Monday, October 18, 2010

Bad For Business

Now this is an interesting story from Bloomberg Business Week, stating that there's a sizable chunk of the business community that thinks the Tea Party's economic platform of "apply chainsaw to everything" might actually be bad for businesses.  The problem is, even going through all the Tea Party's credo of protectionism, ending subsidies to businesses, and ending the Fed, it's the rigid ideology that scares the Country Club Republicans the most.

The movement's energy could help boost Republican turnout, but it has also forced the party to spend time and money on primary contests in which inexperienced candidates—Angle, O'Donnell—have jeopardized Republican control of Congress. Despite her call to privatize Social Security, Angle is in a virtual tie with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and has raised an astonishing $14 million in the past three months. If Republicans fail to win the congressional majorities that seemed within reach earlier this year, she and other Tea Party candidates may take the blame.

To the movement's true believers, however, winning is less important than ideological purity. "We need people up here who understand that we've got to get back to limited government, and we cannot afford to have other Republicans who don't get that message," DeMint said recently on Capitol Hill. One cornerstone of their faith—the notion that large corporations are leeches sucking the blood of the people—is sharply at odds with Republican theology that has held sway for generations. "The business community writ large is the essence of the inside-the-Beltway type," says lobbyist Rich Gold, who represents Dow Chemical (DOW), Next Era Energy (NEE), and other energy companies. "And these people are the essence of the outside-the-Beltway type."

The Tea Party's chief theologian is Beck, the cable-TV personality whose rise has mirrored the movement's. Beck's world is full of demons, but the devil that enraged the sold-out crowd in a ballroom at the Atlantic City Hilton on Aug. 5 wasn't Obama or even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Give the money to the people!" Beck shouted to a packed room of around 1,500. "Give us our money back—not to Goldman Sachs! (GS)"

In other words, all this populist stuff is starting to scare business as much as the Democrats actually holding businesses accountable is. Republicans may be happy to hand the keys to the economy back to Goldman Sachs, but the Tea Party certainly isn't going to put up with that.

Not in the least. Crazy isn't good for business.

I'd mention something about lying down with dogs getting you fleas, but I'd have to have some sort of sympathy for business first.

5 comments:

  1. You know what's been bad for business?

    Four years of Democrat rule in Congress. Good thing that's coming to a permanent end...

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  2. Yeah, I do believe a Mr. Karl Rove said that, about eight years ago.

    But hey, keep hoping Rove.

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  3. I've read the whole piece. It's interesting how a piece that is so pro-Democrat Party is written up to make it look like businesses are against the Tea Party, and then perpetuated by a liberal.

    The second paragraph of what is quoted has two falsehoods in it:

    One cornerstone of their faith—the notion that large corporations are leeches sucking the blood of the people—...

    Uh, no. Tea Party people don't believe that at all. What they do believe is that large (and small) corporations in bed with the government are leeches, and it's true. Now this part is true:

    ...is sharply at odds with Republican theology that has held sway for generations.

    But here's something not mentioned: this is also part of the theology of the Democratic Party. After all, the lion's share of big bankers, big oil, big lobbying, all went for Obama and the Democrats, and Democrats passed bills that gave their "buddies" in crony capitalism, or crapitalism (as opposed to free market capitalism), neat little favors, like bonuses in Porkulus and special treatment in Obamacare.

    Even the lobbyist that is mentioned in the quoted part of the Forbes piece, Rich Gold? He's a Democrat.

    In other words, all this populist stuff is starting to scare business as much as the Democrats actually holding businesses accountable is.

    Where did Democrats do that? It surely isn't in the financial regulations bill passed this year; that's just another license to bail out pro-Democrat Party businesses.

    Republicans may be happy to hand the keys to the economy back to Goldman Sachs, but the Tea Party certainly isn't going to put up with that.

    Democrats did hand the keys to the economy back to Goldman Sachs. That's the truth of it. And yes, the Tea Party isn't putting up with it.

    Just wanted to clarify things with the facts as opposed to the liberal falsehoods presented above.

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  4. Hey SteveAR, I clicked through to your blog, doubling your weekly hits. You're welcome...

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