Quote of the Day: "The Republican Party Left Me"

[Attorney in Texas]

Source: Mother Jones

From former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, in his new memoir, The Courage To Act:

I lost patience with Republicans’ susceptibility to the know-nothing-ism of the far right. I didn’t leave the Republican Party. I felt that the party left me.

This is, of course, a deliberate echo of Ronald Reagan's famous line about the Democratic Party leaving him. And it's hard to blame Bernanke. The know-nothing wing of the Republican Party rebelled against the TARP rescue package at the height of the economic meltdown. They howled that low interest rates would lead to imminent hyperinflation. They resolutely refused to consider fiscal stimulus despite Bernanke's repeated pleas (see helpful illustration below from 2011). They wanted to audit the Fed. They wanted to end the Fed. They wanted to put us back on the gold standard. When Bernanke told them that spending cuts would lead to higher unemployment, Rep. Kevin McCarthy refused to believe him. Now he's about to become Speaker of the House.



Read more: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/10/quote-day-republican-party-left-me

[pampango]

1. "I lost patience with Republicans’ susceptibility to the know-nothing-ism of the far right."

The know-nothing wing of the Republican Party rebelled against the TARP rescue package at the height of the economic meltdown. They howled that low interest rates would lead to imminent hyperinflation. They resolutely refused to consider fiscal stimulus despite Bernanke's repeated pleas (see helpful illustration below from 2011). They wanted to audit the Fed. They wanted to end the Fed. They wanted to put us back on the gold standard. When Bernanke told them that spending cuts would lead to higher unemployment, Rep. Kevin McCarthy refused to believe him. Now he's about to become Speaker of the House.

Nice find, Attorney in Texas. Unfortunately, the 'know-nothing-ism' of the republican party does not start or end with fiscal and monetary policy.

[Gothmog]

2. Ben Bernacke is correct about the GOP

The GOP no longer believes in economics or the real world