Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Nothing worth doing is easy.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

We will not go back.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

You are here: Home / Politics / Crazification Factor / Because Soshalism, That’s Why!

Because Soshalism, That’s Why!

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Further evidence of the Kenyan Mooslim’s utter failure to grasp the essentials of free market economics.

Bonus flashback [Huffpo link]:

On the auto bailout, despite GM going public last week and sending billions of dollars back to taxpayers, Perry still insisted that it wasn’t successful and said the federal government shouldn’t be involved in private sector growth.

Double bonus flashback:

In 2009, Mr. Romney said Mr. Obama’s plans for rescuing the automobile industry were “tragic” and “a very sad circumstance for this country.”

Of course, this being Romney, he now says that this tragic idea was really his in the first place, which contortion is one of many reasons that Rick Perry is the most likely GOP nominee.

 

Image:  Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pulcinella and the Tumblers,  1797.

Reader Interactions

76Comments

  3. 3.

    General Stuck

    Each time these morons try to out wingnut the others, it is one more nail in their General Election coffin. In a well informed and unbiased society of voters, that GOP coffin should have long ago been nailed shut and buried in a thousand foot deep grave, where we could say that deep down, the right wing ain’t so bad.

    So we start the race with the white majority of voters giving republicans a handicap of already halfway to the finish line. It ain’t fair, but momma nevah promised no such thing.

  5. 5.

    Stooleo

    I find a lot of similarities between Romney and McCain in 2000. He’s acting like its his turn to be the nominee and now this upstart from Texas is shitting on his parade. I predict that Romney will get slaughtered in SC.

  7. 7.

    Joey Maloney

    But in REALLY important news, I’m a first-time grandparent. My oldest gave birth last night to a monstrous TEN POUND baby boy.

    I told her years ago she should’ve spent the extra money for the spring-loaded hinged pelvic bone, but when do kids ever listen to their elders?

  9. 9.

    Derf

    “…Rick Perry is the most likely GOP nominee”

    lol…you are kidding right? Do you have the slightest clue how the process works Tom Kreskin Levenson?

    Let me give you one example to illustrate my point. Giuliani had about the same lead as Perry at this point in the 2008 cycle.

  10. 10.

    cleek

    i love Romney. his spinelessness would make for excellent debates.

    Obama: but you just said..
    Romney: no I didn’t!
    Obama: what? everybody heard you, right Charlie? you heard that, right?
    Charlie: yes.
    Romney: no, untrue!

  11. 11.

    Mark S.

    Let them argue that all they want. We’ll take Michigan and Ohio, thankyouverymuch.

    I hope mistermix won’t accuse me of nutpicking since Jon Huntsman has as many supporters as a mid-level winger blog, but the “reasonable conservative” candidate is about to unveil his tax reform plan:

    The Huntsman plan would also eliminate capital gains and dividend taxes

    So it’s yet another gooper plan designed to ensure that billionaires have lower tax rates than everyone else.

  12. 12.

    Monkey Business

    …And in this picture, we see the early roots of conservatism, as white men attempt to stick their heads up their own asses.

  14. 14.

    Bulworth

    Evil Dick Cheney sez in his book that he wanted to let the American car makers go bankrupt opposed the earlier, more limited auto bailout by Bush.

    Also, too.

  15. 15.

    singfoom

    It doesn’t matter. They’ll never stop crying socialism, or class warfare, when the rich have been waging class warfare and winning by a huge margin for 30 years.

    We don’t have a free market. We have crony capitalism, where big business funnels money to DC to lobby for preferential laws and depends on the Government to bail them out when they make a bad bet at the Wall Street casino.

  17. 17.

    singfoom

    Doh, moderated twice.

    It doesn’t matter. They’ll never stop crying sos halism, or klass warfare, when the rich have been waging class warfare and winning by a huge margin for 30 years.

    We don’t have a free market. We have krony kapitalism, where big business funnels money to DC to lobby for preferential laws and depends on the Government to bail them out when they make a bad bet at the Wall Street casino.

  18. 18.

    jibeaux

    In 2008, Mitt Romney wrote an editorial titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” In 2009, he called Obama’s plans for rescuing the auto industry “tragic”. Naturally, on Tuesday a Romney spokesman said that the president’s plan was modeled on Mitt Romney’s.

    This is literally all you need to know about the man.

  19. 19.

    300baud

    Even speaking as a Michigander, I think government support of major industry is generally a terrible idea. Part of what killed the car companies was being thoroughly insulated from any real challenge or difficulty for decades. They became incredibly wasteful, poorly run from top to bottom. Decades of Japanese ass-kicking has only partly helped.

    I was in favor of the auto bailouts in this case only because having a major industry collapse would have made the recession much worse.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Bulworth:

    This is pretty much classic short term thinking on Cheney’s part.

    If you allow the automobile industry to go tits up, you’ve just slashed your market for petroleum products.

    Idiot.

  21. 21.

    jibeaux

    @Joey Maloney:

    Congratulations! My sister in law had a 10# 11 ouncer for the first, and a vaginally delivered breech for the second. She deserves the Newt Gingrich Latest Wife Tiffany’s Special as far as I’m concerned. Get your daughter something shiny and enjoy that baby.

  22. 22.

    Culture of Truth

    Romney: I opposed the auto bailout
    Obama: I took a risk with the auto companies and it worked
    Romney: that was my idea
    Obama: you just said you opposed it
    Romney: no I didn’t
    Obama: Charlie?
    Gibson: Obama you’re not wearing a flag pin
    Obama: yes I am but Mitt Romney is not
    Gibson: he doesn’t have to he’s a white guy

  23. 23.

    norbizness

    THis is the man who operates an economic growth fund as a slush fund for his corporate contributors. Just FYI.

  24. 24.

    Ivan Ivanovich Renko

    @Joey Maloney: One grampa to another– CONGRATULATIONS!! There’s little more rewarding than dandling a grandbaby.

    Oh, and get the hell offa my lawn.

  30. 30.

    Steve

    @300baud: But if you want to argue that government support is a big problem with the US auto industry, you have to address the reality that it is hard to find a country more laissez-faire than the USA. Try on this article from 2008, for example.

  31. 31.

    jibeaux

    @300baud: I don’t think you’d get any real dispute on that front from the administration or most people. It’s a galling thing to ask the government to do, whether it’s the automakers or the banksters. It’s the right thing to do in the end because the alternative is worse, involving as it would a lot of painful fallout for many non-guilty parties, while the people responsible would just float down on their golden parachutes.

  32. 32.

    The Bobs

    Romney will still be the nominee. Perry’s campaign will self destruct at some point in the near future, just like all the other former front runners.

  36. 36.

    ruemara

    @Joey Maloney:
    YAY! Congrats to you Grandpa! And you too, cat48. May you all have your planning laid down for all the bad habits, naughty things and general spoiling you will do. And may you have many, many years to do it in with a dance at your greatgrandkids’ wedding as the capper.

  38. 38.

    R-Jud

    @Joey Maloney:

    But in REALLY important news, I’m a first-time grandparent. My oldest gave birth last night to a monstrous TEN POUND baby boy.

    Happy for your family, although my cervix just crawled in to a cabinet and is weeping, loudly.

  39. 39.

    MattR

    @Derf: You have a major reading comprehension problem. How does the fact that the markets are going back up refute John’s point in the post you reference? To refresh your memory, his point was not that the US economy was in a free fall it would never recover from, but instead it was:

    The teahadists have one goal, and one goal only. Getting back in power. If crashing the economy has to happen, well so be it. Plus, given our worthless media and idiot populace, they can use additional economic strife as a pretext for further tax cuts, deregulation, and attacks on medicare and social security because we “can’t afford them.”

    (EDIT: My apologies to the rest of you for feeding the troll)

  40. 40.

    Zifnab

    @General Stuck:

    Each time these morons try to out wingnut the others, it is one more nail in their General Election coffin.

    You say that now, but Michigan went hard red in ’10. I’d love to see it go blue again in ’12, but I’m not banking on stupid double-talk from Mitt Romney alone to get us through.

  41. 41.

    Yutsano

    @MattR: At what point do we mention the stock market is not the economy nor is necessarily an accurate reflection of such? Or is that too subtle for the Canuckistani troll?

  42. 42.

    General Stuck

    @Zifnab:

    If Romney is the nominee, then Michigan is in real danger of going red. His family has deep roots there. Otherwise, a Perry nom, I think will be a massive boost for dems in the upper mid west, across the board to PA.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    @300baud:

    Even speaking as a Michigander, I think government support of major industry is generally a terrible idea. Part of what killed the car companies was being thoroughly insulated from any real challenge or difficulty for decades.

    Are you saying the government provided that insulation? If so, how?

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    @Nemesis:

    Perry flames out before the convention. As will Paylin.

    Sarah Failin’ isn’t going to flame out because she’s never going to enter the race. Instead, she’s going to abscond with her hard-earned grift. She may show up as a Faux News commentator, or even start grifting again once her current pile starts to shrink, but she’s not running.

  47. 47.

    Derf

    @MattR: Ok I’ll bite even though I have zero respect for a Cole apologist.

    My whole point was the fact Cup Half Empty Cole was using daily/weekly fluctuations in the stock market to make ANY sort of point in the first place. There are only 2 possible reasons for that.

    The most likely reason is he has no clue how the stock market works in the overall US economy scheme of things as evidenced by his use of daily/weekly fluctuations in the first place. Anyone with half a brain knows that means absolutely NOTHING in the stock market. The other possibility is he just likes to find shit to whine about and will use any example he can to make his point even though he knows it’s all bullshit. Or what I like to call the Huffington Post technique. They just love to use the stock market to do this and then ignore it the next day when it reverses course.

    My guess is it’s both. Either way he deserves to be flogged endlessly over it and I am happy to oblige.

  48. 48.

    japa21

    @Yutsano: Much too subtle. Except for all those people who make their livings off of buying and selling stocks and retired people who are living off 401Ks, the stock market is really a rotten indicator.

    What I find more amazing is that when it goes down, it’s Obama’s fault but when it goes up he had nothing to do with it.

    The ability of some people to disconnect their minds from any sense of rational, consistent thinking is amazing. Wait, I think I just described Romney.

  49. 49.

    Tuffy

    Perry is not going to be the Repug nominee because he has written “soshul sekyeritee is a ponzee skeem” is crayon all over the walls and he isn’t backing down. I know it’s fashionable to think the GOOPs have absolutely lost their minds for real this time no take backs, but this particular portion of the welfare state is beyond reproach.

    It’s 2008 all over again. Crazy yahoo wins Iowa in 2008, eventual nominee wins NH. (Romney is up a million point there).

  51. 51.

    Amir Khalid

    @Bulworth:
    \From Wolf Blitzer’s blog post, Rick Perry:

    “We cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multilateral debating societies,” Perry said in an apparent reference to Obama’s efforts to win U.N. Security Council support for NATO-led military action against Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. “And when our interests are threatened, American soldiers should be led by American commanders.”

    And Mitt Romney:

    “Have we ever had a president who was so eager to address the world with an apology on his lips and doubt in his heart,” Romney asked. “He seems truly confused not only about America’s past but our future.”

    A pair of dunderheads who don’t understand that the global order, “multilateral debating society” and all, is a vital national security interest for the US. Matters that affect the whole world should be decided on by a body that represents the whole world, and such a body should be the one to authorize any needful international action, military or otherwise.

    The US would best serve its own interests, which Perry and Romney should remember are not the only interests in the world, by supporting the UN’s authority in world affairs. Not by thumping its chest and proclaiming, “I can beat up anybody in this joint!” People might suck up to a bully if circumstances compel it, but nobody likes one.

  52. 52.

    scav

    @MattR: Nerfball’s an airplant, doesn’t need feeding. Just about a perfect closed system as he 1) generates his own fertilizer and 2) provides his own bubble atmosphere of esteem, especially as he’s the only adoring audience he really needs (although he dresses his personal self-admiration in our nyms ever so often to vary the diet).

  55. 55.

    Kane

    Jerry Hirsch of the L.A. Times says that the auto industry might turn out to be the economy’s saving grace:

    Taxpayers bailed out much of the U.S. auto industry. Now the carmakers might be what saves the nation’s economy from falling back into recession. After a massive restructuring and several high-profile bankruptcies, a leaner, more aggressive auto industry is making a comeback, hiring workers and ramping up manufacturing plants. From a trough two years ago, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Chrysler Group and other auto companies have added almost 90,000 manufacturing jobs, a 14% increase, according to federal employment data.

    The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for autos and auto parts jumped 11.5% in July, the most in eight years. That followed an earlier government report on industrial production that showed the auto industry was the strongest segment of the manufacturing economy last month.

    latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-autos-economy-20110825,0,4017377.story

    The American auto industry is leaner, meaner, and greener than it was just a couple of years ago. And it’s one of the accomplishments of the Obama administration that voters can grasp.

  58. 58.

    nitpicker

    See also:

    The Obama Administration had predicted the Recovery Act would create 3.5 million jobs, which is towards the upper boundary of the CBO’s estimates but certainly within its range. It’s also roughly consistent with projections from other authorities.

  59. 59.

    MattR

    @Derf: That is very interesting commentary that has absolutely nothing to do with your original comment on this post:

    Just a reminder of Wrong Way Coles prediction a few weeks ago.
    balloon-juice.com/2…..-not-a-bug
    __
    And today we have now exceeded that prediction. Only problem. It’s going in the wrong direction.
    google.com//finance…..038;ntsp=0

    There is nothing there related to Cole’s ignorance about the way the market and/or economy actually works. Instead, you are clearly making fun of the idea that Cole predicted the market was going to tank and yet it hasn’t.

    (EDIT: I also find it quite amusing that you talk about the fact that daily/weekly fluctuations in the market are just noise that the smart people know to ignore, yet you originally linked to a chart of the Dow Jones having a good week as supporting evidence)

  60. 60.

    Elie

    @Amir Khalid:

    Agreed

    I remember back when the Republican party was relatively decent on foreign policy.. That has been dead for years now, predating Reagan… They are so parochial and narrow I am not sure that they realize that there is a whole world out there and that not having the US as a player is totally risky for our interests. They are both morons (Perry, Romney)

  61. 61.

    Maude

    I saw a hearse this a.m. and it was a Caddy. Now, if GM was gone, what would these guy go to their final resting place in, a Medicare scooter?

  62. 62.

    trollhattan

    @Derf:

    I’ll ignore your OCD issues long enough to tell you to save the victory lap until we get back to May 1 levels (and it’s safe for me to open my 401k and 403b statements). In the meantime find a new hobby horse, Trixie. This one’s dogfood.

  63. 63.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @300baud: Had GM and Chrysler gone bad in 1996, I would have said let them fail. But 2008/2009 was an entirely different time.

  64. 64.

    artem1s

    @Kane:

    The American auto industry is leaner, meaner, and greener than it was just a couple of years ago. And it’s one of the accomplishments of the Obama administration that voters can grasp.

    King John was over in Toledo touting the hiring of 84 workers at a Chrysler plant as a result of the business friendly environment he has been creating in Ohio. The CEOs were all standing there next to him.

    wanna bet which message they send the voters via Faux News next election cycle? hmmm?

    the only thing the auto industry directors and CEOs are going to remember about the bailout is that they were forced to fly back to DC, coach, and beg for the money.

  65. 65.

    Elie

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    To me saving them was about saving all the employees who would have been thrown out of work and had a huge and catastrophic impact on Michigans economy.I agree with you that timing was everything and that this would not have been done in the 90’s.

  66. 66.

    Roger Moore

    @artem1s:

    the only thing the auto industry directors and CEOs are going to remember about the bailout is that they were forced to fly back to DC, coach, and beg for the money.

    I suspect they’ll forget that as soon as they can; embarrassing moments tend to be forgotten that way. What they’ll remember is that the auto industry prospered under their genius leadership, not that it almost failed under the same leadership. They may also remember that mean old Obama used the bailout to bully them into agreeing to impossible fuel efficiency standards; I’m pretty sure that will be their argument the moment the new standards look like they might interfere with short term profit goals.

  68. 68.

    Kane

    @artem1s: The voters know who’s on their side and who fought for them.

    she had “President Obama” printed on one side and “Thank You” on the other of a bright red T-shirt — a simple sentiment shared at many points across Toledo on Friday as the President spent four hours marking the transition of the city’s largest industrial employer from a bankrupt company dependent on government assistance to an automaker now completely held in private hands. “I wore it just to let President Obama know how grateful and appreciative we were that he fought for us when everybody else was against us,” Ms. Jones said.

    toledoblade.com/local/2011/06/04/President-praises-Toledo-auto-workers.html

  69. 69.

    Origuy

    This isn’t good news:

    Solyndra, a Fremont solar tech manufacturer, announced Wednesday it is suspending operations and immediately laying off 1,100 employees. The company said it will also file for bankruptcy.

    Since Obama spoke there last year, and the DOE gave them a $535 million loan guarantee, the Republicans will say that government shouldn’t be investing in private business.

    Oh, wait…

    One reason for its woes is that low-cost Chinese manufacturers are building massive factories that have rapidly driven down the price of solar panels and shifted more than 50 percent of production to China.

    How much money has the Chinese government invested?

  70. 70.

    trollhattan

    @kindness:

    I was convinced it was another M_C moniker until they started argueing in the same thread. Not that that disproves my theory, but as Web theater it was a feat almost nobody could pull off.

    I think some time near or perhaps inside BOB’s backyard oven would do them and us a world of good.

  71. 71.

    Roger Moore

    @Origuy:

    Since Obama spoke there last year, and the DOE gave them a $535 million loan guarantee, the Republicans will say that government shouldn’t be investing in private business.

    What makes you think a few minor facts will stand in the way of the Republicans’ anti-government jihad? They don’t actually give a damn about government spending or free markets. They care about helping themselves to a bigger slice of the pie in the form of lower taxes for rich people and government spending on their priorities. They’re not going to let a minor thing like self-consistency stand in the way of profit.

  72. 72.

    VOR

    They called Warren Buffett a socialist for advocating higher tax rates for billionaires. Warren freaking Buffett, a socialist!!!

  73. 73.

    Derf

    @MattR: No shit sherlock. Hence my bullshit chart which completely counters Warren Buffett Cole’s bullshit chart just shows that they are both bullshit.

    How observant of you to try slap me in the face with the blindly obvious. But at least your logic is sound which is more than one can hope for most times around here.

  74. 74.

    MattR

    @Derf: Please forgive us for reading the actual words you wrote and not the deeper insights that were floating around your brain but which failed to make it into your 40 word masterpiece.

  75. 75.

    300baud

    @Steve:

    I’m not sure that article helps your point. Their examples of heavy support for automakers include the French and the Australians, neither of which has a notably robust auto industry. They also fail to mention substantial local and state auto subsidies in the US, or the way the federal government allowed or encouraged a low-competition market for cars.

    @jibeaux:

    Exactly. The banks are a perfect analogy: we couldn’t just let them fail. Although I think we did a better job making the car companies reform; the banks seem to have learned nothing.

    @Steeplejack:

    I am indeed saying the government provided substantial insulation against competition. First, through allowing US makers to merge into just three car companies, which wasn’t enough to provide serious competition. And second, through trying to reduce foreign competition. E.g.:

    time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962608,00.html

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    I agree completely; letting them fail during the Great Recession would have been an economic disaster.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    @300baud:

    Thanks for following up, and I take your points. I was thinking more of the preceding period, say, 1950 to the early 1980s, when the American automakers pretty much turned themselves into dead guys walking all on their own. By the time the government stepped in in the ’80s, it was more a question of “life support” than “insulation,” in my opinion.

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