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By The Pajama Pundit | Related entries in Economy
Population, this guy:
Remember, it’s only been 64 days – 64 days – he’s been in office. Think about that for second. How much worse is it going to get over the next three-and-five-sixths years?
We are going to be lucky to survive this despotic regime that’s determined to turn America into Zimbabwe (economic basket case), Cuba (communism), and North Korea (cult-like blind worship of “Dear Leaderâ€) rolled into one.
Our government – the House, the Senate and the Presidency – is out of control like never before. They have nothing but contempt for those over whom they wish to rule, and when challenged, their first instinct is to recklessly wield the vast, illegitimate power they have to squash people like insects.
They are despicable, unconscionable, and very, very dangerous. Prepare yourselves accordingly.
Look, I get it: there are lots of people out there who don’t like President Obama — or the government in general. Despite my vote last fall, and my continued support of our new President, I have my doubts as well. After all, when has government performed in a perfect fashion?
But, to use phrases like ‘despotic regime’ and ‘contempt for those over whom they wish to rule’ is simply irresponsible. ‘They wish to rule?’ Geez.
The main reason that I continue to support the Obama administration is not because I subscribe to the idea that government is the medicine that cures the ails of our nation. I do it because right now, I’m afraid that there is little else to be done. I’ve argued before (as has the esteemed Mr. Gardner) that if we sit idly by and let the markets run their course, we would be worse off than if the government steps-in and intervenes.
I do not fear Barack Obama, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi attempting to ‘squash me like an insect’. I do fear a total and complete collapse of our economic and political systems, and the overwhelming anarchy that would ensue were we to do nothing.
So chill out all ye doomsday-preparers (‘prepare yourselves accordingly’? What does that mean anyway?), I think that, while government is not the answer to most problems, it is the answer to this problem.
[cross-posted at ThePajamaPundit.com]
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 and is filed under Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 25th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Okay, fair enough…but the next sentence is this:
So let me get this gem of logic correct: Prognosticators of “doom” are okay as long as the “doom” is in the service of advancing Obama’s agenda (as in arnarchy, economic/polical/social collapse ” if we don’t spend trillions of dollars we don’t have), but prognosticators of “doom” against Obama’s agenda…well that is just crazy.
How very convenient.
umm, no you don’t.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Who is this nonsense from – Northstarwriters.com? Who the heck are they and why do we care what crazy talk they spew from their dark places below?
The true problem? Everybody being distracted by all this petty nonsense while our institutions, both public and private, steal our last dollar through perfectly legal means, right in front us, usually with our consent!
March 25th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I will be the first to admit that I am unhappy with the direction Obama has taken on some things, but I just have to laugh at the right win nut jobs who are so gosh darn bonkers that they are criticizing the current administration for things they say quietly by or literally cheered for it when Bush did it.
Why was it OK for Reagan, George Bush I George Bush II to run up monsterous deficits for no apparant reason, but now they say Obama is going to do it and its the world is coming to an end.
The right wing blogosphere and radio blowhards scream to the high heavens that Obama is trying to scare people into going along with him, when that is exactly what Bush did to get this country into the Iraq war?
Why is it they are so upset that Obama is “running rough shod over the Constitution” when they cheered for Bush doing it and defended him when he got caught.
Why is it that Bush and Paulson had to rescue the banks, but Obama is being reckless?
I don’t like Obama’s bank rescue plan. I don’t feel comfortable with the stimulus package. I don’t like what I am seeing in the budget thus far. But at least when someone from the left says it, it means something.
The same cannot be said for most of these right wing blow hards for whom regaining politcal power so they can rape this country yet again is their only motivation.
March 25th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Gerryf,
This type of conversation is occurring between many people now. I would be interested in what people thought the reasons for this disparity in attitude, intolerance or whatever you wish to call it, is. Is it revenge (you badmouthed our president…), ideological, cultural, etc.? The attacks are not just based on Obama’s actions, but they also tend to attack the people who defend Obama. Comments such as koolaid-drinking, messiah-worshipping, media-blinded to sometimes not so subtle references to being stupid, ignorant, racist, etc.
When did conservative beliefs become so angry at anyone who disagrees with them? Although this is probably focused on the extreme right, but I am seeing more and more of it in the media and through personal interactions. I don’t remember the republican party behaving like this during Reagan’s time.
March 25th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
@J. Harden, I will concede that I worded my point very, well… poorly. I am not suggesting that anyone who speaks against President Obama’s agenda is ‘crazy’. I am merely suggesting that this particular author (the gentleman from NorthStarWriters) is being irresponsible by throwing around phrases like ‘despotic regime’. If Mr. Karki had made a rational point against a policy or position of President Obama or the Congress, then I would have no problem with the post.
And when I say “I get it”, it is in reference to the myriad of voices who sound very similar to Mr. Karki.
@BenG — yes, NorthStarWriters.com. The article was something I picked up from Allahpundit of HotAir.com fame. And yes, the robbery of which you speak is a much more pressing issue.
@gerryf and @Mike A. — I completely agree with both of you, and I’ll leave it at that.
Thanks for commenting everybody!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I like the racism in the comment. The US will become like Zimbabwe, where the black President cracks down on the white folks. I’ll bet the idiot doesn’t even understand why the US is supposed to be like Zimbabwe in the small right wing brain cavity. He just lists “economic basketcase” but if he had any idea what he was talking about he would have at least said printing money and hyperinflation.
March 25th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
It’s not a one-way street, by any means.
The schism we see in American politics was created, fostered and nurtured by the right beginning in the early 1990s and the end result is the divided country we find ourselves in.
It began with the right bashing Clinton just for being a Democrat. It was almost surreal how they went after him, especially when one considers that in all but a few instances Clinton was a right leaning centrist. The amount of hatred engendered against him was unfathomable, and once again, extraordinarily hypocritical when one looks at the moral deficiencies of some of his most ardent attackers (yeah, I’m looking at you cheating on your wife Newt Gingrich).
But it wasn’t just the right. Driven to the choose sides, the left proved itself just as vitriolic as the right, and so you had the left demonizing Bush before he even got going–it drowned out legitimate arguments and criticism when Bush actually began steering this country toward the abyss.
And now we have Obama. The bile spewing from the pieholes of people like Limbaugh, Hannity and Levine is based on nothing. Heck, they should be cheering his bank bailout plan. It doesn’t matter that Obama tried to reach out, it doesn’t matter that some of his plans are so pro-business as to be frightening. All that matters to these folks is driving the wedge ever deeper to give themselves some place where their irrational bellows find a willing audience.
Just listen to Hannity or Limbaugh for a few hours and you will be stunned–not just by what they are saying (and frankly I don’t believe they believe anything they are selling), but what their callers are saying.
There are people in this world who are so small, they need something, anything–even hatred–to make them feel like they are part of something. The Internet and talk radio in particular are becoming the equivalent of a mob–a large, scary mass devoid of rational thought that just takes on a life of its own.
It’s getting pretty frightening
These people who foment this kind of thinking are hurting this country. I can only hope people wake up before its too late.
There were quite a lot of people bashing B
March 25th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Well, it wasn’t OK when the republicans did it (although during Reagan years we were a net producer, creditor and had a high savings rate with the Fed raising interest rates where they were supposed to be – i.e. we could afford it).
In addition, under Obama the deficit is so unprecidentedly high with no end in sight, the Fed has set interest rates at zero, and we dont have anything as collateral for this debt other than our treasuries which the rest of the world is showing more and more concern about. Its much, much different this time around.
If everyone were to adopt this attitude, then our nation would certainly turn into crazytown.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
The frightening part is that you don’t know how many of “them” there are out there. Them being insane partisan lunatics. I think that one can take a lot of heart in the outcome of the election a few months ago. We elected a black President. Granted 55% of whites voted against him, but the fact that we elected a black President should give us some hope that some there are still people who are thinking about greater issues than the hate espoused by the right.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:13 am
I only wish that the population of crazy town were limited to this person. What worries me is the increasing number of crazies that are talking about actively overthrowing the government (one slightly veiled example can be found at Free Republic
March 26th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Jimmy, under Reagan we were a net producer, creditor and had a high saving rate–that is true. But we were all of those things because Reagan’s policies had not yet had a chance chip away a all that had been accomplished prior to Reagan.
Although I disagreed with much of Reagan, there were certainly some positive things he accomplisheded, but he is also the president who put in place much of the groundwork that culminated in the situation we are now in.
The deregulation madness that started with Reagan ignores that government regulation serves business interests and public interests. They promoted fairness in economic competition, and as a free a marketeer, you should be in favor of competition. With that regulation, we had many competitors in the market and that was good for everyone; without it, we had a few winners and mostly losers, and that is bad for everyone.
Regulation required greater transparency so that investors could more intelligently judge the value of securities in the stock market. They mandated a separation of commercial and investment bank activities. Without those regulations, speculative investments by commercial banks resulted in the current financial crash.
An open-minded rational examination of history shows this to be the case, but the crazy us vs. them that has been engendered since Reagan has made such things impossible.
Here’s the ultimate problem with the “Reagan Revolution”–for some reason, it gave the right this sense of entitlement to power. When they are in power, they rule by fiat, condemnation and moral outrage; then they are not in power they seethe with hatred at those who usurped something they believe is rightfully theirs.
I am speaking primarily of the people in my generation, who came of age during the Reagan Revolution, and the generations they have spawned. I can sit down with people older than me, and we can disagree completely but have a civil, rationale discourse. Anyone my age or younger it is a completely different thing.
I don’t know what happened, but it frightens me how polarized these people have become.
There is no denying this polarization was intentionally promoted by the right ever since Reagan, and that idea gained ever greater momentum under Bush II. I see the same thing now on the left, as the Democrats have learned the lessons of the far-right.
People from the opposite side are demonized, and the leaders and self-proclaimed pundits thrive off of this demonization; it’s not just a philosophy, it is an industry.
Would Rush Limbaugh be where he is today without fanning the flames of hatred? There was a tme when Limbaugh was actually “a conservative”, but he is now only a hypocrite who gains great wealth by keeping as many people ignorent and angry. Listen to his “followers”–they haven’t had a rationale thought in decades.
And the same can be applied to the left. Randi Rhodes’ show is loaded with vile assaults; read the Daily Kos’ comments section; most progressive talk radio is 9 parts snarkiness and 1 part intelligence.
Look at what congress has turned into–reconciliation over debate, obstruction over cooperation; yelling over listening.
I had hoped a complete change in power would result in something positive; I had hoped the Democrats would after being on the weak side of the aisle for so long would try to rule with a little more class and dignity. Instead, they have learned the lessons of the Reagan Revolution, too well.
Conversely, I think Obama is an honorable man who really wanted to make a change. I think the Republicans could have had an ally in him if they had reached out. Instead of a new GOP leadership taking hold after the GOP was embarrassed, we’ve got petulent thugs like Boehner, McConnell and Cantor perpetuating all that was wrong with the GOP, instead of a new breed ressurecting all that was right.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:55 am
gerryf,
well stated. I share your fears with these trends. We are more and more becoming a country divided.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
From the WAPO:
Regarding Glass-Stegall, it seems most of the effect of the deregulation affected the outcome of the financial collapse, rather than its cause. Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, Fannie & Freddie, and AIG were not associated with commercial banks when they were accumulating and underwriting toxic securities, or when they collapsed (it did, however, allow many of them to get bought out by commercial banks, like JP Morgan Chase.)
One cannot deny that the Federal reserve, Fannie & Freddie, or the mortgage interest rate deduction, or the SEC’s fraudulent rating schemes were deeply involved in creating this mess. They distorted the markets, and therefore there never was a “free market” to blame for this in the first place.
Both Republicans and Democrats share the blame for this, and Bush/Greenspan were on their way to go down as the worst president/Fed chairman combination in history. However, Obama/Bernaike are right on their heels.
Obama is the president now, and it is his policies and his alone that are leading this country to possible hyperinflation.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Gerryf: This has occurred to me too. There’s a bit of wisdom I heard a long time ago that seems fitting here: “Once is an accident, twice is a trend, three times is a problem.” Bill Clinton and Goerge W. Bush were both frequently accused of being divisive presidents. Barack Obama may be on his way to acquiring the “divisive” label as well. But if we’ve now had three straight divisive presidents, maybe that’s not really those presidents’ fault.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
After Steele basically abdicated to Limbaugh, precious few mainstream Republicans have the sack to act as calm voices of reason to their side. That’s further complicated by the volatility of so many aspects of our world right now, because the messages from the old playbook are perceived by so many Americans as lacking credibility.
Seems to me the GOP doesn’t really have any sort of good idea about where the nation ought to be led, the only thing they seem sure about is that everything Obama says and does is wrong. Reminds me of when Gore lost. The bitter dead-ender shoe is just on the other foot.
And let’s face it, lot of folks are scared close to witless by what has unfolded since the RE bubble burst. What we may see is conservatives going on a purifying jaunt in the desert wilderness to purge those of insufficient faith.
And here’s the thing…if we see a decade of deficits and higher taxes and a stubbornly anemic economy struggling under a bureaucratic stranglehold, then the Republicans will become right again. All it will take is time. The democrats will overreach and lose sight of important ideals just like the GOP did.
I was a reliable liberal Reagan hater as a very young man back in the late 70′s on into the 80′s. But all you folks throwing him under the bus now should be aware that the 70s really, really, really sucked economically. So be awfully FU**ING careful what you wish for.
BTW, I REALLY like Obama. Reid and Pelosi are another matter entirely. I am convinced that Obama is a sharp leader with good judgement and vision. Reid and Pelosi are venal shortsighted hacks. They and their ilk are liable to do serious damage to the nation if they manage to pass too much one-sided legislation in an attempt to fix every perceived national and regional ill with a new program.
I fear we have a newer generation of American folks on our hands who have not seen in real-life and real time the vast chasm between the sound well-intentioned theory on one side and the grotesque real-world manifestation of a big gov’t program in practice.
Mine eyes have seen the gory.I won’t even try to convince anyone about this. You’ll all have a front-row seat for the upcoming showing.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:18 am
It’s a strange show at that. While the supporting cast from both sides struggle with these profound issues, and for the most part behave poorly, it seems like Obama has the ability to rise above the fray. Although I like and support him, the skeptical part of me is always watching for signs of insincerity or dishonesty as justification of my low opinion of all politicians. Have yet to be disappointed, though.
This last presidential election was truly fascinating to watch, and the ongoing show has been equally interesting. Many from my generation (grew up with Reagan) paid little serious attention to politics. I attribute many of our problems today with that lack of attention and a trust in leaders that was not wise. I hope the younger generations are not making the same mistakes..
March 27th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Here is the one difference between the right and the left so far–for the right, Bush could do no wrong. What few criticisms there were were quiet and far between, and mostly drowned out by the cacophany of cheerleaders. Even people who absolutely disagreed with Bush kept quiet for the most part.
On the left, despite the fantasy of the right wing blowhards, thier has been considerable criticism of the direction being taken. Now, the criticism has been split between those who say he has to go farther left, and those who say, hold on, but criticism is allowed to occur.
The question is, will the leaders listen?
I agree with Kranky Kritter. I like Obama, but Reid and Pelosi worry me.