Reason Writers Around Town: Peter Suderman in Newsweek on Republicans and Big Business

October 28, 2009

On Newsweek's website, Reason associate editor Peter Suderman examines conflicts between conservative Republicans and business interests:

As political alliances go, few are more cemented in the public consciousness than the bond between the Republican Party and business. But, upon closer inspection, the GOP–big business relationship doesn't seem so cozy.

Take health-care reform. From the time the bill hit Congress, Republicans found themselves opposite big industry interests. From the drugmakers to the doctors to the insurers, every major player in the health-care battle declared themselves willing to work with Democrats to enact some variant on reform. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, were almost universally opposed. 

...Nor is the health-care fight an outlier. Scan the big legislative battles of the past year or those on the horizon, and you start to see a pattern: the Republican Party on one side, entrenched big-business interests on the other.

Read the whole thing here . 

Comments

cmace|10.28.09 @ 6:10PM|#

Bad Link.

An Error Was Encountered

The URI you submitted has disallowed characters.

mark|10.28.09 @ 6:15PM|#

Congressman Ryan takes the idea even further: "Big government likes big corporations," he says. That may be a stretch, but it increasingly seems as if, whether or not big government likes big corporations, in the more conservative corners of the right, Republicans don't.

A stretch? Did Newsweek make you put that in?

¢|10.28.09 @ 6:32PM|#

Did Newsweek make you put that in?

You don't get to be in Newsweek if you're the type who needs "making."

|10.28.09 @ 6:41PM|#

Bad link but they're also aligned against big business when it comes to gay rights.

MJ|10.28.09 @ 6:47PM|#

Business interests are not necessarily conservative or free market ideologues just because they are in business. They will be if they see it to their advantage, and they'll rent seek if they see that to their advantage or if they think that's the only game in town. The idea that businessman=Republican is such a simplistic model that it boggles the mind that many people buy into that viewpoint, but I guess many Newsweek readers do.

|10.28.09 @ 7:23PM|#

Newsweek doesn't realize they're actually pointing out something good about the Republican party.

Naga Sadow, going for the win|10.28.09 @ 7:24PM|#

I feel that I should be e-mailing this article to the white house due to the obvious lies and distortions.

Peter Suderman|10.28.09 @ 8:15PM|#

Re-inserted the link. Should work now.

jtuf|10.28.09 @ 8:33PM|#

Good article, Suderman.

prolefeed|10.28.09 @ 9:21PM|#

A lot of the RINOs and social conservatives cozy up to big business. The fiscal conservative / libertarian wings of the Republican party have long realized that big businesses use government to gang up on small businesses.

|10.28.09 @ 9:46PM|#

Heads up ... GMAC getting YET ANOTHER bailout ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200....._bailout_7

BakedPenguin|10.28.09 @ 9:49PM|#

Jesus. It's a fucking zombie already. Shoot it in the head and let it die.

|10.28.09 @ 10:01PM|#

I like this part:
"The Treasury spokesman declined to comment on whether the government's ownership stake in GM and Chrysler make it more willing to again help prop up GMAC. "

JB|10.29.09 @ 12:49AM|#

Seriously, God come down and torture them, kill them, and rape their souls for eternity.

BakedPenguin|10.28.09 @ 9:47PM|#

I once irritated some of my liberal friends by calling the Democrats the party of big business. When they made noises to the contrary, I asked them to go to check out the financing for campaigns and compare them. I also pointed out the barriers to entry/extra burden placed on small businesses by regulations.

The more intellectually honest had to admit I had a point, but I think they still viewed it as "sad but necessary".

|10.28.09 @ 10:48PM|#

While I mostly agree with this, the former shareholders of Chrysler would probably argue that, Obama, if not all the Dems, are not what one would call pro-business. Bending over bond-holders for the UAW isn't exactly, corporatist, unless you place the UAW as a corporation. Perhaps they should be?

|10.29.09 @ 12:32AM|#

Hey, they're still in business instead of bankrupt and sold off piecemeal. Thanks to the Democrats, they avoided failure yet again.

anonymous|10.29.09 @ 10:13PM|#

In the fascist sense, they are.

Usually, particularly here (as opposed to Progressive sites), corporatism means something other than crony capitalism where publicly traded business corporations play a major role.

|10.28.09 @ 9:48PM|#

meh they aren't opposite, it's just the businesses know we are on a speed train towards socialism, and they're trying to get all the rent they possibly can, which means courting the Democrats. Who cares what Republicans think? They are out of power, and the libertarian wing of the Republicans are trying to gain power, which no large businesses want. They don't want competition and property rights for the little guy.

JB|10.29.09 @ 12:48AM|#

Newsweak? I think reason writers would have a better use for their time...such as writing on bathroom walls.

Newsweak is what super, ultra retarded fetuses read.

creech|10.29.09 @ 11:13AM|#

Newsweek sucks, but why should libertarian writers boycott getting a few crumbs? Besides, Mr. Suderman needs the money for his upcoming nuptials with Jane Galt.