Insurgents Wanted

Jesse Walker | September 26, 2008

James Pethokoukis makes a prediction about the next election:

The Republican presidential nominee in the summer of 2012 will have come out against the Paulson-Bernanke bailout plan in the fall of 2008. Conservative rage against the $700 billion "rescue" attempt, as President Bush terms it, has been stoked white hot by Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and the powerful pundits of the right-wing blogosphere such as Michelle Malkin and Jonah Goldberg....

Now 2012 may seem awfully far away right now. But is there any doubt that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee today if she had voted against the Iraq War back in 2002? She was for it, Obama was against it, and Obama is the nominee. And don't be surprised if there are insurgent Republicans in 2010 who run against incumbent GOPer who voted for the bailout in a replay of the 2006 Lieberman-Lamont Democratic primary battle.

At this point the dominant D.C. Democrats seem less interested in blocking the bailout than in attaching various add-ons to it. (Kinda like an "emergency" war appropriations bill.) But if grassroots Dems still perceive the results as a handout to bankers and Wall Street gamblers, we could see a similar dynamic in the Blue party in 2010 and 2012.

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|9.26.08 @ 10:41AM|#

...is there any doubt that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee today if she had voted against the Iraq War back in 2002? She was for it, Obama was against it, and Obama is the nominee.

I have my doubts. For a couple of reasons. One is that she is simply not likeable. Another is the picture of her on the Drudge Report showing "the toll of a campaign." And the last, how do we say it: Hugo Chavez in a pant-suit.

|9.26.08 @ 10:43AM|#

I hope so but am not very optimistic. The demonstarated desire of both parties to increase government involvement in every aspect of society seems to be ingrained.

*exasperated sigh*

Look, with our current situation, by 2012 we'll be being ruled by Auntie Entity and Master Blaster. Who run America?

|9.26.08 @ 10:48AM|#

Master Bashir run America.

Embargo...lifted.

D'oh! Master-Bandir, not Bashir.

rhywun|9.26.08 @ 10:49AM|#

if grassroots Dems still perceive the results as a handout to bankers and Wall Street gamblers

Maybe grassroots Dems will unite with grassroots GOPers and form some sort of Grand Unified Party.... It's only the establishment that's pushing this thing.

|9.26.08 @ 10:50AM|#

Listen all! This is the truth of it. Lending leads to defaulting, and defaulting gets to bailouts. And that was damn near the death of us all. Look at us now! Busted up, and everyone talking about the Great Depression! But we've learned, by the dust of them all...America learned. Now, when men get to lending, it happens here! And it finishes here! Two loans enter; one loan leaves.

rhywun|9.26.08 @ 10:53AM|#

not Bashir

Heavens no. The last thing we need is a genetically engineered super brain running the country. Amiable as the arrogant SOB is.

|9.26.08 @ 10:54AM|#

Most finance people I talk to say that Congress can either try to avert a recession or teach Wall Street a lesson in this situation... not both.

I have no problem with them wanting to teach Wall Street a lesson, just they better be prepared to explain to their grassroots, populist base that they approved of a rather sharp recession. Wonder how the populists in either party would respond to that (never mind the fact that a "V-shaped" recession would probably be short-lived and rapidly self-correcting, populism doesn't seem to take to having economic downturns very well).

|9.26.08 @ 10:59AM|#

Maybe grassroots Dems will unite with grassroots GOPers and form some sort of Grand Unified Party.... It's only the establishment that's pushing this thing.

I've wondered about that, rhywun. Could there be a coaltion of the ends against the middle coming out of this? We haven't seen something like that in a long time in this country.

|9.26.08 @ 11:00AM|#

Amiable as the arrogant SOB is

Look, your crushes on DS9 characters are your own problem. Dork. Terry Farrell, on the other hand...

"That's Valerie Desmond. Look how tight her ass is today."

rhywun|9.26.08 @ 11:03AM|#

your crushes on DS9 characters are your own problem

Yikes. Good thing I didn't go with my original wording.

|9.26.08 @ 11:03AM|#

By 2011, I intend on forming a comittee to determine if the public is ready for me to become the Commander in Chief.

Iraq war didn't work. What if the "rescue" does? If Barney Frank is clever enough to duck his involvement in this mess, then I guess the GOP naysayers will be able to spin themselves onto the side of the angels.

|9.26.08 @ 11:04AM|#

If "green man" votes no on the bailout I'd support him for president.

|9.26.08 @ 11:05AM|#

Yikes. Good thing I didn't go with my original wording.

Ok, now I'm curious. Let's hear the original.

If "green man" votes no on the bailout I'd support him for president.

(hits Gabe in face with volleyball)

GREENMAN

|9.26.08 @ 11:12AM|#

Don the libertarian Democrat|9.26.08 @ 11:13AM|#

What will probably happen.

The congress will probably pass a bill. Why? Because they don't want to be seen as sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing if the economy really tanks.

Some Republicans will vote against the bill, because they can stand up for their principles knowing that the bill will pass.

The blogosphere will be against it, because no one is going to hold them responsible if inaction leads to a disaster.

If Sen. Obama wins and votes for this, there will be a few Democratic insurgents.

If he loses and supports the plan, there will be a lot of Democratic insurgents.

I'm already a Democratic insurgent.

rhywun|9.26.08 @ 11:14AM|#

Ok, now I'm curious. Let's hear the original.

Just a different word than "amiable". Didn't work. I got the smackdown anyway.

|9.26.08 @ 11:15AM|#

Master Bashir run America.

Embargo...lifted.

Well, that's one way the Darfur crisis might end.

Vote al-Bashir! He saved the Sudanese Pound, he knows how to save the dollar! Al-Bashir, continuing America's proud tradition of sticking it to the ICC!

|9.26.08 @ 11:18AM|#

I got the smackdown anyway.

"Look, my body was chiseled by God in the shape of Michelangelo's David."

|9.26.08 @ 11:21AM|#

Come in blood brother 1, this is blood brother 2. commence project badass

|9.26.08 @ 11:25AM|#

(runs in and throws volleyball at Episiarch's balls)

|9.26.08 @ 11:26AM|#

"That's a sexy jaguar. Now, see, Dennis' mule isn't sexy."

"Mules aren't sexy!"

"You've ruined mules for me."

|9.26.08 @ 11:30AM|#

I think that was the stronger of the two episodes last night. I found the best friend one to be lacking, and I can't even think of any good quotes from it.

Now if only I could become a good little sheeple and watch tv all day and not think about the coup that has taken place or how they are planning on making my children slaves.

|9.26.08 @ 11:31AM|#

brotherben . . . what you describe is not the future, but the last 10 years of American history. Christcentric party of lukewarm leadership - does that not define the Republican party of the past, sheez, 20 years??? At least post-Monica . . . in any case, if you were to predict that nothing at all changes, I agree.

|9.26.08 @ 11:32AM|#

whichever one had pathetic girl 43 getting hit with a volleyball was definitely the funniest one.

|9.26.08 @ 11:33AM|#

Moose, I completely agree. I found Dennis' courting of Charlie to be out of character, though him appearing in the dark window to be pretty funny. The billboard episode was much better. Though they kind of smacked Dennis around a little which will, in the future, reduce his ability to use his egomania as comedy material.

|9.26.08 @ 11:36AM|#

A party of the tens of millions of shallow non confrontational believers that are ok with the country meandering along.

This strikes me as a pretty decent description of most members of both parties, as long as you don't limit "believers" to Christians.

Substitute "people" for believers, and you have the apathetic swing voter described to a "t".

|9.26.08 @ 11:39AM|#

Yes, the dark nature of Dennis' character in "Mac's Banging the Waitress" was pretty good. OH, and the stunts on video were pretty ridiculous. But other than that, weak.

Meanwhile, I found myself laughing routinely during the Billboard episode, especially during the Green Man appearances.

|9.26.08 @ 11:41AM|#

Dude, Sweet Dee's racist impressions were killing me. She actually outshone Charlie in this episode.

Bingo|9.26.08 @ 11:54AM|#

Is it time to max out my credit cards on guns, ammo, MREs and gold bullion yet?

|9.26.08 @ 11:58AM|#

the next time the bar has financial difficulty they should lobby for a bailout. it might be better than the time they started doing crack so they could get welfare.

DannyK|9.26.08 @ 12:04PM|#

I've overestimated the Democrats before, but I don't think they'll sign off on this bailout unless most of the Republicans are on board.

Right now, if the economy craters, the Dems can point the fingers at Boehner and McCain for screwing up the negotiations, just as much as the Republicans can point the finger at them. They're not going to stick their necks out unless the other guys are. It's a Prisoner's Dilemma, basically.

Now that presidential politics has been injected into the situation, trust is even lower and we're even more likely to have the both-sides-cheat, minimal-payoff outcome.

|9.26.08 @ 12:06PM|#

the next time the bar has financial difficulty they should lobby for a bailout

"$500 dollars for hair removal?!?"

LarryA|9.26.08 @ 1:05PM|#

If a middle party should emerge from this mess, I believe it would be Christcentric in nature. A party of the tens of millions of shallow non confrontational believers that are ok with the country meandering along. As long as the path doesn't get too far right or left, the residents of Jesusland will be well suited to lukewarm leadership.

That hasn't been the history of Christian government over the last 1700 years. More of a "burning martyrs" process.

"Who cares about economic problems? We have to decide whether to take communion with wine or grape juice."

alan|9.26.08 @ 3:28PM|#

Most finance people I talk to say that Congress can either try to avert a recession or teach Wall Street a lesson in this situation... not both.

Why Wall Street can not fathom that it can only take monetary inflation by the Federal Reserve System only so far before there is a correction is beyond my understanding. There will be a recession with or without the bailout. With the bailout you get a lessening of the public's purchasing power and another cyclic mess on your hands, without the bailout, once the dead wood is cleared out, you get a competitively weaker Wall Street compared to the other financial centers in America, Boston, Charlotte, San Fransisco, etc.

Again, it is about protecting market share.

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