatives” in the classic sense.
After all, this is the same administration which is trying to build a nation in Iraq at the cost of half a trillion US dollars and counting. This is a President who has NEVER once failed to sign a spending bill put in front of him. Bush added an enormous prescription drug program, then prevented the US government from being able to negotiate cheaper deals for drugs. He created a whole new branch of government, the “Department of Homeland Security”, which experts say has actually reduced the effectiveness of the individual departments placed under it because of the massive levels of beauracracy.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:47 amWhat a web of lies and misinformation I thought you’d never shut up with that Zell speech. These “weapons were all great, especially since we paid 5 times what they were worth to make…this is what Kerry opposed. Throwing money at them. What a crock of crap to lick Bush’s ass like that especially with his record the past 6yrs, the amount of death and destruction his administration has brought to this country and to the world. The trillions of debt, the incompetence to lose billions in ‘cash’ of reconstruction money for Iraq; the incompetence and corruption and downright shame the GOP has wrought on this country and the list grows daily(Reed hosp. and injured troops). We’ve lost the respect of the world with approving torture, loss of habeas corpus. How much more do we have to endure before you take off the blinders and get out of denial. Most of the country doesn’t trust or believe in Bush and the GOP. And now this, a complete conflict of interests to put Baroody in to oversee the CPA. Talk about putting the rooster in the hen house, He’s already admittedly prejudiced to all the CPA stands for. Why is Bush so against putting unbiased people in positions of protective power. Is he trying to destroy everything set up to protect the public from corporate greed. What bull that we have to continue to “endure” this President and the corporate powers that control him?
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:12 amWhy does everything have to be sacrificed on the altar of “economic growth”? Why is it the be-all and end-all of human activity? Why not “health” or, I don’t know, “enlightenment”?
Every form of human interaction is governed by rules, the most basic being that you can do what you want, as long as you don’t hurt other people somehow, interfere with what other people are doing in a way that they don’t like, or put them at a disadvantage. We all agree on this. We all know we’re supposed to act in harmony for the public good and we all know that we have to cooperate with the rules. Nothing is more important than that.
It’s the same in economic activity, which is just another facet of human activity. However, unlike in all other activities, there is something which people believe actually trumps the public good. More important than the public good is “economic growth”. For the sake of economic growth, it’s ok to let people do what they want.
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:54 amThe revision of history is intended to revise the ethical base into a moral one; a morality grounded in corporate infallibility. Their god is the “market forces” and, like the god of religion, these “forces” are intangible and undefinable. In short, they don’t exist.
Breakaway business models and economies are charged with acts of heresy. (Venezuela)
All hail Wall St! (The New Vatican & Holy Temple)
The irony? History has already taught us what bad history will do.
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:55 amDoes this surprise anyone?? Bush and company should all be shot in the head, Mafia style for what they are doing and have done to this country.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:25 amI agree that the Republican Party forgot the reasons America put them in power (Contract with America). In 6 years of being in control of all three branches of government, the GOP failed to enact any meaningful tax reform (i.e. the Fair Tax) and managed to increase federal spending across the board. Luckily they were able to pass the tax cuts, hence the increase in tax collection recently. But my point is that here we have an instance where Bush has followed his fiscally conservative convictions and nominated an individual with an indisputable track record in combating governmental abuses of power in regulation.
None of you lefties has offered any substantial rebuttal to my argument other than whining about “public goods” or calling me a neo-con, which I am most certainly not. What is good for the public is what is good for every individual player in that public: freedom to acquire information about products and make rational choices. The public is simply the sum of all the individuals in the marketplace; it’s not some phantom conglomerate that only liberals and government bureaucrats know how to appease.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 amactually, sved, you’re using the typical, argumentative evasive maneuver, which is to simply ignore any substantial rebuttal that is offer and respond only to those arguments which you consider insubstantial, making it appear that nothing of substance has been offered. it’s a nice rhetorical trick, but if your goal is anything beyond trying to make yourself look and feel smart, it’s a waste of your time.
i noticed you didn’t bother to reply to post number thirty-one, by bluedog. some pretty incisive and substantial questions posed therein.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:24 pmI hope Sved can find some asbestos pants that fit right down at WalMart (for a good price) Then he’ll have really shown us.
I’m going to go have a lead and mercury-laced tuna sandwich right now, which was a lot cheaper because it wasn’t opressed by a wasteful government bureaucracy.
With the Ecoli spinach and salmonella peanut butter making headlines lately, how can a sane person be arguing for even less regulation?????
Dead children are a small price to pay for economic growth and robust statistics, I guess???
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:35 pmI didn’t address Bluedog’s comment because he is simply wrong. Yes, America enjoys the lowest level of government regulation in the industrialized world and we are far and away the best and most efficient economy in the world. You are so blind by the liberal bias of the mainstream media which is geared towards making Bush look bad, that’s it. Anyone notice how we’re setting records in economic output and on the stock exchange? America hasn’t seen growth like what we’re seeing since the 1920s, the last time government regulation was put in the back seat to innovation and entrepreneurship. Definately can’t call that “the brink of economic disaster.” I’m sure someone will argue that the 20s caused the Great Depression, which is historically inaccurate. The fact remains that the heavy-handed government involvement in the economy in the administrations of Hoover and FDR kept us in perpetual depression, and it took a world war to get us out. If you want to complain about how America helps its corporations at the expense of its consumers, than move somewhere where they allow the government to rape its citizens (i.e. some European country). In this country, we have a Constitution with a 10th Amendment and a mindset that it is not the government’s responsibility to baby you from cradle to the grave.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:42 pmSved,
“America hasn’t seen growth like what we’re seeing since the 1920s”
…and the 20’s ended on such a high note.
/sarc
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pmSved,
The truth is, the depression was not caused by “heavy-handed government” but by an appallingly large wealth gap…also similar to the one we see today.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:51 pmfrom #68 “But my point is that here we have an instance where Bush has followed his fiscally conservative convictions and nominated an individual with an indisputable track record in combating governmental abuses of power in regulation.”
OK, but if there’s a government committee which is supposed to regulate, I want the people on it to be interested in regulating. Enthusiastic, even. Industry wants and does get around regulation. The government doesn’t need to stand up for industry so much, because industry stands up for industry. I don’t blame industry for looking out for itself, but there has to be an effective check on industry’s tendency to do that. To be an effective counter balance, we DON’T need somebody who’s looking out for industry.
No, I don’t think that consumers are an effective check on industry. Looking out for the consumer is a full time job, and I don’t think there’s another organization with the money and resources that could check industry (and make it pay attention) it as effectively as the government is potentially able to.
One of the reasons for having a government is to have a powerful organization which can balance other powerful organizations. Consumers have power, but not organization or, frankly, the will to personally find out if what they’re buying isn’t dangerous. I don’t think I’m lazy for wanting to assume that the government is looking out for my safety, any more than I’m being lazy for assuming that the government is interested in keeping my safe by, say, apprehending criminals.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:00 pmfrom #71
“Anyone notice how we’re setting records in economic output and on the stock exchange?”
The stock exchange is setting records. So what? How does gauging the “health” of industry reflect the financial health of the average American? We’ve got this weird idea that, if corporations are doing well, it goes without saying that American families must be doing well, too.
What’s wonderful for General Motors (ok, bad example) isn’t nearly as good for most Americans. In fact, what’s good for General Motors it doesn’t affect most American’s lives at all. Good for the corporations, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate widespread prosperity.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 pmSved - I ‘ve got a honey of a used car to sell you. You’ll love it - I made it myself. GREAT fuel economy, and the brakes work really good, too - promise. We can dodge the tax-man, and I’ll make you a real sweet deal on it, k?
these “high-minded” objectivist, libertarian types would be the very first to run screaming for cover if they ever, in fact, got their way (which they never will, for reasons that have nothing to do with anyone’s politics)
i might not mind, because for a while at least, it would provide a great opportunity to bilk the wealthy out of their money, which i could then use to relocate to a civilized country.
Hey Sved - If you think you’re paying too much in taxes - get a job that pays less.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:19 pmIn other news, George Bush appoints a great white shark as the lifeguard at the Crawford junior swimming pool.
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:57 pmThis is where having a Democratic majority in Congress, and the Senate especially, is gonna come in real handy: at confirmation time, Que no?
February 22nd, 2007 at 4:09 pmDeregulation and cronyism. This is all that this administration is goods for these days.
February 22nd, 2007 at 4:25 pmIMPEACH HIM FAST WHILE THERE IS STILL SOMETHING LEFT OF AMERICA
February 22nd, 2007 at 4:26 pmCome on, do you really expect anything different out of the republicans? All they are good at is Greed and corruption. Expecting them to do the right thing for America, is like asking Joseph Stalin and Hitler to play nice. t just ain’t gonna happen.
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:54 pmIt is a practive of Conservatives to hand a functional Gov’t agency over to incompetants, villians, etc. After that agency has been trashed, the Conservatives say: “SEE? Govertment agenciess dont work!”
February 22nd, 2007 at 8:13 pmHe looks like a deceitful a**hole. Like Bush & Cheney.
February 22nd, 2007 at 9:13 pmSven, after the scandal of the exploding Bridgestone (Firestone) tires of the late ’90s, it came out that the Insurance Institute, which aggregates data from fatal accidents, had known about the exploding tires for years, but had not released the information to discourage lawsuits which might have cost its members (insurance companies) money. One of the last things the Clinton administration did was make reporting of such information mandatory and charge the Consumer Products Safety Commission to make such information public, so that consumers could exercise “freedom to acquire information about products and make rational choices”.
One of the first acts of the Bush Administration was to classify this information. The reason given was that the competitive posture of some corporations may be damaged by the release of such information.
So how do you research the reliability of the tires you put on your car? Are you transporting your children on tires that explode? How do you know?
This is just one example of the value that the conservative movement puts on life.
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:36 am