Sunday Roundup

Phil Gramm obviously had the quote of the week. Voters dealing with skyrocketing gas prices and collapsing home values just love being called "whiners" by a millionaire. This kind of out-of-touch condescension comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed Gramm's career. He's left his fingerprints on some of the worst economic debacles in U.S. history. He was a champion of energy deregulation, which gave us Enron and blackouts and price gouging. He was a champion of deregulating the savings-and-loan industry, the bailout of which cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. And his leadership on banking deregulation helped create the current sub-prime mortgage crisis. Republicans love to talk about Obama's lack of experience. I'll take fresh blood over Gramm's kind of track record any day of the week.

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Comments

[ProgressiveChange]

Phil Gramm is a classic personification of a legislator, who prostituted himself for special interests under the guise of conservatism. His work for the financial services industry has been handsomely rewarded. Political influence peddling has cost Americans their homes, access to healthcare, and it has imploded their budgets .... beyond their curiosity, capacity to process, and apparently, ability to give a damn.

Nevertheless, information is available for those who seek it. http://www.motherjones.com:80/news/feature/2008/07/foreclosure-phil.html

Acountability is the product of information. Unfortunatley, most Americans manifest insufficient interest in finding it.

[BillN]

Or the mainstream media manifest insufficient interest in reporting it.

Granted the information is available (to us, and to journalists as well), most generations that preceded mine have never had to "dig" for what should be available as news from a credible journalistic source (whose job it is to research and report this information).

[Yurdelite]

When the news is controlled by a political few the result is what we have today. When the news is controlled by a foreigner like Murdoch the trash he spews every day on Faux News and his newspapers influence the dummies who are too lazy to question what is being told to them.

Maybe the government should investigate Rupert Murdoch what his goals are for US news.

[Strain]

Perhaps you have no idea of how tired we are, working two jobs and sometimes three. How depressed we are working as we do, trying to keep body and soul together. Not many of us have the energy left, after working 10, 12 and sometimes 14 hours a day, every day. Nor do you realise how jaded we are. Whom are we to believe? Lopped sided news reporting, name calling, finger pointing.
Someone needs to find which button to push that will galvanize us to action. What that is, I don't know.
All the issues the PEOPLE have need to be put out "there". All of the facts, on both sides, need to be put out there....and "let the chips fall where they may". We, the people, are not ignorant or lazy. We're simply very, very tired and depressed.

[MadOzbo]

This is why I no longer believe in the Republican party. This is why, until Obama, I had lost HOPE.
I don't know that WHEN Obama becomes President, that he will necessarily do any better, BUT, I KNOW what faces me if McCain is elected. Phil has very plainly reminded me.

I am NOT a whiner. But when I have a legitimate complaint, I need to have HOPE that someone in a higher position than I will at least listen to my problem without making me feel bad for even thinking that it is a problem in my life.

Go away, Phil. Go away Joe, Go away John. You do not offer hope or pride in being an American. You make me sorry that you are the people who exemplify what being an American is, and that you are the people WE elected to LEAD us. You are NOT leaders, you are DEFEATERs. We don't need you.

[3rdCitizen]

Well, at least Gramm isn't an elitist! (You know, cause he's a conservative Republican 'n all...)

[kentuck]

Folks with any historical memory at all can remember all the debacles that Senator Gramm has been involved with, everybody except John McCain it seems? This brings into question once again the judgment of John McCain, in that Phil Gramm has been talked about as a possible VP candidate or maybe Secretary of the Treasury? Does anyone not remember the cloud under which he and his wife Wendy left Washington, in the midst of the Enron scandal?

[krocklin]

In Washington all "experience" means is entrenched ties with special interests.
What ever happened to the notion of a "citizen politician"?

[gvc]

Privatize profit. Socialize loss.

There is nothing "free market" about Gramm-style conservatism. It is all about legislation to allow the rich and powerful to exploit the masses and the environment for profit. "Positive GDP growth," slim that it is, is due entirely to the gains of a very few. Those gains are so very large that when averaged with the losses of the masses, "growth" results.

[kainen]

gramm is mccain's top economical adviser...how long will it take the msm to finally accept that mccain knows zilch about america's prosperity

[tomsfork]

America's prosperity? Are we talking of the Clinton years?

[LeBelAge]

The point is that McCain is an elitist. He married a rich woman.

[ErnestineBass]

McCain knows a lot about America's prosperity.

He married a rich woman, didn't he?

[dsdambo]

and your point is?

[only1Demvoter]

Arianna : Is it just me, or is the Rethug disingenuous / slime factor increasing exponentially as we move farther away from the date GW announced his candidacy ?

Maybe I'm just getting cranky ( er ) / sensitive as I get older !

Gramm = The Rethug Heart ( We're behind you all the way Carol ! )


Have a great Sunday. -ralph

[ssb752]

The favorite Rovian ploy is to accuse your opponet of what you really are or do. Obama an elitist? Oh boy does he have a LONG way to go to compete with this bunch. Hang in there Barack, after 8 years as Prez you too could become an elite snob.

[lennix]

what i love about you arianna is you tell the truth and you even let obama know the truth too but you still know that he is the best choice and you are still with him .yes you are 100% right about the msm
and cable for not doing thier jobs just suck ups to macain thank you for lettin us know the truth and god bless you.

[BaltimoreSteve]

Arianna, please tell me why the media isn't addressing this. Why is McCain getting a pass on so much. Yea, they played the "mental" and "whiner" clip, but why didn't they mention the rest of the Gramm baggage? For that matter I wonder if you have an opinion as to why the Obama campaign hasn't hammered McCain on this. Is he saving it for a later date, or is he, as Billary claimed, too soft?

The truths need to be told. I can only hope that your efforts here inspire readers to write the networks and news papers to ask these same questions. I also hope you are given the opportunity to continue to appear on the prominent TV news shows. Keep up the good reporting; thanks.

[Yurdelite]

Not only does McCain not know anything about economics but he thinks Social Security is a disgrace. Not much MSM coverage on that gem and he said it more than once. He thinks it is a "disgrace" because the people working today are paying for present day retirees--uh, yeah.

[Cilantro33309]

One of my favorite colleagues (whom is a neo-con) is way past his prime. He works part-time now primarily to have something to do. When he comes in, we often discuss politics, and it is usually fun to banter back and forth.

But even he will freely admitt that "experience" can taint, leave you with responsibilities to cronies at inconvenient times, causing you to vote in their favor rather than your constituents favor. Why? Well, many constituents don't watch what you are doing very closely, and don't understand what you are doing anyway. The lobbyists, corporate "buddies", other statesmen, the president himself, and the party which precedes your name all will pressure you into doing things you know you shouldn't because it's not fair to those who aren't paying attention.

But if you don't have so many "favors" to return, if you don't have too many "pals" in too many corporations and lobbies, you might just get to make good on some of those promises you made to those too busy to pay attention...who voted you into office.

Obama '08. Protect the Supreme Court as it is. He's the only answer.

[Torus34]

Mr. Gramm's statements and his legislative record, particularly in 'deregulation', are a legitimate area for discusion. I suggest that two simple tests be applied. The first is well-known: measure the statement or vote against the facts. Application of this test equally puts the lie to Mr. Gramm's 'whiners' contention and his espousal of reduced oversight of specific sections of the business world.

The second test is, unfortunately, far less well-known: the test of greed. The extent to which a politician's statements, proposed legislation or votes are related to his/her personal gain should be considered an index of their lack of personal bias and, thus, their validity.

We fully expect the statements of business leaders ["Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae are fully solvent."] to routinely fail the greed test, but in business it's simply the nature of the beast. Capitalism's basic rationalization was nicely stated [in far better words than mine] by Ayn Rand years ago.

But politicians are supposed, in the American mythos, to act for the people they represent -- the voting public. The possibility of adding to their personal treasurehouse of wealth and power is not supposed to affect either their vision or their votes. It's a constant source of wonder for me that there are still large sections of the public who have not put this myth in the same dusty mental closet where, many years ago, they set aside their belief in Santa Claus.

[Torus34]

Oh, my! I must offer a sincere apology, Gentle Reader(s). In reviewing the above, I noted a most serious omission -- a third test. It needs no description nor explanation beyond a reference to Aesop.

Call it the 'Dog in the Manger' test. I personally enjoy applying it to many conservative 'talking points'.

[NTO08]

Both Obama and McCain playing fast and loose on campaign financing...another reason to reject them both:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11699.html

[Yurdelite]

Then what? Elect Nader, McKinney? Get a freaking grip.

Fact: Obama NEVER committed to public financing. More MSM and republican lies. Obama filled out a QUESTIONAIRE. If you have EVER been involved with a political campaign, you would know that various groups will send candidates a questionaire on the issues. There is NO commitment there.

On the other hand, John McCain is the shakey one since he did not have money for the primary and had to borrow it. Research that...

[thepeoplechoose]

It really is a mystery why voters continue to elect persons who repeatedly make the most awful choices. Our elected officials have access to mountains of information and skilled staff persons and analysts to sift it all.

Or maybe it isn't a mystery at all. Maybe persons like PG are simply criminals who deserve to be severely punished for their crimes. Is it coincidence that in so many cases the average citizen taxpayer gets thoroughly screwed while persons who, also coincidentally, are major political donors just happen to walk away with billions of taxpayer dollars? I really don't give a doggone about having explicit proof for acusations in this regard. I just need to look at the commonality of the result to know the fix is in. I am sick and tired of our lawmakers playing dumb. They routinely insult our intelligence with their lies.

It is time to hold them accountable for the RESULTS they provide and not worry about who did what. If they preside over actions that cost lives and billions of dollars then give them the boot with no questions asked. Simply say to them, based upon your performance your services are no longer required. We entrust them with several trillion dollars every year and for that we have every right to demand they deliver a product that actually works. And change the system to allow for citizens to initiate and cause removal from office. Leaving that to congress clearly doesn't work.

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

Your second paragraph where you say "I just need to look at the commonality of the result to know the fix is in.",is simple and succinct,yet these same "fixers" keep getting re-elected.After the gerrymandering and the electronic voting machine w/o a receipt fiasco and stolen elections we've witnessed,it begs the question,are they really duly elected? When we let the SCOTUS ,illegally and immorally,choose our president without we the people taking to the streets, that puts a lot of fault at our own feet and also bears witness to the complicity of the MSM instead of a positive force and demanding votes be counted.

[thepeoplechoose]

I've written a lot of letters to my representatives and nothing has changed. It is time to change the system. No amount of appealing to our elected officials works. I can vouch for that.

So maybe there aren't enough people who take the time to write but I suspect there are a lot and those who take the time are writing to either a democrat or republican with the content probably reflecting the view of the recipient. The bottom line is congress in particular messes up like clockwork. That is why I say it's time to change the system. If we can fire them maybe they'll think at least a little bit before they do something stupid. I don't even care about all the laws they break anymore. I just want them to be gone from office when they kill Americans or cost us billions. Let the courts sort out the criminal part (as if that'll ever happen).

One more thing. No more hiding behind executive privilege or closed sessions of congress except for true security issues where security policy specifics or other types of security issues are under review. The citizens have every right to know the kinds of things that are under consideration when it comes to formulating public policy.

[Strain]

Well said and Amen.