Slog
News & ArtsThursday, March 29, 2012
Politics Read It & Weep
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM
The Chamber of Commerce thought it was buying themselves a Congress packed with pro-business GOP nuts. Turns out they're just nuts.
1
Oops. Seems like a similar problem would occur if the place was loaded with reps as liberal as I am. Moderates get the work done.
2
If every word was the same, I would have found this article more interesting if it was from the Wall Street Journal not the New York Times.
The article was also confused to some extent in that it referenced _the_ Chamber of Commerce, but then provided quotes from businesses big enough to dominate their local Chambers, but hardly the ones that swing the national.
Ultimately, the question is to the extent that big business bought a "bad" batch of politicians, what are their takeaways and will they change suppliers or simply do a little more due diligence.
The article was also confused to some extent in that it referenced _the_ Chamber of Commerce, but then provided quotes from businesses big enough to dominate their local Chambers, but hardly the ones that swing the national.
Ultimately, the question is to the extent that big business bought a "bad" batch of politicians, what are their takeaways and will they change suppliers or simply do a little more due diligence.
4
Reminds me of this Tom Tomorrow strip from last summer (why, it's almost as if this were completely predictable!): http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/15…
5
You can have low tax rates or you can have government subsidies. You can't have both.
Big businesses got what they asked for and now they're suffering for it. Tough shit.
Big businesses got what they asked for and now they're suffering for it. Tough shit.
6
It's sad for all. Because in fact, the Democratic Party is the party of business, free trade and, by and large, low taxes. They get called radical socialists because they try to deliver all that stuff to corporate America with a semblance of responsibility.
I guess the next step is they'll strike down public-private insurance mandates and we'll be forced to choose between single payer or nothing. It's what happens when one party is hijacked by crazies. The other side has no compromise options either and has to go for broke.
I guess the next step is they'll strike down public-private insurance mandates and we'll be forced to choose between single payer or nothing. It's what happens when one party is hijacked by crazies. The other side has no compromise options either and has to go for broke.
7
It's sad for all. Because in fact, the Democratic Party is the party of business, free trade and, by and large, low taxes.
--------------
Yep. As I've said before here, people I know who are money people - my financial manager, my cousin who writes a successful personal finance newsletter, people who understand and approve of capitalism and markets - think the only hope for the US economy is more of what Obama is doing.
I'm a crazy old lefty hippie, sitting way down in the lower left hand corner of the political compasses, so nobody cares what I think. But when even those who love capitalism think the GOP are a disaster to the economy, you know it's true.
--------------
Yep. As I've said before here, people I know who are money people - my financial manager, my cousin who writes a successful personal finance newsletter, people who understand and approve of capitalism and markets - think the only hope for the US economy is more of what Obama is doing.
I'm a crazy old lefty hippie, sitting way down in the lower left hand corner of the political compasses, so nobody cares what I think. But when even those who love capitalism think the GOP are a disaster to the economy, you know it's true.
9
Those are people who deal with the larger picture. A financial manager isn't going to do so well if the economy overall is in the toilet, because then no one has finances to manage.
But the Koch brothers and their ilk, who are interested solely in benefiting themselves at the expense of everyone else, have always and will always support Republicans.
people I know who are money people - my financial manager, my cousin who writes a successful personal finance newsletter, people who understand and approve of capitalism and markets - think the only hope for the US economy is more of what Obama is doing.
Those are people who deal with the larger picture. A financial manager isn't going to do so well if the economy overall is in the toilet, because then no one has finances to manage.
But the Koch brothers and their ilk, who are interested solely in benefiting themselves at the expense of everyone else, have always and will always support Republicans.
11
If the American economy completely tanks, Canada's will follow. For quite some time now, we've been scrambling for other markets, but the reality is that the US is our biggest trading partner, and probably always will be. We're also continuing on the longstanding practice of careful regulation of the financial sector, but regulation can only go so far - international economies are so tied together that total chaos drags everybody along.
12
So does China's central bank, or their Export-Import Bank equivalent, loan Wal-Mart the money to buy all that crap in their stores that was manufactured in China? Does the German equivalent loan Benz dealerships in the US the money to buy their inventory of German-made cars? If the answers are yes, then it is madness not to provide an equivalent service to American exporters. If the answer is no, then the problems of American competitiveness are even worse than I had thought they were.
Jobs based on exports are, on average, significantly higher paying than jobs based on domestic demand, so ordinary American workers have a stake in exports--the sale of American good overseas benefits many more people than just the big boys at the top.
As for the Chamber of Commerce--they should examine the facts coldly and rationally. As the Republicans get crazier and crazier, the rational actors who traditionally support the Republicans (like the businesses in the Chamber) need to weight the evidence--and switch to the Democrats.
Jobs based on exports are, on average, significantly higher paying than jobs based on domestic demand, so ordinary American workers have a stake in exports--the sale of American good overseas benefits many more people than just the big boys at the top.
As for the Chamber of Commerce--they should examine the facts coldly and rationally. As the Republicans get crazier and crazier, the rational actors who traditionally support the Republicans (like the businesses in the Chamber) need to weight the evidence--and switch to the Democrats.
13
They are missing the more sinister motive, Republicans are doing everything in their power to crash the economy in hopes that doing so will get Obama out of office, but no, they never EVER play politics :P
14
Now Dan, I work with the mentally ill, and I would rather my whole floor run congress than most of the asshats who are there now. Voices and all, they would get more done and make more sense, and by and large don't give a rat's ass about my vagina or your life partner. (And the GOP isn't doing itself any favors in our facility with the proposed voter ID mularkey). I guess the chamber thought the pro-life, anti-gay thing was just a ruse to push through plum business deals. Turns out they care more about my va-jay-jay than business, but are actually delusional about the realities of both. Of course, my residents KNOW they're mentally ill. These folks think they're healthy and the rest of us are sick.
16
I'm sorry, I'm not following this. You're slagging the GOP for attacking corporate welfare? Most of what they're talking about is pure subsidies for big business. The Ex-Im bank's biggest client is Boeing, a multi-billion dollar multi-national. They can do without the subsidies, I think.
17
They appear to have failed to notice that the Democrats, with their adoption of neo-Liberal economic ideology a few decades back, are now a center-right, pro-business party, while half the Republicans have lost all connection to reality (the other half are corporatist authoritarians, who, admittedly, the CoC probably likes better than even the pro-privatization Dems).
I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the party structure was shaken up and re-arranged in the near future, with the Republicans becoming exclusively a pro-Christian-theocracy-and-White-male-privilege party , the Democrats becoming Eisenhower's Republican party, and a left-wing Progressive party splitting off from the present-day Dems. Of course, that's just wishful thinking.
I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the party structure was shaken up and re-arranged in the near future, with the Republicans becoming exclusively a pro-Christian-theocracy-and-White-male-privilege party , the Democrats becoming Eisenhower's Republican party, and a left-wing Progressive party splitting off from the present-day Dems. Of course, that's just wishful thinking.
18
I forgot to add: The Political Compass has a relevant analysis of the primary candidates and Obama.
19
@18: That's not an analysis. There's no methodology listed, so they basically pulled some numbers out of their asses.
20
Here's the methodology for the Canadian version - I believe the version shown above uses a similar method. http://alberta.votecompass.ca/assets/med…
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
All You Motherfuckers Complaining That aPodments Are Too Small at 200 Square Feet by Dominic Holden
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral by Dan Savage
-
Spoiled Rotten: Star Trek Into Darkness by Paul Constant
-
There Are No Atheists In Foxholes by Dan Savage
-
America's Epidemic of Toddler-on-Toddler Gun Violence Continues by Goldy
-
Well-Regulated Beaverton Militia Accidentally Fires Shot into Neighbor's Bedroom by Goldy
-
Saint Genet Re-Creates "Shoot" by Brendan Kiley
-
Dutch Artist Turns Dead Cat into Remote-Controlled Helicopter by Bethany Jean Clement
-
Puggle: Love It or Shove It by Grant Brissey
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (20) RSS