So Much for Leadership.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
"Heads I Win, Tails You Lose." -John Cole, Balloon Juice
So according to John Cole, over at Balloon Juice, as the vote on the Wall Street bailout package approached, John McCain criticised Barack Obama for not being involved with creating the final solution.
Following the failure of the vote, McCain criticised Obama for being too involved and injecting politics into the situation.
Huh.
Cole also reveals that it was the intent of the Republicans to see the Democrats pass this thing and then tie Obama to none other than Bush in an attack ad. It seems that Republican National Committee needs to learn how to count votes, because they sent their attack ad out before realizing the vote failed.
11 comments:
This is what politics has become. You get to say whatever the fuck you want in an ad. A blatant lie. In this case, a half-truth. Sure he gets to spedn a trillion, but by closing loopholes and cutting other spending elsewhere.
But you get to say whatever the fuck you want and force the other side to either respond or get steamrolled. There is total impunity for broadcasting a lie.
From Cole:
Except the plan failed. And the Republicans are caught red-handed, and will pay the price should things melt down. Not that half the GOP base or the Republican Study Group care- half of them probably think an economic disaster is an alternate route to the Rapture. Not to mention, think of the side benefits- I mean, after all, if everyone is broke, no one can afford contraception or Demon Rum
Heh.
"It seems that [Republicans] needs to learn how to count votes"
Hmmm sounds familiar...
(yea I know, I completely bastardized the quote, but it was too funny of an opportunity to pass up!)
Insane, isn't it? It's the old GOP strategy: accuse your opponent of the exact heinous thing that you're doing. And it works. The bigger the lie, the less likely people are to question it. The media likes fussing over small lies like corkscrew landings, etc. No one questions a massive lie because it's too mindbogglingly hard to even fathom someone being immoral enough to invent. Or too hard to pick apart, either way.
From Cole:
Except the plan failed. And the Republicans are caught red-handed, and will pay the price should things melt down. Not that half the GOP base or the Republican Study Group care- half of them probably think an economic disaster is an alternate route to the Rapture. Not to mention, think of the side benefits- I mean, after all, if everyone is broke, no one can afford contraception or Demon Rum
Heh.
More like huh?!?
As a conservative, right leaning independent, this sounds like some kind of goofy parody. While I don't claim to speak for the right, I hang out on enough 'right' sites and I have yet to run into anyone that even believes what Cole suggests in even a vague or roundabout way.
I have been watching the speeches, pundits, and press releases on this bailout and I have seen plenty of grandstanding and blame from both sides. It is shameful that there are some Republicans that supposedly voted against the bailout because Pelosi shot off her mouth, but why the hell did so many Democrats vote against it?
I am still moderately in favor of the bailout, but there are some experts that have been suggesting that the bailout may lead to spikes in prices for oil and crops that would harm average Americans. I guess if this doesn't work, both sides will be blaming each other.
Cole also reveals that it was the intent of the Republicans to see the Democrats pass this thing and then tie Obama to none other than Bush in an attack ad.
I have also seen a theory floating around that the Dems pressured some in their party to vote no, knowing that they could blame a failure on Republicans, since more of them would vote no and they had enough to pass it if they voted as a block. I am not saying this is true, as I haven't seen enough evidence.
Those of you that are excited about a Bailout, why? Most have already admitted a lack of economic knowledge, so I am curious. I am moderately supportive, but I have to say that spending program of this magnitude scares me.
This is what politics has become. You get to say whatever the fuck you want in an ad.
It isn't even worth watching ads at this point. If you read FactCheck.org's first page, most of the stuff on there is debunking campaign ads.
Insane, isn't it? It's the old GOP strategy:
I think it is insane to think that this strategy is somehow unique to the GOP. I say Kerry on tv last night blaming Bush for this crisis and a lack of a solution. I way lay a lot of blame at the feet of Bush, but considering that Congress set up most of the regulations for the current fiasco and that Bush has been pushing for a massive bailout, he just sounds like a partisan hack.
This article and commentary by David Brooks seems to lay it out better than me. The Republican's got their concessions, they promised votes but never delivered them thinking the Democrats were stupid enough to put up nearly all the votes and take the hit for an unpopular bill.
The majority of Democrats and many Republicans believe this bill and bailout is needed. If they sit on their hands and do nothing, Bush will take the hit for the upcoming economic pain, but they are really scared for the economic health of the world. If they weren’t, they would not be moving this bill. It’s going to be way to politically painful for them to vote yes.
Yes, there is plenty of blame from both sides on how we got here. I have a blog article drafted that partially blames Clinton for this mess, which I will post eventually.
As far as yesterday’s vote goes, yes there is more finger pointing, but once in a while one side is right to blame the other. This is one of them. The Republican’s made a gamble and lost. The video in his post is partial proof.
To make this work, it needs to be a compromise bill that both sides will vote for. What the Republican’s did in promising votes and double crossing the Dems. is not everyday politics, it is a complete breakdown in the basic trust that needs to exist for the legislature to function as a body. It is not something that happens regularly.
Correction:
The article above is by Think Progress, which quotes Brooks.
As far as yesterday’s vote goes, yes there is more finger pointing, but once in a while one side is right to blame the other. This is one of them.
This requires several assumptions:
1. The plan will work.
2. The opposition was only based on mean-spirited politics.
We won't know the answer to the first question because that plan wasn't implemented. I also have some doubts about the second because I have heard some logical opposition to the bailout. I may not agree with it, but I got the impression that it was based on what the person thought was best.
I think it is insane to think that this strategy is somehow unique to the GOP.
No, Rickey's sorry, but blaming one's opponent for your own flaws is something the Rove cabal has trademarked over the years.
"This requires several assumptions:
1. The plan will work.
2. The opposition was only based on mean-spirited politics."
Actually it doesn't require either of those. The sin wasn't voting no. people on both sides did that, presumably for reasons good and bad. The sin was saying you would provide a certain number of votes, when in fact the plan was to vote no to screw the other side politically.
That is a breakdown of epic proportions.
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