tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post2837191360447111773..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Thune/DeMintJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53731662968700819652010-09-29T23:45:36.578-05:002010-09-29T23:45:36.578-05:00Speaking of cognitive dissonance, will Reagan'...Speaking of cognitive dissonance, will Reagan's own TARP-sized stimulus throw a wrench in the anti-TARP purity test? For those who don't recall, early in his Presidency Reagan pushed forward an $800 B stimulus to combat the nasty 1980-1981 recession (a bad recession, but not quite as bad as the one Obama was fighting).<br /><br />In real dollars, Reagan's stimulus was around 2X Obama's. But in real politics, that's a difficult connection to make, since the electorate is so generally anti-spending that a "Reagan stimulus comparison" may simply come across as a justification for debt.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-29326521012899466442010-09-29T16:34:59.342-05:002010-09-29T16:34:59.342-05:00I'm sure many tea-partiers forgive Palin for d...<i>I'm sure many tea-partiers forgive Palin for defending the causes of the campaign she was attached to.</i><br /><br />That's why I was particularly interested in what she had to say in <i>Going Rogue</i>, after the campaign was over.David Tomlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-35729162131182235202010-09-29T07:49:54.924-05:002010-09-29T07:49:54.924-05:00I'm sure many tea-partiers forgive Palin for d...I'm sure many tea-partiers forgive Palin for defending the causes of the campaign she was attached to. What requires considerably more cognitive dissonance is Glenn Beck's support for TARP. Beck is far more influential in the Tea Party than Palin. If they can forgive Beck, they can forgive anyone.Kylopodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06932528611103718373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-25585616846463823372010-09-29T04:09:48.711-05:002010-09-29T04:09:48.711-05:00DeMint, Mike Pence, and Alabama senator Jeff Sessi...DeMint, Mike Pence, and Alabama senator Jeff Sessions voted against TARP. Everyone else on David Bernstein's list who was in Congress at the time voted for it.<br /><br />Romney defends TARP, notably in what I presume is his 2012 campaign book, <i>No Apology</i>. I haven't read it, but that's what is reported. <br /><br />Sarah Palin's defense of TARP in the Couric interview was surely her worst performance of the campaign, which is going some. It's the one that Tina Fey 'parodied' with an almost verbatim repetition. <br /><br />She did better in the VP debate, which will probably provide the standard video clip.<br /><br /><i>Going Rogue</i> mentions the first TARP vote, after an account of the first presidential debate.<br /><br />'Three days later, the House of Representatives rejected a Bush-backed economic bailout plan in a vote in which two-thirds of Republicans voted no. The impression this made on the electorate was not helpful to our cause. Millions of Americans were poised to go bankrupt or lose their savings, and the perception was that Republicans had failed to respond.' (Chapter 4, part 10. I'm working from a large print edition because it was available at the library, so the page numbers are different from a regular edition. FWIW it's p. 382 of the LPE.)<br /><br />These remarks are all about politics and appearances, in keeping with the book's mostly substance-free character. But the implied criticism of TARP opponents may not go over well in the primaries.<br /><br />Pawlenty criticized TARP in a interview with Howard Fineman, in December 2009.<br /><br />Rick Santorum criticized TARP in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2010.<br /><br />So far I haven't found any comment on TARP by Mitch Daniels.David Tomlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-83232976752249053102010-09-28T16:53:34.104-05:002010-09-28T16:53:34.104-05:00Further complicating TARP/Thune:
Even if Republic...Further complicating TARP/Thune:<br /><br />Even if Republican leaders want to downplay it, there's enough candidates who will be running from OUTSIDE of their auspices, and perhaps even directly hostile to them. Palin is certainly the chief among these (As we discussed last week)- although as John McCain's running mate, she had to say some very nice things about TARP herself. Though it certainly seems like she's not above such "hypocrisy". <br /><br />Does someone else have enough of a power base to put out a negative message that the establishment wants stifled? Unknown. Maybe DeMint? I can't imagine he voted for it, though another problem is that so much of the Republican Party- especially the big wigs planning a run in 2012- at LEAST kept their mouth shut on it at the time.Colbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262426400735202537noreply@blogger.com