In every case, a major event has to occur to identify the final implosion of an a dangerous activity. Some call it "hitting rock bottom" some just say it is simply "the end". But, whatever you call it, every dangerous activity ends as a house of cards ends; a complete collapse. The "republican revolution" which is basically unbrideled capatilism has ended this weekend in one of these rock bottom implosions. The taking over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is nothing more than the nationalising of the mortgage business in the United States.
A very eerie ending for the Republicans who campaign on not needing the Government and that the Government should stay out of our lives. But, when the Government is needed to bail them out, they tend to love it a lot. Here, they love it a lot. The "individualists" are all for being individual until their cronies start losing a lot of money then they are all for Government help. As we have learned from the Automobile Titans who are at the Government tit begging for money, we now have people like McCain calling for a Government takeover of these mortgage agencies.
Don't get me wrong. This is the only course of action and it must be done to prevent what really could be a depression and not a recession. But then again, I and, and many Obama supporters, have always been for a role in public/private cooperation in managing the economy. The Republicans have never been for that. In fact, as late as last week, Cindy "stepford wife" McCain called for the Government to "get out of the way". She said:
"Despite our challenges our hearts are still alive with hope and belief in our individual ability to make things right if only the Federal government would get itself under control and out of our way. "
Now, one week later, her husband is calling for the Government to help:
John McCain supports the steps needed to keep the financial troubles at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from further squeezing American families and endorses the idea that management and shareholders should not benefit from government backing. While details are not yet available, the actions taken today are consistent with those objectives. Fannie and Freddie have been the poster children for a lack of transparency and accountability, and remind us of the needed reforms to financial markets in general." [statement from McCain campaign]</span>
This Website rightfully points outthat the "Get the Government out of the Way" candidate also supported the Government subsidized Bear Stears take over by J.P. Morgan.
So, why did this happen? Well, I will have more on that in other posts but suffice it to say the "no regulation needed" crowd allowed these companies to book unrealistic tax credits as assets and they still have never written down the assets on their books as most companies would do in the "mark to market" approach. In both cases, these companies have been allowed to prop up the real estate situation in the United States to give a false sense of economic prosperity over the last eight years.
It was this "factsheet" (an interesting term for anything coming from the Bush Administration. If they made it in soft paper, you could use it to wipe your a** with it as that is about all it is worth) from the White House in 2004 which touted the great progress the Bush adminstration was making in the "homeownership society". Well, we now learn that he was building a house of cards and it is crumbling down right before his eyes.
And so that brings us back to the incompetence and hypocrisy of the Republicans. Incompetence is rampant and has been shown in Iraq, Katrina and now the economy. The three biggest challenges of this party's presidency and not only have they failed on both counts but they have actually made things worse.
The hypocrisy is they want the Government out of the way until they need it to help themselves. Then, all of a sudden, the Government is a great idea.
Yes, my friends, you are witnessing the final implosion of the Republican Right. Let's bury it and may it rest, forever, in piece never to be re-born again.