M$M remain dumb on the great (and obvious) story of these mid-term elections: Tea Party Incoherence

[JohnWxy]

The media go on chattering about the remonstrances of the Tea-Partyacs but they prefer to not comment on the great story of this election.

The Tea-Partyans (and the GOP) declare they are FOR "small government" and that they are against big obtrusive, Government (code word for "socialist" or Boshevik)... pointing to the bank bailouts and bailouts of GM and Chrysler. which they attribute to the Democrats and Obama's secret desires to establish a Bolschevik government - to steal all our freedoms away. (of course, the TARP was started by Bush, perhaps the one responsible act by the Puppet. Since he created the disaster it certainly was up to him to institute whatever emergency measures were needed to, hopefully, contain it.)

The TPers say they are holding Republicans as responsible as the Dems...REALLY..then why do they pray to the same God (the unfetterred 'Free' Market) as the Repubs, whom they claim to hold in contempt - (Bullshit!__JW) They plan on proceeding down the same destructive path to oblivion that those they claim to hold in contrmpt took us down. Now THAT is an inconsistency and an IRONY - or HYPOCRISY - WORTH REPORTING ON!

But the Corporate media are loath to point out that...

the TARP and rescues of GM and Chrysler measures were NECESSITATED BY GREATEST ECONOMIC DISASTER THIS COUNTRY HAS SEEN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION, ...WHICH WAS THE RESULT of the very 'SMALL' (meaning ineffective) Government the TPers and GOP profess to be the hope of our country. (What do THEY hope for? One economic disaster after another? Some fucking future). It wasn't like anybody took these measures BY CHOICE. There were no options available to Puppet Bush or to President Obama. Well, I guess there was one. They could have chosen inaction and watched THe Second Great Depression unfold before there very eyes. Instead of 9.5% unemployment we would be talking of 20-30% unemployment and bread lines. (Of course, those who believe government should stay out of their lives would not deign to line up for food. They would starve for their beliefs. Yeah, right.)


In the face of this overwhelming, indisputable evidence of this disastrous failure of Free Market, Trickle Down - Supply Side Economics TPers ceaselessly, mindlessly (I guess that's the point; "Begone thee, thought!") chant "small government"(i.e. no regulation of businesses by government)

The Bush administration was the embodiment of just those policies that the TPers are chanting that we need. But those policies of 'small' Government - retreating from its responsibilities* and the belief that Government did not have to regulate business at all, is what created the Credit Catastrophe which lead to the Great Recession (THe REPUBLICAN DYSTOPIA). And it was the Credit Catastrophe and the inevitable slide into a Great Depression II - in the absence of any action by the community (through its agent, the government) - that made taking the unprecedented actions of the TARP and the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment act) NECESSARY.

It seems the irony and the absurdity of the TPers position escapes the M$M talking heads. All they can do is repeat the latest poll numbers and say: "Gee, the Obama administration just doesn't seem to be getting its message out".


THe BIG Lie - The Stimulus is Obama's "failure".

The Republicans and TPers keep chanting "the stimulus didn't work", despite the reports by real economists attesting to the fact that it has worked (even though it was compromised from the start by conversion of one third of the stimulus to tax cuts to keep the GOP from filibustering it). There were many (in and out of the administration) Who said from the beginning that the stimulus was too small. Everyone forgets that Obama was faced with a GOP willing to commit acts of economic terrorism in order to effect an Obama/Democrat failure ... whatever the cost to the country. Obama knew, as did the sly GOP, that a stimulus delayed would be stimulus denied. So the Dems, in desperation, offered the GOP a weaker stimulus bill by converting one third of it to tax cuts. The GOP were pleased, knowing that in a depression, when people are afraid they will lose their jobs, they will not spend any additional bring home pay. They knew the tax cuts would not be stimulative. So the GOP relented dropped the threat of filibuster and gave three votes for the stimulus in the Senate.

Now, the M$M sycophants continue to be nonplussed that the unemployment rate isn't coming down, implying that it should be coming down more than it is. All this inspite of the fact that every economist has attested that THIS IS NOT A NORMAL RECESSION ..pointing out that WITH RECESSIONS WHICH BEGIN WITH A CREDIT MELTDOWN, THE RECOVERY COMES MUCH MORE SLOWLY. Still, the Talking Heads keep implying that Obama should have been able to do better on bringing down the Unemployment rate (while forgetting to mention that the Republicans have fought every stimulus bill proposed, and every unemployment extension bill proposed and that they even fought the Small business aid bill - WHICH WAS REVENUE NEUTRAL - IT WAS PAID FOR. In Time magazine Peter Beinert reported that...

"In 2009, Senate Republicans filibustered a stunning 80% of major legislation, even more than during the Clinton years. GOP leader Mitch McConnell led a filibuster of a deficit-reduction commission that he himself had demanded. The Obama White House spent months trying to lure the Finance Committee's ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley, into supporting a deal on health care reform and gave his staff a major role in crafting the bill." "Why Washington is Tied up in Knots").

But apparently the redoubtable M$M talking heads do not think this is newsworthy or even relevant.



* Actually, the Bush administration did more than retreat from it's responsiblities, it went to court to stop 50 States Attorney's General from using consumer protection laws to rein in Predatory Lenders (Predatory Lenders Partner in Crime). It was the belief that markets could police themselves which lead http://motherjones.com/politics/2008/05/foreclosure-phil">Phil Gramm to slip in (as a rider to the Omnibus Spending bill) a bill that made trading in Credit Default Swaps legal and unregulated. THis enabled the unregulated trade in Credit Default Swaps which created enormous demand for riskier (higher rate of return to investors) bundled sub-Prime mortgages, which Predatory Lenders were only too happy to flip to Wall Street banksters. (BTW, the Commodities Futures Modernization Act was largely written by Wall Street Lobbyists & Lawyers and it also included the well know ENRON loop-hole which lead to the fraudulent over-charges for electricity of California consumers, and the eventual collapse of ENRON - the largest bankruptcy in U.S. to that time)

GOP Filibuster Record: Republicans Using Obstruction Tool With Astonishing Frequency - Huffington Post

[creon]

1. True

Very few of the tea party people have paid attention.

For most of their lives they have been very comfortbale and complacent. Now, they are not comfortable - uncomfortable in fact. And, few have any good ideas as to why they are.

[democracy1st]

2. here's the whole problem, you have a admin led by a pres that doesn't call out

the foolishness,bigotry,hatred,and lies. I guarantee you if Pres Obama was to call the right out on all their bs,msm would jump on the issue like hotcakes. What we have is spineless democrats that will not even inform people of the so called good legislation that has been passed. Instead we always get the repubs defining everything.

[JohnWxy]

3. IF M$M wasn't largely controlled or intimidated by the Right they would address these obviously

adversarial acts and strategies of the GOP. But they have remained mum on the GOP's tactics. The GOP declared they would be the party of "No!", they said "We'll make HCR Obama's Waterloo." But the GOP owned or controlled media hasn't mentioned the overwhelming use of the filibuster by the GOP although it has been brought up in print media. GOP media often talked about how much time Obama spent getting health care passed without mentioning the fact that in committee Republicans were offering all kinds of goofie amendments just to take up time and drag out the process (many of the amendments they proposed, in the end they didn't even vote for). All the GOP television media will say is "the Democrats say the Republicans are obstructionists."..without of course, mentioning the facts that show this accusation is entirely warranted.

It should not be necessary for the Democrats to force an issue to the level of a news 'item' but if necessary they should. Obama has mentioned this in the past. He has mentioned how it shouldn't take a two thirds majority to get anything done. HE has said the Republicans are pursuing a legislative agenda focused entirely on political gain by trying to assure his failure. But he should have been more aggressive and forceful in making his point. Instead of just saying "IT shouldn't take a two thirds majority to get anything done." He should have been more aggressive about calling them on their tactics and make it an issue. This then would have forced the media to give this issue some attention. But Obama has continued to cling to this idea of bi-partisanship. So he soft-pedalled his remarks. In the last few weeks he seems to have woke up. But it's really a bit late. He should have been calling the GOP on their tactics for over a year.