Last Call

I gotta go with Steve M. on this one:  this NY Times editorial begging the nation's corporate leaders to throw a leash on the Tea Party shows a lack of situational awareness bordering on self-parody.

Business leaders had reason to worry. Unlike many Republican politicians who saw the standoff as political theater, or a chance to bring “big government” to its knees, they knew what default would mean for their bottom lines. But just avoiding that cataclysm is not enough. The economy is in profound trouble, and the political system is in desperate need of responsible voices promoting sound ideas for both growth and deficit reduction.

This is not the time for the usual demands by business for fewer regulations and lower taxes. The economy is too fragile and the deficit too high — in no small part because the George W. Bush administration spent eight years giving business and the wealthy exactly what they asked for.

Instead, business leaders should be pushing Washington for what is needed to avoid another recession: more near-term spending to stimulate the economy, more revenue to help pay for it, and a balanced approach to the long-term deficit by reducing health care costs and strengthening the tax base.


If Republicans continue to obstruct President Obama’s proposals to coax the economy back to life, it will not be just the unemployed who will suffer — it will be corporate bottom lines as well. 

I don't use strong language around here much, but that's complete bullshit.   Steve M. sums it up beautifully:

Money rules American politics. If rich business establishmentarians really wanted to, they could decimate the tea party caucus in one election cycle.

Instead they are doing everything they can to get back to Bush, throwing their support behind Mitt Romney.  They don't want a Tea Party president, but they sure as hell want to get rid of Barack Obama before they have to pay a single dime in more taxes.  They liked the Bush years.  They liked the trillions of dollars given to them after the Bush crash.  They want more "leadership" like that because it meant record corporate profits and wealth inequality here that now outpaces the Gilded Age of the 20's.  They don't care about jobs here, or growth here, or anything here.  They've got China and India and Russia and Brazil to pillage now.  We don't matter anymore.

The Tea Party was created by the rich to make Bushenomics look good.  Mission accomplished.