Rep. Hensarling: Recessions are just ‘a part of freedom.’
Rep. Hensarling: Recessions are just ‘a part of freedom.’
This morning on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, a caller asked Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) how Republicans would solve the current economic crisis. He replied by insisting that the best cure was more tax cuts, and said that recessions are simply “part of freedom”:
I don’t think we can figure out how to outlaw recessions any more than we can outlaw tornadoes or outlaw hurricanes. … Economic growth has never gone in one straight line up. It goes in a zigzag line. It’s a part of freedom. Sometimes freedom can be messy. Sometimes freedom has reversals. But it certainly beats the alternative.
Watch it:
As another conservative luminary once pointed out, “Freedom is untidy.” Of course, recessions are hardly the property of free countries alone; the economic crisis has hurt plenty of autocratic countries as well.
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rushpublicans:
“somehow we need to paint the economic recovery of America as anti-freedom, or else we run the risk of an American economic recovery, and that will prove our ideology is wrong”
February 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pmI don’t think we can figure out how to outlaw recessions any more than we can outlaw tornadoes or outlaw hurricanes.
Tornadoes and hurricanes are acts of Nature. Recessions are man-made. Yet another straw man argument from the right. Have they no facts with which to make their points?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:30 pmwayne, if they believed in facts, they would not be Rushpublicans
February 26th, 2009 at 1:30 pmah yeah,
economic troubles…
soviet union.
collapse.
jeb, your thoughts?
?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:30 pmSo the boob truly thinks some us believe we can ‘outlaw’ a financial recession? Just exactly how stoopid are these republicans – and they all appear to be from Texas! What the hell is in the drinking water in Texas? Jeebus almighty!
If the GOP was in power, we would all be so screwed.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:31 pmThe economy is an act of God, like hurricanes and tornadoes? Can these jokers get any more lame?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:31 pmRecession and depression is good for the rich.
When they hit, they effectively dispossess the poor and middle-class of all the things actually belongong to the elites, and gives all that shit BACK to the elites from whom the poor and middle-classes leased them (What, you think you actually OWN anything? Look at who holds “the paper.”)
Recession is not maybe good for the ‘economy,’ but it’s the best thing since sex-slavery for the rich…
February 26th, 2009 at 1:31 pmSo if you don’t like them are you a “freedom hater that hates our freedoms”?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:31 pmSometimes Repukes have the Freedom to screw the entire country for profit…
…FCUK THE REPUBLICANS
February 26th, 2009 at 1:32 pmYeah.. “Sh*t happens. Get over it!”.. (/sarc)
February 26th, 2009 at 1:32 pmSo we should allow freedom so the markets will crash and bring the world economy down and that is just normal economic fluctuations? This moron evidently never studied economics 101.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pmDid he just equate the regulation of the financial industry to prevent fraud and theft with outlawing an act of nature? That’s bats.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pmWeren’t you around yesterday? There were two geniuses from Colorado. The stoopid is spreading.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pmThis is all part of the story line which the Republicans are pushing that Bush is not responsible for any of the failures on his watch. One cannot prevent terrorism, one cannot prevent hurricanes, one cannot prevent a great depression, one cannot prevent wars of choice in Iraq.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:35 pmLies and propaganda… do you ever hear anything else from a Reich-winger?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:35 pmThis is just one more example of the GOP just not in step with reality. You go guys, the sooner you are extinct, the better for the country.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:36 pmI can’t believe it. This guy left out my favorite conservative line:
Hey–that’s the beauty of the free market!
Don’t hear that one too much these days–except when I’m rubbing it in their stupid faces…
February 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pmSo they got rid of the Glass-Steagall act after 50 years to spread “freedom”. Oh they were spreading something alright.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pmYou can’t outlaw recessions????? Really…HOW ABOUT WE GET RID OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE for starters. This is one of the main reasons inflation is manifested by these people who have no oversight period.
The real owners of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve System are:
a) Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin;
b) Lazard Brothers Bank of Paris;
c) Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy;
d) Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam;
e) Lehman Brothers Bank of New York;
f) Kuhn, Loeb Bank of New York;
g) Chase Manhattan Bank of New York;
h) Goldman Sachs Bank of New York; and
i) Approximately three hundred people, known to each other and/or relations of the “owners,” who hold stock in the Federal Reserve System. They comprise an interlocking, International Banking Cartel of wealth beyond comprehension.
he Federal Reserve meet behind closed doors and has more power than the Congress and President of the United States; and to top that off, these men who control America through their financial manipulation are not even responsible to the public nor to Congress and has repeatedly shown that it is under the control of the International Jewish Bankers, by raising the discount rate (a deliberate act to destroy small business) they have been able to bring about the depressions which have devastated the American Farmer and Ranchers since the time this Evil Satanic Act was passed.
Please ask any politician WHY DO WE ALLOW FEDERAL RESERVE CHARGE INTEREST TO THE UNITED STATES WHEN IT’S OUR MONEY THEY ARE PRINTING? WHY DO WE GIVE CONTROL OF OUR ECONOMY TO BANKERS INSTEAD OF ALLOWING THE PEOPLE TO DETERMINE THERE FINANCIAL VIABILITY????
Recessions as part of freedom….brain washing is so passe.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pmEvery large banking institution, insurance giant, investment bank, etc, is on the brink of collapse. No government bailouts are going to work. They will be like setting a pile of money on fire, and watching it burn. So say Atrios, Krugman, et al.
And that’s the beauty of the free market!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pmLets follow the logic. The economy is not under human control but God’s. A recession/depression then must be his way of punishing the bad people. Since the rich aren’t going to starve, this means the middle class and poor are to blame since they are getting punished.
Yup, fits with the Republican dementia. And the worship of money.
Oh wait, if the middle class and the poor go under, who grows the food?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:39 pmTo the GOP:
‘Free markets’ = piracy.
Remember that.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:40 pmHe’s right. I’ve been freed from the bulk of my retirement account. My son’s college fund has been freed not only of any gains, but well over 30% of what I actually contributed.
We all so free now! Guess we should greet these tax cutting, deregulating liars as liberators! Flowers and chocolates for all!
I just hope I’m not soon freed from my mortgage and the house that goes with it.
PEACE
February 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pmGosh all that freedom sure got messy in 1929…
February 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pmFreedom’s just another word for “nothing we can do”.
Shorter Hensarling: “I’ve got plenty of money. Sucks being you.”
February 26th, 2009 at 1:42 pmThis is probably the zillionth reason we need to restructure public education and maybe even college requirements. Our economic system is crazy and imperfect, but if no one understands the fundamentals (or even tries), then you have jackasses like this trying to lull you back to sleep.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:45 pmWe can’t outlaw stupidity, either. That is unfortunate. If that were possible, GDumbya and his neo-con handlers would still be in jail and we could have avoided lots of bad stuff over the past eight years.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:45 pmYears ago a fellow employee, after some sneaky shenanigans on her part, smirkingly told me “Life isn’t fair”. I flew into a rage and shouted “Don’t blame *your* cheating behavior on “Life”! Life had nothing to do with it- You’re a liar!”
It did me no good at the time, but the “Life is unfair” slogan stuck in my mind, and to this day makes me angry.
Life is the way we make it: recessions are not part of “nature” they’re a human artifact. Fires, floods, hurricanes & earthquakes are a part of Nature: but even they can be ameliorated by intelligent planning.
Grrrrr! That really Grinds My Gears!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:46 pmcongressman halfwit:”I don’t think we can figure out how to outlaw recessions any more than we can outlaw tornadoes or outlaw hurricanes…”
This is literally true, but good government can help citizens who are affected by these things. The republicans on the other hand want to respond to this crisis like they did to Katrina…
February 26th, 2009 at 1:47 pmMaybe we can figure out how to outlaw people like this from running for Senator.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:47 pmGawd knows, some people will vote for anything that has most of it’s body parts.
spencersmom, now we have an idea of how the Iraqis feel about the ‘freedom’ we brought them?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:47 pmEconomic growth has never gone in one straight line up. It goes in a zigzag line. It’s a part of freedom. Sometimes freedom can be messy. Sometimes freedom has reversals. But it certainly beats the alternative.
Once again, the right wing is equating “capitalism” with “freedom”, as if the two are one and the same. They are not. Capitalism is just another form of slavery by the “haves” over the “have nots”. By their logic, you’re only “free” if you don’t have financial worries. This is why they fight so hard against Congress exercising its constitutional responsibility to “regulate Commerce among the several states.” Because some rich people might end up ever-so-slightly less rich. Boo freakin’ hoo.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:48 pmGrrrrr! That really Grinds My Gears!
“Ooooh, he said it again!” – Lois Griffin
February 26th, 2009 at 1:48 pmThere’s a certain kinship between this attitude and that of the right-wing climate change deniers who try to claim that current global warming is no big deal because “climate always goes through cycles”.
Sure, all dynamic systems go through cycles. But that doesn’t mean that our behavior has no impact on those cycles (which is the implication here).
The intelligent thing to do is to analyze historical patterns and try to identify behavior that can minimize the swings.
Of course, right-wingers love those “fat” periods, those “roaring” cycles, so they’d rather not minimize the tough times if it means cutting down on their party when they got the chance.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pmLife isn’t fair. The credo of the selfish and greedy. Truth is, life isn’t fair, that is a human concept. Life is, it is people who deal in the unfair.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pmYesterday on Bloomberg;
The comment was something of an understatement, as no country among the so-called industrialized nations is showing as much confidence in its bankers as Canada. Not one government penny has been given to any of the 21 banks from British Columbia to Quebec since credit worldwide seized up in August 2007. Since then, American taxpayers have provided $300 billion to bail out more than 450 companies, led by Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., two of the three largest banks measured by assets
Obama isn’t the only important person “looking at Canada” in a belated attempt to figure out how to fix a broken financial model, Denison said.
Money managers from Brazil, China, France, Ireland and Australia scheduled visits to Denison’s Toronto office in the past two weeks to learn how Canada and its banks and pension funds are weathering the financial crisis. The visitors include the AustralianSuper Fund and the French National Reserve Fund, which together have assets of $53 billion, he said.
Canada’s higher capital requirements and loan limits that European banks exceeded by 50 percent helped Canadian lenders avoid most of the writedowns and losses crippling competitors worldwide, even as the nation’s economy slipped into a recession and the jobless rate jumped to a four-year high.
“The Canadian banking system is a very good story,” said Denison, chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages C$108.9 billion ($86 billion) for retired Canadians. “People are looking at Canada” to determine how to fix their broken financial models, he said.
YOU SEE….IT’S THE IDIOT POLICIES OF THE REPUBLICANS THAT BROUGHT THE UNITED STATES TO IT’S KNEE’S.
HOW SOCIALISTIC ARE WE NOW GLEN BECK AND THE REST OF YOU REPUGS?????
Your leaders created the problems….don’t be fooled otherwise!!!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pmIt’s a part of freedom. Sometimes freedom can be messy.
Well, that’s certainly a freedom I can live without.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pmShayne Says:
StratRat Says:
So the boob truly thinks some us believe we can ‘outlaw’ a financial recession? Just exactly how stoopid are these republicans – and they all appear to be from Texas! What the hell is in the drinking water in Texas? Jeebus almighty!
If the GOP was in power, we would all be so screwed.
Weren’t you around yesterday? There were two geniuses from Colorado. The stoopid is spreading.
My bad…Sometimes the sheer enormity of the stoopid causes me to shut down. I guess the real common denominator is the ‘R’ next to their names, not the state in which they are elected. They are making it easy to brand them as crazies, no?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:54 pmNOLIESPLEASE Says:
Obama isn’t the only important person “looking at Canada” in a belated attempt to figure out how to fix a broken financial model, Denison said.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
___________
Does this mean that the tops of our heads are going to start detatching from our bodies when we talk?
Eek!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:55 pm“Recessions…It’s a part of freedom. Sometimes freedom can be messy.”
Doesn’t this sound like something Joe the Plumber would say?
February 26th, 2009 at 1:58 pmhussein toasterhead…..and you point is????
February 26th, 2009 at 1:58 pmwhat’s a republican without tax cuts??
the same as a republican with tax cuts.
NOTHING.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:59 pmWillowOrchid Says: “Life is the way we make it:”
Absolutely. The only people we hear saying “Life Isn’t Fair” are those who haven’t gotten their way, or, understandably, have suffered a misfortune.
By the same token, those who walk away with a windfall will never say “life isn’t fair”, nor will they say “life is fair…”
Often the recipient of good fortune will tell themselves and others “I deserve this!”, or, “Wow, did I get away with that or what!”
February 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pmRalph (#35) the point is a good one to raise re: conservative ‘analysis’ of cycles. This simplification of trends of OBJECTIVE facts is just the way they operate- it’s that same attractiveness that has people listen to Rush or watch FOX.
It’s denial of the complexity of any situation (especially with human influence) by boiling it down to sound bytes. It’s also reassuring people that they have no accountability in their actions. These are both nice things that quiet the anxiety of people dealing with their defaulted loans and underemployed status.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:01 pmHT, that is a Republican syndrome often referred to as the Pez. It’s easily identifiable, easily avoided and only dangerous when they build up too much spit.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:01 pmgummitch Says:
“Freedom’s just another word for “nothing we can do”.”
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:04 pmJanis Joplin
NOLIESPLEASE Says:
hussein toasterhead…..and you point is????
February 26th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
_________
Don’t call me “guy,” buddy!
Don’t call me “buddy,” fwiend!
Don’t call me “fwiend,” guy!
Don’t call me “guy,” buddy!
Sorry, the WGA (World Canadian Bureau) South Park episode was on last night…
February 26th, 2009 at 2:04 pmNevar Says: Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.Janis Joplin
And Republican dogma qualifies as nothing.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pmFreedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…
That totally went through my head as soon as I read the top post.
The notion that economies fluctuate completely randomly serves R’s in a number of ways. First, it shifts blame from the crappy economic performance during their historical reigning periods. Secondly, it prevents anybody from trying to do anything about their masters routinely plundering the economy.
.
Realness Says:
This is probably the zillionth reason we need to restructure public education and maybe even college requirements. Our economic system is crazy and imperfect, but if no one understands the fundamentals (or even tries), then you have jackasses like this trying to lull you back to sleep.
It’s actually not all that hard. They’ve just convinced people that it’s really difficult and confusing so they won’t look into it themselves. It needs less an education overhaul than a messaging campaign: “you can figure this stuff out, here’s how it works…”
February 26th, 2009 at 2:14 pmso they can’t blame Obama or Clinton for Bush’s recession so they say it’s a Good thing!
Recessions caused by Republicans: good
Recessions when you can blame Democrats: bad
nice to know the simplistic thinking displayed here…
February 26th, 2009 at 2:15 pmDon’t call me “guy,” buddy!
Don’t call me “buddy,” fwiend!
Don’t call me “fwiend,” guy!
Don’t call me “guy,” buddy!
Sorry, the WGA (World Canadian Bureau) South Park episode was on last night…
And still your point is?????….LOL.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:15 pmNOLIESPLEASE Says:
hussein toasterhead…..and you point is????
You’ve never watched South Park, have you?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:15 pmJeb?
More like Jub-Jub.
I fcukin can’t stand this guy, this so called “representative” of mine (unfortunately, I’m in his district – and my mother used to wonder why I was so liberal).
I get weekly voting on him reports, and this fascist does NOTHING but pander to big business special interests, PERIOD.
He’s toast by the next election, seeing he doesn’t just opt-out to become an even d o u c h e y -er lobbyist.
TRAITOR-SCUM.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:16 pmucsbclassics53 Says:
so they can’t blame Obama or Clinton for Bush’s recession so they say it’s a Good thing!
Recessions caused by Republicans: good
Recessions when you can blame Democrats: bad
nice to know the simplistic thinking displayed here…
February 26th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
What are you, drunk? Recessions, no matter who caused them, are never a good thing. Who’s claiming they are? Are straw man arguments all you people have any more?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pmThe intelligent thing to do is to analyze historical patterns and try to identify behavior that can minimize the swings.
Isn’t this the crux? The misinformation spread in a ‘free’ media (hypothetically disregarding a sad corporate reality)should be easily weeded out with a population that’s educated enough to know real analysis when they see it. Critical thinking just doesn’t really seem to be encouraged, so people have all their biases first- from family, misinforming media, and THEN try to form some world vision that conforms to that biased irrational one.
Is Hensarling a result of this lack of critical thinking? Or is he knowingly helping to discourage it? Is it a little of both?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pmI have seen South Park….but when people or going broke, homeless, hungry…south park gets a back seat to really needs attention.
Down time consists of reading, smoking canadian erb…lol, learning what is wrong within society.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:19 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
What are you, drunk? Recessions, no matter who caused them, are never a good thing. Who’s claiming they are? Are straw man arguments all you people have any more?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
_________
I think he was referring to Rep. Hensarling’s simplistic thinking, not ours…
February 26th, 2009 at 2:22 pmElBruce
It’s actually not all that hard. They’ve just convinced people that it’s really difficult and confusing so they won’t look into it themselves. It needs less an education overhaul than a messaging campaign: “you can figure this stuff out, here’s how it works…”
maybe you’re right, and it’s an optimistic view of people. But it contends with selfishness and laziness, and a cynical elitist view a lot of people tend to have. I don’t know…is it messaging, or cultural change? What you say sounds like American individualism and ‘can do’ culture, but why aren’t the facts more obvious to people?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:24 pmAs I Texan, I apologize for these simpletons. I guess that is what we get when the Republican Party has been de-funding education for all these years. A bunch of non-thinking fundie morons who do nothing but what they are told to do and say.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:26 pmThis is the right-wing mind at its most fundamental: Some things are too complicated for them to figure out, so don’t touch them.
Recessions are complicated, so do nothing.
Evolution is too “theoretic”, so God must be involved.
Global warming involves too much science, so just ignore it.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:27 pmWhat, exactly what, does this guy mean by “freedom?”
February 26th, 2009 at 2:32 pmAt the heart of his argument, Hensarling was right. Recession & Boom are facts of a free market economy’s. They afflict all free political systems . Sure Government regulation of some finances can perhaps help smooth out the peaks and troughs, but unless you have 100% state control of everything (meaning real Red Communism, not the kind of pink Progressive socialism of Obama and Europeans) there is only little a government can do to stop recession or boom & they always follow one another.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:34 pmWhat, exactly what, does this guy mean by “freedom?”
It’s a typo, he meant “free-dumb”.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:35 pmFood for thought:
Ever wonder why Credit Unions aren’t going broke?
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.
Before de-regulation of the S&L industry, they were quite the picture of solvency too.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:37 pmThis moron has a couple of things working against him.
1. He is a Texas Aggie
2. He worked for Phil Gramm
And I might add that his little boy haircut is s dead give away…that he is a moron.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:39 pmThey afflict all free political systems .
Which would be relevant, if either the political or the economic systems were ‘free.’
But of course, they are not “free.” They are both tightly regulated. Nobody wh poses the least threat to the “free” political or economic system will EVER be on the presidential ballot with any CHANCE of winning.
Re, economics: There is NO SUCH THING as a “free market.” All of them are strictly regulated, either as to what may be presented for sale, or by other conditions of entry.
Re, Politics: Who thinks the Bosses–the oligarchs, plutocrats, etc–would EVER entrust their finely tuned, incredibly valuable system –much less THEIR property, i.e., the Country–to anybody who might upset the machineries even a little?
get a fuukin brain…
February 26th, 2009 at 2:40 pmucsbclassics53 Says:
It appears that I may have mistaken your sarcasm for a “real thought”. I apologize for the error, and for my nasty outburst.
Yes, they do seem to have simplified things to a point devoid of truth.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:42 pmUndecided-
I think you’re right, the peaks and valleys do occur, But it’s the degree to which they happen that is the problem here. We’ve seen irresponsibility in accounting, de-regulation, just pure greed that gave us a bubble and it’s messy burst.
Someone mentioned Canadian bank behavior- far more regulated-and it has had a dramatically less negative impact.
Human behavior affects these cycles, and we need to address that, not just throw our hands in the air because it’s the ‘natural’ way of capitalism.
I don’t find Obama very pink yet, sadly. I’m assuming by socialism you mean effective government regulation. The mention of ‘Red Communism’ is kind of a little archaic, as no one is advocating that, and any politician that does allude to it, is acting irresponsible with the same Red scare tactics we’ve always seen.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:45 pmRepublicans have funny idea about freedom. They also told us that freedom was getting invaded, occupied, and having 1 million of your people murdered.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:46 pm______
Shayne Says:
So they got rid of the Glass-Steagall act after 50 years to spread “freedom”. Oh they were spreading something alright.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
“They” includes 38 Dem senators, notably Biden, Byrd, Daschle, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Leahy, Reid, Schumer. And Dem Bill Clinton signed the repeal into law. Yes, our leaders really screwed up on that one. ;)
February 26th, 2009 at 2:47 pmSince the Civil War, every recession, including two Great Depressions occurred with a Republican president in office.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:48 pmSenator Phil Gramm (R-TX) wrote the bill which gutted Glass-Steagall. For some reason, his name is never mentioned in connection with his own de-regulation.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:51 pmWhat argument are you making here? That when we become an autocratic country, we’ll still have recessions? Or that giving more power to the government does not prevent recessions?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:58 pmAnd Dem Bill Clinton signed the repeal into law. Yes, our leaders really screwed up on that one. ;)
February 26th, 2009 at 2:59 pm—
Wasn’t there some sort of pragmatic thing going on here. I don’t remember but was it a veto proof margin?
That’s what the Confederate South said about Lincoln. ;-)
February 26th, 2009 at 2:59 pm______
dbadass Says:
And Dem Bill Clinton signed the repeal into law. Yes, our leaders really screwed up on that one. ;)
—
Wasn’t there some sort of pragmatic thing going on here. I don’t remember but was it a veto proof margin?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
February 26th, 2009 at 3:04 pm______
Yeah, there was. But if legislation is wrong, wouldn’t you expect our President to veto it to force an override? Isn’t that part of the reason for the executive branch?
68. tell me about it Wayne…If they could make blaming Obama for this recession feasible even to the minds of the American sheep, they would be screaming about how he screwed up the Economy…but of course, they can’t, because even the American people will not buy that, so they have to spin it as a “normal” boom-bust cycle…as if the Bush recession is…
February 26th, 2009 at 3:04 pmYeah, there was. But if legislation is wrong, wouldn’t you expect our President to veto it to force an override? Isn’t that part of the reason for the executive branch?
February 26th, 2009 at 3:06 pm—-
Wouldn’t that cost money? Aren’t you folks always pissing and moaning about money? Why throw good after bad is that fiscally responsible?
ucsbclassic53,
The right wing, the ones who believe in “personal responsibility” simply will not take responsibility for their failed policies, beliefs, racism, actions, what have you. It’s never their fault, it’s always their ideological opponents’ faults. Even when they are nailed saying something stupid, they claim they were “misinterpretated.”
Little do they know that Jack Nicholson was talking to them when he famously said, “You can’t handle the truth!”
February 26th, 2009 at 3:08 pmWhy don’t you just pray for a recovery then, and don’t accept one cent from the government you’d rather drown.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:09 pm80: indeed…and even when they fail spectacularly like Bush did, they always pull out the “he’s a liberal in conservative’s clothing” card…
Personal responsibility is only for the schools and anything the right-wing opposes…
February 26th, 2009 at 3:15 pm______
dbadass Says:
Yeah, there was. But if legislation is wrong, wouldn’t you expect our President to veto it to force an override? Isn’t that part of the reason for the executive branch?
—-
Wouldn’t that cost money? Aren’t you folks always pissing and moaning about money? Why throw good after bad is that fiscally responsible?
February 26th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
______
Hey, if you think that’s a good reason to pass and sign bad legislation, that’s cool. It certainly helps out the politicians if the people let them use that excuse. In any case, it’s only right to acknowledge all those who were complicit.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:17 pmWell put Rep. Hensarling. We have the freedom to elect idiots such as yourself and engage in clean up.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:17 pmOh, I see your analogy. Tell me, what was the date when Iraq seceded from the Union?
February 26th, 2009 at 3:28 pmLet’s put this Glass-Steagall non-sense to rest. Even if Clinton signed it into law, the law was written, sponsored, and championed by Phil Gramm and the gang. The majority in congress was Rethuglican and if Clinton was the bad guy, why the hell didn’t W the idiot change the law in the past eight years? Why didn’t the GOP change the law in one of the past eight years (six of which they held the majority)? Your lies shine through and through. The GOP is dishonest and stupid.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:33 pmWhat we need is a voice that will point out that the “end game” for the economics promoted by these zealots is not free-market capitalism (or democracy), but FEUDALISM, plain and simple.
One dollar > one vote is NOT equal to one person > one vote.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:46 pmI don’t really think that GOPers really understand or even know what “freedom” really is. They are always telling us what we should and should not do, and they then want to rewrite history, because it doesn’t conform to their liking.
February 26th, 2009 at 4:06 pmArrgH! Another yayhoo from Texas. They are SO predictable.
Glad it is former state of mine.
February 26th, 2009 at 4:06 pmupright left Says:
“They” includes 38 Dem senators, notably Biden, Byrd, Daschle, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Leahy, Reid, Schumer. And Dem Bill Clinton signed the repeal into law. Yes, our leaders really screwed up on that one. ;)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I know amazing isnt it? After the S&L scandal I just dont understand how they were able to CONTINUE to peddle the old deregulation mania. It is just astonishing
February 26th, 2009 at 4:46 pmIf recessions are part of freedom then boy are we free.
February 26th, 2009 at 5:35 pm>Yes, our leaders really
> screwed up on that one. ;)
Yeah, go f#ck yourself and your innane “pox on both their houses” argument. Its pretty much the republican sales tactic de jour these days, as their idealogy of lies, religious hipocracy, warmongering is totally bankrupt, so thier resorting to the the “we’re all bad, but vote for us because we will tax you less and we dislike that pinko socialism (unless it benefits millionaires)”
I’ve no huge love for democrats but they arent an organized criminal enterprise like the moden day GOP is..While theres plenty of blame to go around, the idea that it cant be dispensed inequitably is foolish, to say the least, and is an argument for apathy and inaction, which is basically what the republicans are hoping for..
February 26th, 2009 at 7:13 pmLet’s get it straight. This is not a recession, it is the Bush Depression. It has nothing to do with freedom. These buffoons are trying to redirect, obfuscate the fact that it is the Bush Depression.
February 26th, 2009 at 8:52 pmYeah, and Hurricane Katrina was a good thing because, well, look at all the new houses people will be building.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:17 pmThe War Criminal Bush Senior also said the Nicaragua people were all ‘free’ after he destroyed their democracy! Bush jr. also said he was given the iraqui people ‘freedom’ while killing and torturing its people. Republicans like to protitute the words ‘Freedom’ and ‘Democracy’!
February 26th, 2009 at 10:18 pm______
Chocolate Jesus Says:
>Yes, our leaders really
> screwed up on that one. ;)
Yeah, go f#ck yourself and your innane “pox on both their houses” argument. Its pretty much the republican sales tactic de jour these days, as their idealogy of lies, religious hipocracy, warmongering is totally bankrupt, so thier resorting to the the “we’re all bad, but vote for us because we will tax you less and we dislike that pinko socialism (unless it benefits millionaires)”
I’ve no huge love for democrats but they arent an organized criminal enterprise like the moden day GOP is..While theres plenty of blame to go around, the idea that it cant be dispensed inequitably is foolish, to say the least, and is an argument for apathy and inaction, which is basically what the republicans are hoping for..
February 26th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
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Hey, choco, how’s it going, bud? I know how you hate religious hypocrisy. Some folks hate all hypocrisy, even among those they agree with ideologically. And I’ve already heard the lib defense “Dems might be guilty of illegally enriching themselves individually, but it doesn’t compare to the Repubs.” I’ll even accept your premise that Repubs are guilty of more because I don’t condone it in either party. The fact remains that the repeal of Glass-Steagall passed the Senate with 52 repub votes (hardly filibuster proof), 38 Dem votes (including our current VP for whom I voted) and the signature of a Dem president. Not everyone believes the repeal was responsible for the crises. If it was, Dems and Repubs both bear significant responsibility. Feel free to excuse the Dems because more Repubs voted for it. Feel free, as well, to excuse all thieves because there are murderers around. ;)
February 26th, 2009 at 11:01 pmFreedom’s just another word for I’m a f**king loon…
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Undecided Says:
At the heart of his argument, Hensarling was right. Recession & Boom are facts of a free market economy’s. They afflict all free political systems .
I’m not so sure about that. Considering that Republicans have been exacerbating most all of the boom/bust cycles we’ve experienced, it leads one to wonder whether truly sustainable growth might actually be achievable if we weren’t listening to them.
Imagine if every time you’ve driven a car, your “special-needs” brother in the passenger seat yanks the steering wheel every five minutes. You tell the police officer that swerving sharply on the road and sometimes hitting the curb is inevitable because it’s always been that way, every time you’ve driven a car. But you still haven’t tried putting your brother in the back seat.
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dbadass Says:
Wasn’t there some sort of pragmatic thing going on here. I don’t remember but was it a veto proof margin?
Possibly. But isn’t it interesting that that bill gets blamed on Clinton when there was a Republican majority, but the “Democrats have been in control since 2006″ when talking about everything else? Which branch of government gets the blame also seems to be pretty fluid in their minds.
I don’t think that at the time that Glass-Steagal was repealed, we really knew it would lead to this mess. So we’re nice, we tried it the way they wanted, and that didn’t work. Deregulation was something that Dems were willing to go along with (Clintonian “triangulation”), but it’s always been a plank/principle of the GOP. Anyways, it doesn’t matter so much which party was to blame as which “ideas” were. In short, even if you blame Dems for deregulation, that still doesn’t get the philosophy of deregulation off the hook.
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Anonymouse Says:
What we need is a voice that will point out that the “end game” for the economics promoted by these zealots is not free-market capitalism (or democracy), but FEUDALISM, plain and simple.
Actually, it’s a third-world banana-republic military dictatorship, a la 1970’s Chile:
1. There’s no middle class
2. The vast majority of the populace lives in poverty
3. A very small minority controls everything
4. All economic choices benefit the wealthy minority
5. The government provides no services except for the military
6. Low, low, low, nearly nonexistent taxes!
7. Unitary Executive Theory
8. Enhanced Presidential powers to keep people safe from terrorism
That’s the exact end result of “conservative principles” in action.
February 27th, 2009 at 12:01 amThe 2 parties collectively permitted so many jobs outsourced that there’s nothing here anymore. On top of that they deregulated away any rules or ethics on business interests so the costs of everything soars. Jobs go and the cost of living skyrockets. If this isn’t war, I don’t know what is.
February 27th, 2009 at 1:35 amHow does one deregulate jobs? Regulation is the added cost to employers, not a savings.
February 27th, 2009 at 2:07 am______
ElBruce Says:
dbadass Says:
Wasn’t there some sort of pragmatic thing going on here. I don’t remember but was it a veto proof margin?
Possibly. But isn’t it interesting that that bill gets blamed on Clinton when there was a Republican majority, but the “Democrats have been in control since 2006? when talking about everything else? Which branch of government gets the blame also seems to be pretty fluid in their minds.
I don’t think that at the time that Glass-Steagal was repealed, we really knew it would lead to this mess. So we’re nice, we tried it the way they wanted, and that didn’t work. Deregulation was something that Dems were willing to go along with (Clintonian “triangulation”), but it’s always been a plank/principle of the GOP. Anyways, it doesn’t matter so much which party was to blame as which “ideas” were. In short, even if you blame Dems for deregulation, that still doesn’t get the philosophy of deregulation off the hook.
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I have to say I’ve never heard a legislator explain his vote by saying he was just going along to be nice. It would be interesting to see how that would go over with the public.
If you are arguing that we need regulation of business, I’m right there with you. We don’t need to strangle business, but we can’t ignore the human tendancy to be greedy either.
Nor should we assign blame for a policy to one party and forgive those of the other party who supported the policy. And we should point out the hypocrisy of those who supported the policy and later rail against others who supported the policy. Why the need to excuse those who are “on your side?”
Anyway, some people (including Bill Clinton) claim the Glass-Steagall repeal didn’t hurt, but helped:
Bill Clinton (Sept. 24): Indeed, one of the things that has helped stabilize the current situation as much as it has is the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, which was much smoother than it would have been if I hadn’t signed that bill. …You know, Phil Gramm and I disagreed on a lot of things, but he can’t possibly be wrong about everything. On the Glass-Steagall thing, like I said, if you could demonstrate to me that it was a mistake, I’d be glad to look at the evidence. But I can’t blame [the Republicans]. This wasn’t something they forced me into.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/who_caused_the_economic_crisis.html
I assume it’s ok to cite factcheck since TP does.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:33 am