Even though the newspapers might have a few doubting conservatives admitting deregulation caused the Wall Street mess, the talk show pundits continue to talk up and push deregulation, blaming Democrats just for the heck of it. Their one single minded message is, the Democratic Party caused the meltdown, and we need to elect John McCain to get tough with Wall Street. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but once this message is widely accepted by Republican voters, they will not waiver from supporting this obvious lie.
As I have mentioned so many times before, this is marketing 101, where you define your enemies before they can define themselves. In defending deregulation at a time when it’s least likely to be supported, they show strength and victimization, giving them an emotional attachment to fellow conservatives who just won’t admit they’ve been proven wrong.
It also allows them the ability to continue their lively hoods as pundits on the conservative media circuit, which is a dominant 90 plus share of the radio airwaves, and survival of countless free market think tanks. Another words, they want their businesses to survive this economic collapse.
All the while Democrats miss the opportunity to declare unchecked capitalism dead and blather on about coming together in Washington. God these guys don’t get it. What else would explain this, from AP:
Sen. Barack Obama said an inadequate regulatory system was partly responsible for the crisis. (But) Sen. John McCain defended deregulation on Wall Street even as he endorsed a $700 billion bailout of financial firms in an interview broadcast Sunday. McCain has long supported fewer regulations for businesses. But as the financial crisis on Wall Street worsens, McCain is calling for more government.
Actually, if you look between the lines of McCain’s comments, he really doesn’t advocate regulation. He just wants to get tough by adding in a few penalties for wrong doers, which is a remedy alright, well after the fact.
McCain was asked if he regretted supporting a 1999 law that removed barriers between investment banks and commercial banks that were erected in 1933, in response to the 1929 stock market crash.
"No," McCain said. "I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy." In the same interview, McCain defended the Bush administration's proposed bailout of financial firms as necessary, though he acknowledged it could get expensive. "I'm not saying this isn't going to be messy. And I'm not saying it isn't going to be expensive. But we have to stop the bleeding," McCain said.
The administration proposal would be the biggest government intervention since the Great Depression. It would dole out huge sums of money to financial firms to purchase their holdings of bad mortgage-backed securities so that these firms can resume normal lending operations.
Sen. Phil Gramm, one of McCain's economic advisers, was a chief sponsor of the 1999 bill that removed restrictions on investment and commercial banks. The law, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, was also supported by President Clinton.
When you think about it, the free market just cost us $1.3 trillion. Are the Republicans putting more money in your pocket, or…making you pay for their consolidation of corporate power on Wall Street?
What looks like an upcoming McCain presidency, here's what we can look forward to, as written by the Washington Post:
They have had few good options politically. McCain zigged and zagged last week, on the state of the economy, on the AIG bailout, on more regulation versus a history of less regulation. He issued a rescue blueprint of his own as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was forging ahead with something more audacious.
McCain became the angry populist, railing against greed on Wall Street and calling for heads to roll in Washington -- or at least one head, that of SEC Chairman Chris Cox. McCain's critics pounced on him for rash behavior while supporters described him as strong and decisive.
For a detailed look at how deregulation came about with Gingrich's help, check this out at waxingamerica.com.
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