Patterico's Pontifications

Great link, DRJ. Very well written, and I’m in agreement with what he so eloquently describes.

Apogee (366e8b) — 9/5/2008 @ 11:16 pm

Let’s begin the post-election wrap-up for the LSM. If The One loses, something that is appearing more and more likely, what will be the headlines?

“Face It, Race Still Matters”

“Obama Lost But Politics Won’t Be The Same”

“How Much Did Voter Fraud Play a Role?”

“McCain and Palin Won’t Find It Easy”

“Alec Baldwin: I’m Leaving the Country!”

“Michael Moore: This Country Is Still Racist.”

“Did McCain or Palin Win It?”

“Andrew Sullivan: DNA Evidence Still Missing.”

Arnold (1a3b0c) — 9/5/2008 @ 11:31 pm

“Obama Lost But Politics Won’t Be The Same”
— “Obama Lost Due To The Same Old Politics”

“How Much Did Voter Fraud Play a Role?”
— “How Much Did Voter ID Laws Play a Role?”

Icy Truth (6e6d48) — 9/5/2008 @ 11:59 pm

Wish I’d written that. Thank you for linking it, DRJ.

Beldar (6877e3) — 9/6/2008 @ 12:53 am

Americans prove how fucking racist they are.

Republicans intimidate women, children, minorities, and dead people.

JD (5f0e11) — 9/6/2008 @ 5:54 am

You jackasses are disgraceful.

Did ya notice Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are about to be nationalized leaving taxpayers the proud owners of their $1.6 TRILLION debt.

GOP economic policies are sure something to be proud of.

Heckuva job! George Bush and the GOP.

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:29 am

If The One loses, are you prepared for a race war?

Bob Parks opines on the same topic. Bob also has a blog.

(HT Gates of Vienna)

Horatio (55069c) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:29 am

Oops – link for Gates of Vienna

Horatio (55069c) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:30 am

That is a great post by Bill, thanks for the link. It isn’t going to be easy undoing years of Democrat lies about the Republicans, but it will be easier if the Republicans stop acting like Democrats. Tax and Spend is never good government policy.

Now we need to get the Ted Stevens (R) and William Jeffersons (D) out of public office.

tyree (afe523) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:45 am

Nationalization of Fannie and Freddie is OK as long as the crowd of leeches that have been running them for the past 15 years are let go. They cannot be both public and private. That was the source of mischief. They have been lobbying Congress to risk the public money for years.

Take a look at who has been running them and ran them off the rails. Do Raines, Gorelick and Johnson sound familiar ?

MIke K (155601) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:46 am

Now, Dr. K….don’t feed the little troll. I can promise, promise, promise you the person doesn’t know anything about those lending institutions that was not printed in column one of the NYT or visible on the top page at DK.

Republicans bad, Democrats good, to misquote George Orwell.

Eric Blair (36c1a9) — 9/6/2008 @ 8:55 am

Odd that James A Johnson, the former long-time CEO of Fannie Mae, would be so close to Obama. For a while (until he was fingered for having got sweetheart loans from crooked banks), Mr. Johnson headed Obama’s VP search effort.

Tell me again why Fannie Mae troubles are all W’s fault….

Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:31 am

Harpy doesn’t even reach the level of garden – variety Troll, Eric: more plankton – like.

Dmac (e639cc) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:32 am

JD @ #5…
And, we’re going to be coming for you JD!
But first, I’ve got to stop and get a qt of milk…

jharp at #6 is being his disengenuous self again.
Fan & Fred hold, or back up, the mortgages of Americans totalling $5T. Any securities that have been issued by Fan & Fred are backed by those mortgages. In the case of a complete Fed takeover, the stockholders (who have already seen 90% of their equity vanish) will be the losers; the securities can be readily converted to bonds gauranteed by the Treasury. Perhaps you should read yesterday’s WSJ article by Deborah Solomon before you completely go bonkers, again.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122064650145404781.html

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:33 am

Eric,

You are right until you suggest that he might know something that WAS printed in the NYT. Most trolls are about 14 and “wise beyond their years” (Read: insufferable PITAs with lots of opinions about things they’ve never experienced).

Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:33 am

Good article DRJ.

It’s good to see a writer out there willing to admit the sins of the party that they belong to.

If the Republicans need to repair their brand however, they should do it in the wilderness, not right back in the seat of power. If power corrupts as the article admits, how is returning a Republican to power going to motivate the party to examine its priorities?

John McCain will be a great president. Who can seriously doubt that? But he and his veep would not come to Washington as all powerful reform dictators, they would be 2 people who still need the support of their party to get things done; and many other memebers of the party, by the admission of McCain and Palin themselves, aren’t reformers.

Better the Republicans suffer 4 years out in the cold so they can think some things through before coming back to power in 2012. The Dems aren’t going to “burn the house down”, America isn’t going to turn into some commie gulag, that line is pure hog-wash…overly used hogwash. They will just do some status-quo Dem things, maybe solar energy research will get a little more funding.

Then in 2012, having re-grouped and maybe thought some things out, the Reps can come back to Washington. With 4 more solid years of governing and a national run for office under her belt, everyone can even feel comfortable and confident when they vote for Sarah Palin for President… which is what people want to do anyway.

And maybe, just maybe, having nervously hosted the first African American President followed by the first Female President, both of whom are Christians (with a capitol C!) and having seen them both do a fine job, a big chunk of “culture war” BS, with all its hysterical accusations and all those -isms, will lose its legitimacy, and the talking head leeches who make money off of turning Americans against one another will shrivel up like slugs in salt and we can all get back to a sensible civic life.

It almost certainly won’t play out that way but it’s good to have a vision of the way things should be.

EdWood (721df1) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:35 am

Hey, Kevin…I thought we were going to lay off of Levi since he’s been permanently banned?

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:35 am

No EdWood…
The damage that would have to be undone is immeasurable..Just look at how bad Nan&Harry have screwed things up leading a real “Do Nothing” Congress. In 2012, or 2016 it would be even worse.
A Pres. John McCain can enforece discipline upon the troops in Congress by the use of the veto pen. Just keep kicking those appropriations bills back at them until they get the message. Any GOP Cong or Sen who votes to override could find him/herself blacklisted by the RNC. Perhaps even having the party work to find a primary opponent for them at the next election, and then funding that opponent.
That is how you enforce party discipline!

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:41 am

Harpy – why is it that you ignore Baracky’s ties to sub prime lenders?

JD (5f0e11) — 9/6/2008 @ 9:43 am

“Harpy – why is it that you ignore Baracky’s ties to sub prime lenders?”

For the same reason I ignore McCain’s leaving his disfigured wife and kids for a younger richer woman.

Because it has nothing to do with the failed policies of the GOP. The failure of Fannie and Freddie and subsequent taxpayer bailout do.

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:17 am

harpy, I don’t think that’s true.
1. You bring up JSM’s past failures, but you don’t bring up BHO’s past failures.
2. You don’t think BHO’s connections to the mob are of any concern (known facts) but instead think his promises are worth trusting (when he has not executed on past promises).

steve miller (3c2c90) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:20 am

Well, you can rely on jharp, when he doesn’t have a substantial line of criticism, to fall back on the “he left his wife” meme.
What he fails to acknowledge, is that McCains self-admitted failing re his first marriage, has no comparison to BHO’s continued association with murderous scum/anti-American terrorists such as Ayers and Dohrn.

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:28 am

Jharpy proves, again, that it is a vile liar. SHOCKA !!!!

JD (5f0e11) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:30 am

AD- you give it too much credit. Though they did divorce, he attributes it to infidelity, social climbing, and looks – all demonstrably untrue, even according to his ex.

JD (5f0e11) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:36 am

JD…
I have no expectation of a Leftard being rational…
but, they are fun to play Whack-a-Mole with.
I mean, he won’t even acknowledge that John McCain has said, on National TV, that his first marriage is one of his most important failings in his life. And that it was the down-stream conclusion of a very stressful segment of his life is just ignored.
Asshats, All!

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:50 am

Seems like Harpy isn’t getting enough fresh fruit.

Old Coot (62fd89) — 9/6/2008 @ 10:58 am

Now, how could we expect harpy to get enough fresh fruit when Baracky’s wife Michelle struggles with such a daunting task?

JD (5f0e11) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:02 am

Question for you “proud of the GOP” neanderthal brained apologists.

Just when was the last government bailout of this magnitude.

And for the financially empty headed, Fannie and Freddie guarantee half the home mortgages in the U.S.

That’s right, half. And both are insolvent. (again for uneducated that means they owe more than they own)

The George Bush economy is strong! Just ask Rush and Fox News!

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:13 am

“Seems like Harpy isn’t getting enough fresh fruit.”

Either that, or not enough bran with his breakfast cereal. A plethora of organic matter seems to be backing up somewhere….

Dmac (e639cc) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:23 am

jharpie…
Every one of those mortgages that Fan & Fred hold are assets.
An asset represents wealth that secures an obligation.
Do you actually think that all $5T of the mortgages held by these two are going to default?
If so, you better pack your bags now and get out while the gettings good, cause there will be chaos such as you cannot imagine if that happens.
Also, if the economy is so bad, why is the Dollar rising against the Euro?

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:24 am

jharp, you really don’t have any clue about the mortgage issue do you? You have no idea how it occurred, you have no real understanding of the character of the problem, and no real understanding of its interaction iwth housing prices / construction.

SPQR (26be8b) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:26 am

…more #30…
and Thank You for the compliment.
According to you, I have now graduated from Cro-Magnon to Neanderthal.
Man, I worked hard for that.

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:26 am

SPQR…Very nicely done; but to be concise…

jharp = no real understanding

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:28 am

Another Drew, you’ll be doing Geico commercials any day now.

SPQR (26be8b) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:30 am

Good! I can use the money, and the Babes.

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:31 am

“jharp”, you should hope you know more about basic biology than you do about mortgage finance or you’ll be childless. I know about both and consider you an evolutionary dead end in more ways than one two.

C. Norris (63b370) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:35 am

Re #28, with a awesomely creative insult:

Question for you “proud of the GOP” neanderthal brained apologists.

Well, okay. But our friends at Wikipedia suggest, about the maligned Neanderthal brain:

1200-1750 cm³ skull capacity (10% greater than modern human average)

So maybe it was a compliment.

Eric Blair (36c1a9) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:39 am

Dmac, it is always good to see your posts, by the way.

Plankton? That made me laugh.

Very, very small plankton. Picoplankton, I”m thinking.

Kevin, you are of course correct. Reading the NYT takes more time than watching “Countdown” for political realism and professionalism.

Eric Blair (36c1a9) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:44 am

Also, if the economy is so bad, why is the Dollar rising against the Euro?

Talking about the strength of the dollar is a serious weakspot for the GOP.

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=USD&to=EUR&amt=1&t=5y

i like america (f4c1e0) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:45 am

I appreciate the insults. As usual it shows you’ve got nothing.

Any one of you GOPers care to take a stab at answering the question?

Just when was the last government bailout of this magnitude?

And actually I do have a very good understanding of what led to the problem and who is going to pay for it.

The only unanswered question is how much is it going to cost the taxpayers.

My estimate. Huge. Well into 11 figures. Maybe 12.

I guess compared to blowing a $trillion on the Iraq war, and another $3 trillion with the other corporate giveaways, this can probably be described as one of the GOP’s more successful policies.

“proud of the GOP” You have got to be kidding.

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:54 am

ila…
I didn’t say the Dollar was in a good position re the Euro;
I said that it is rising.
As the Fed Reserve tightens Monetary Policy, the Dollar will rise.
They (The Fed) have already done as much as they can to boost exports; and now, the Chinese and European economies are bumping up against a stall, so it is a good time to firm up the Dollar as exports are going to soften anyway.
Firming up the Dollar will also have the benefit of reducing the cost of imports (particularly oil) and reduce inflationary pressures in the economy.
Oh, and by the way, Monetary Policy is controlled by the Fed, which is outside the purview of the Administration. The President (GOP) has very little direct control, and probably minimal indirect control, of Fed policies other than the appointment power, and we’ve all seen how even the best of appointments can turn to crap when individuals start to think more of themselves than of the country.

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 11:54 am

Just a question.

Who writes and submits legislation on government bailouts, right or wrong? Since the current proposed bail out seems to be the overriding concern?

Here is a second question for our well informed troll-ette. Who controls both houses of Congress at present?

I’m just sayin’.

Eric Blair (36c1a9) — 9/6/2008 @ 12:03 pm

answer the question…
Well, we can go back to the early eighties and the bail-out of a bank in Chicago (Continental-Illinois), that set in place the “too big to fail” concept;
then there was the bail-out of Chrysler (of course, the Gov’t actually made money on that due to the convertible warrants Chrysler had to give up to get the gaurantees);
then there was the liquidity crisis on Wall Street following the mini-crash in ’87;
then there was the Savings & Loan rescue, of which almost every investor (stockholder) in the effected S&L’s lost all of the investment, but the depositors were made whole (if you weren’t paying attention then, I would remind you that this debacle can be laid straight at the feet of Cong. St.Germaine (D-RI) who chaired the relevant House Cmte and changed the laws precipitating the crisis)
the most recent, of course, is Bear-Sterns – no one knows how much that will cost, or even if it will. We’ll have to wait and see.
The primary basis for all of this, is that inaction is much more costly than the action taken.

Another Drew (e872c7) — 9/6/2008 @ 12:05 pm

Remember when I said Bill Whittle had told me that he had something going and I couldn’t say what it was?

Now you know.

There may be something else, too, but writing for NRO was what he had told me about.

Patterico (cc3b34) — 9/6/2008 @ 12:15 pm

Hey, all of you “proud of the GOP” nitwits.

This must really swell your pride. A Chinese economist is now dictating U.S. policy.

Really. Do you have no sense of shame at all?

“A high-ranking Chinese economist has put his nation’s cards on the table in the global financial poker game by effectively telling the US to fix Freddie and Fannie … or else.
“A failure of US mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be a catastrophe for the global financial system”, Yu Yongding, a former adviser to China’s central bank, says.
“If the US government allows Fannie and Freddie to fail and international investors are not compensated adequately, the consequences will be catastrophic,” Yu said in e-mailed answers to Bloomberg. “If it is not the end of the world, it is the end of the current international financial system.”
It is well within the bounds of imagination. People have been thinking the unthinkable for some time.”

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 2:00 pm

test

jharp (ef54fc) — 9/6/2008 @ 2:48 pm

pest

Icy Truth (5b3d64) — 9/6/2008 @ 3:02 pm

“jharp”, you should hope you know more about basic biology than you do about mortgage finance or you’ll be childless.

— Oh please! Oh please!! Oh please!!!

Icy Truth (5b3d64) — 9/6/2008 @ 3:18 pm

I appreciate the insults. As usual it shows you’ve got nothing.

— We’ve got the insults.

Icy Truth (5b3d64) — 9/6/2008 @ 3:20 pm

What is Obama’s biggest mistake so far?

Was it refusing to even consider Hillary for VP? Or, was it something he did or didn’t do prior to the Denver Convention? Something in his background, or some lie or deception along the way?

Picking Joe Biden for VP was a major blunder, but it’s only one of many.

Ropelight (49e412) — 9/6/2008 @ 4:29 pm

Certainly, we’ve GOPers have made some progress – self-identifying the problem is the first step, nominating Palin was the second.

But let’s not get all triumphant before we have the heads of our opponents on our plate and we hear the lamentations of their women, so to speak.

Rome wasn’t fixed in a day, you know!

Whitehall (7fd130) — 9/6/2008 @ 7:53 pm

9/5/2008

Bill Whittle: Proud of the GOP

51 Responses to “Bill Whittle: Proud of the GOP”

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