We *are* a country of torture, and this debate is the proof
Published by punkass marc October 9th, 2007 in WingnutsMaybe I should go back to *not* reading, because reading the running transcript of the Republican “debate” tonight nearly cost me a forehead and a desk. In case you feel like joining me in self-flagellation, I thought I would bring you the highlights I made it through, courtesy of Rupert Murdoch’s new toy.
Kicking off the festivities was your favorite fake politician and mine, Fred Thompson. As the dollar crumbles and the housing market tanks, Freddy T kicked all that under the carpet and blew sunshine up our asses:
We’re enjoying low inflation. We’re enjoying low unemployment. The stock market seems to be doing pretty well. I see no reason to believe we’re headed for an economic downturn.
Then he remembered he was in MICHIGAN, where the moderator reminded us 1 in every 29 homes went into foreclosure in the first 6 months of 2007 alone. His backtrack:
Well, I think there are pockets in the economy that, certainly, they’re having difficulty. I think they’re certainly — those in Michigan that are having difficulty. I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy.
Hear that, Michigan? It’s your Adam Smithian duty to suffer while the rest of us wipe our asses with iPods.
Speaking of Adam Smith, John McCain took Ron Paul to task for not raising his invisible hand in a Hitlerian salute to economic darwinism:
Everybody is paying taxes and wealth creates wealth. And the fact is that I would commend to your reading, Ron, “Wealth of Nations,” because that’s what this is all about.
Some would say that basing an economic philosophy on a book written before the invention of the cotton gin mightn’t be prudent any longer, but I suppose I should cut the Senator some slack. After all, back in the day, he and Adam Smith did rush Alpha Phi together.
Perhaps the most brilliant quote of the night came from the Worst Moderator Of Our Time, Chris Matthews. While attempting to set up Mike Huckabee to talk about his “fair tax” policy that taxes spending instead of income, Matthews burbled up this gobbledy-gook:
The American economy seems to always be driven by people buying things, maybe, they can’t even afford. If you put a tax on spending, as opposed to income, won’t that encourage people to hoard their money, rather than spend it…
Amazing.
1) Matthews points out that our economy is *based* on unwise and unsustainable spending.
2) He states that a consumption tax might actually cause people to stop doing this as much.
3) He seems disappointed by this prospect.
No wonder Jon Stewart dismantled him so easily.
Honestly, though, we all know that a Republican debate comes down to who can cause the most delicious shivers down the spines of paranoid Cold War addicts. Thus far, that honor went to Congressman Hunter for this gem:
But let me tell you, Chris, what is missing from this economy: 1.8 million jobs that have moved to communist China from the United States, including over 54,000 jobs from Michigan.
You know, a couple of years ago, when our guys were getting hurt with roadside bombs in Iraq, I tried to find one steel company left in America that could still make high-grade armor steel plate to put on the sides of our humvees to protect against roadside bombs.
I found one company left that could still do that.
-10 points for not mentioning 9/11 specifically (probably because of Guiliani’s trademark), but otherwise, outstanding job. He worked in xenophobia, job loss, Communism, China, soldiers, roadside bombs in Iraq, and an inability to protect ourselves in 3 sentences.
I threw up a little in my mouth after that and decided to take a break. Somehow I doubt I’ll be making it back this evening.
Adam Smith actually had a lot more on the ball than any of the feckless dipshits on display tonight, starting with realizing that the basic unit of any economy is labor.
Which is why I think they keep referring back to him. It’s a bit of intellectual dishonesty—modern conservatives know modern economic theory, which is far more evil than Adam Smith. They just figure the voters are better off not getting curious about free market fundamentalism.
The steel part is actually true - I think I know what mill he’s talking about, and that one is basically dead and dying as well. The cheaper steel from Asia that helped kill our steel industry is of a lower quality, and part of the reason some mills went under is because often times, you don’t need the best possible steel and they weren’t set up to make shitty steel quickly so they couldn’t compete. Once you lose that capacity, it’s basically gone, because once a steel mill shuts off its furnace the whole thing becomes worthless.
And I think it’s important to remind the Party of War that we can not, and will not, be able to repeat the WW2 zero-to-hero fluke with a globalized manufacturing system. We simply aren’t as self-sufficient as we think we are.
Congressman Hunter does have a point, hidden in all that crap, about globalization.
However, in the great political tradition of sound with no fury, his record doesn’t show him even giving a crap.
Freddie sounds like he’s suffering from early onset of Alzheimer’s. Apparently he became lucid enough to register his location and then went back into space.
Its voodoo economics they follow these days Amanda and we’re their charm dolls.