Cash For Clunkers Is Working, So Kill It

Republicans (and their Village enablers) are trying to convince you that the one part of the stimulus plan that is working beautifully has to die screaming.

Republicans say the problems with the program are another strike against the Obama administration as it pushes for a speedy overhaul of the health care system that would involve a government-run insurance program. They argue that government involvement in any industry is a recipe for disaster.

Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said the “cash for clunkers” program was an example of the “stupidity coming out of Washington right now.”

“The federal government went bankrupt in one week in the used-car business, and now they want to run our health care system,” Mr. DeMint said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is crazy to try to rush this thing through again while they’re trying to rush through health care, and they want to get on to cap-and-trade electricity tax. We’ve got to slow this thing down.”

They went "bankrupt" in one week because the program was overwhelmingly working, you idiot. It didn't have enough money in it. It was a stimulus program that stimulated the hell out of car sales. It was "targeted, timely and temporary." It actually worked. Of course the GOP wants to murder it. It proves that the Obama administration actually did something right for once.

We can't have that. With all the complaints that the stimulus money is not being spent fast enough, the Republican Party is now complaining that we need to slow the stimulus down. Wrap your head around that one.

Now try wrapping your head around Bill Kristol's reasoning why Cash For Clunkers must die:

Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” William Kristol, the conservative editor of The Weekly Standard, said the rebates were going to middle-class people who would have eventually bought a new car anyhow.

Instead of helping the legions of unemployed, the money is going to a “bunch of upper-middle-class people who have some cars sitting around from 12 years ago,” Mr. Kristol said. “Now they’re just accelerating their purchase to get 4,500 bucks.”

Yep. Americans who used Cash For Clunkers are all "upper-middle class" and are now no longer "real" Americans. Make a note of that. They're just gaming the system, unlike Bill Kristol.

Why do Americans who buy cars trade in old cars to finance new ones hate America so much? Who would do such a thing?

And somehow, I'm thinking that a program to help people buy a big ticket item like a new car isn't exactly designed for the unemployed in the first place. Why would it be?

Or does Bill Kristol think you're that stupid?