Frank Rich Roasts Republicans on the Economic Crisis: Pot, Meet Kettle

(bumped up from earlier this evening)

I couldn’t resist weighing in on Frank Rich’s latest lefty missive to poke another stick in the eye of Republicans, even though it is obvious there is plenty of blame to go around regarding our current economic crisis. Rich begins his rant:

Here’s a bottom line to keep you up at night: The economy is falling faster than Washington can get moving. President Obama says his stimulus plan will save or create four million jobs in two years. In the last four months of 2008 alone, employment fell by 1.9 million. Do the math.

The abyss is widening. Of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones industrial index, 22 have announced job cuts since October. Unemployment is up in all 50 states, with layoffs at both high-tech companies (Microsoft) and low (Caterpillar). The December job loss in retailing is the worst since at least 1939. The new-home sales rate has fallen to its all-time low since record-keeping began in 1963.

What are Americans still buying? Big Macs, Campbell’s soup, Hershey’s chocolate and Spam — the four food groups of the apocalypse.

The crisis is at least as grave as the one that confronted us — and, for a time, united us — after 9/11. Which is why the antics among Republicans on Capitol Hill seem so surreal. These are the same politicians who only yesterday smeared the patriotism of any dissenters from Bush’s “war on terror.” Where is their own patriotism now that economic terror is inflicting far more harm on their constituents than Saddam Hussein’s nonexistent W.M.D.?

Antics? Anything like Nancy Pelosi’s antics in blaming the entire economic crisis on the Republicans last Fall – even though Democrats opposed more stringent banking regulations and are likewise neck deep in the Fannie/Freddie scandal? Look, I don’t pretend to be an expert in this field. Far from it. But as a taxpayer, it is painfully obvious that predatory lending practices, greed from many sectors and delusional ‘it’s a never ending party’ behavior from many in power in the private and public sector are to blame for the situation in which we find ourselves. This is all the more painful and frustrating because many of us show up, pay our bills on time, did not behave recklessly and would never dream of cheating anyone – but we are now having to foot the bill for crooks.

On the one hand, Frank Rich is stating that Obama’s solution is not enough but then criticizes Republicans for opposing it. Uh, here’s a hot flash – a lot of Americans are real worried about handing this money over to someone who spent 6 million on faux Grecian columns for a one night stand, had the most expensive inauguration party in history, and spent over $100 on a piece of imported Kobe beef. No – it’s not the only thing we focus on – but it is a good indicator of attitude and mindset. It is cause for worry because it represents a pattern of behavior.

Rich further states:

The House stimulus bill is an inevitably imperfect hodgepodge-in-progress. Obama’s next move, a new plan to prevent the collapse of America’s banks, may prove more problematic still, especially given the subpar record of the new Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, in warding off calamity while at the New York Fed.

Let’s talk about that. It is further indicative of a pattern of behavior that Tim Geithner, a tax evader, is now in charge of the Treasury. And Tom Daschle, another tax evader with a lobbyist wife, almost squeaked by with a cabinet post as well, till it got too hot in the kitchen and he had to withdraw his nomination today. The Deputy Secretary of Defense was a lobbyist for Raytheon. So President Obama’s administration is a case of do as I say, not as I do? Whatever happened to cleaning up the dirt in Washington? Why should we trust these guys to spend our money wisely?

Rich insultingly says:

No one should expect the Republicans to give the new president carte blanche, fall blindly into lock step or be “post-partisan.” (Though that’s exactly what the G.O.P. demanded of Democrats with Bush: You were either with him or with the terrorists.) …But you might think that a loyal opposition would want to pitch in and play a serious role at a time of national peril.

So what is “pitching in” comprised of, in his view – just capitulating without debate on one of the biggest spending bills ever? Is just ‘lying down and taking it’ the way to go? Look, I am no Republican and most probably never will be, but just as I didn’t like one party rule under the Republicans in 2001-2006, I feel no greater comfort now with President Obama arrogantly saying “well, I won,” and Speaker Pelosi passing this pork filled stimulus bill in the House, without one ounce of bi-partisan support. So much for reaching across the aisle. Mr. Rich continues:

The current G.O.P. acts as if it — and we — have all the time in the world. It kept hoping in vain that the fast-waning Blago sideshow would somehow impale Obama or Rahm Emanuel. It has come perilously close to wishing aloud that a terrorist attack will materialize to discredit Obama’s reversals of Bush policy on torture, military tribunals and Gitmo. The party’s sole consistent ambition is to play petty politics to gum up the works.

Uh, no. I certainly don’t want to see anything horrible happen to our country so I can say “I told you so.” And anyone who does ought to rethink that position. Simultaneously, I will not be cowed into spending almost a trillion dollars out of fear – which sounds suspiciously like what the Republicans did to us when demanding that we support the Iraq war. Mr. Rich conveniently forgets that if the Democrats want to trumpet themselves as the party that occupies the moral high ground, then they have to act like it. That means the Dems don’t get to bully moderates and conservatives by branding them as people who want the country to fail just for not driving off a cliff after Nancy Pelosi and her stimulus package.

Mr. Rich also complains that Republicans:

“posture in public about their determination to take action, then do nothing while more and more Americans cry for help.”

But even Paul Krugman, the only sane man left at the NYTimes apparently, disagrees with Mr. Rich touting the Obama Administrations plans. Take a look at his editorial, Bailouts for Bunglers:

Question: what happens if you lose vast amounts of other people’s money? Answer: you get a big gift from the federal government — but the president says some very harsh things about you before forking over the cash.

Am I being unfair? I hope so. But right now that’s what seems to be happening.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the Obama administration’s plan to support jobs and output with a large, temporary rise in federal spending, which is very much the right thing to do. I’m talking, instead, about the administration’s plans for a banking system rescue — plans that are shaping up as a classic exercise in “lemon socialism”: taxpayers bear the cost if things go wrong, but stockholders and executives get the benefits if things go right.

When I read recent remarks on financial policy by top Obama administration officials, I feel as if I’ve entered a time warp — as if it’s still 2005, Alan Greenspan is still the Maestro, and bankers are still heroes of capitalism………..

It is worthwhile to note Paul Krugman felt Hillary Clinton had far better plans for the economy and health care. Oh, but then Rich excoriated Hillary — I guess she’s not one of those good Democrats he’s always touting. Then Mr. Rich pulls the following statement out of the air:

The more disturbing problem is that the party has zero leaders and zero ideas. It is as AWOL in this disaster as the Bush administration was during Katrina.

Which party is Mr. Rich talking about above – it’s hard to tell.

The answer to everything is not to throw money at the problem – the private sector has already proven they cannot manage money responsibly. You will pardon me if I don’t want to write them any more big checks while they use the dough to redecorate their offices with no oversight in sight. And the Dems offered no oversight once they took back Congress in 2006. What makes you think that this one party control is going to offer any now? Their new Treasury Secretary sort of forgot to pay his taxes. Oops.

Like Rich, I do not necessarily think Republicans are “the party of good ideas.” But if Mr. Rich wants to complain about that, he should take it up with his favorite new President – after all, Obama is the one quoted as saying they are.

Rich says Republicans just want “bigger tax cuts, particularly for business and the well-off.” Actually, no. In the Forbes Magazine editorial, Grand New Party: Steele In Their Spines, Reihan Salam details what some Republicans are proposing:

Not only have Republicans opposed this ill-conceived free-for-all–they’ve actually floated a number of more attractive alternatives, including a steep payroll tax cut, a sharp increase in the child tax credit, and offering state governments loans instead of grants. The first would represent an immediate economic boon to all American workers and businesses, the second would benefit hard-hit families, and the third would force state governments to spend responsibly rather than shovel money out the door. If Republicans keep moving in this direction, by backing similarly smart policies on fighting climate change and rising health care costs, President Obama and Congressional Democrats will have a real fight on their hands.

Spending responsibly sounds good to me. If it’s a loan one has to pay back, one is a little more concerned with not pissing it away on drapes. Accountability. Transparency. Where is it coming from in this new pure as the driven snow administration when Daschle was behind closed doors yesterday apologizing for his $112,000 tax embarrassment and trying to sneak through the confirmation process.

What happened to the new way of doing business in Washington?

By the way, this is the same bunch who dis-invited paraplegic Sen. Max Cleland from making a campaign appearance on behalf of Obama because Cleland did occasional lobbying work on behalf of a company that helps paraplegic veterans. M’kay. They did it because Plouffe and Co. did not want to open Obama up to any criticism for any “lobbying ties.” So they shamefully dissed a hero of the Democratic Party, but Geithner and Daschle’s tax evading antics are okay? Daschle was forced to withdraw or create a huge embarrassment for the Obama Administration. The Dems were still pushing for him as of yesterday. Go ahead, Mr. Rich, please keep scolding the Republicans. You are drawing on a weak hand.

I am the first to say that President Bush was a disastrous leader and the spending he incurred as a result of the war and more, while telling us to “go shopping” was a disgrace. But as to the rest, the only two I recall really making a noise about the housing crisis were Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Where was Chris Dodd, head of the banking committee; or Kerry, who is complaining about the stimulus package now? Or Barney Franks?

Here is something else Republicans are proposing — see what you think about this:

Senate Republicans circulated a sweeping plan to drive down the cost of mortgages by expanding the federal government’s role in the industry, officials said Monday night…

The emerging proposal also relies on a bigger and more widely available tax break for homebuyers than is now available, those officials added as Senate Republicans staked their claim to a different type of economic recovery measure than Democrats and the administration favor.

In the Capitol, Republicans said their goal was to change the bill, not to block it. “Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader…”We need to fix housing first,” he said.

Officials said the GOP was coalescing behind a proposal designed to give banks an incentive to make loans at rates currently estimated at 4 percent to 4.5 percent. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were seized by the federal government in September, would be required to purchase the mortgages once banks have made them to consumers.

Officials said loans to credit-worthy borrowers on primary residences with a mortgage of up to $625,000 would qualify, including those seeking to refinance their current loans.

Separately, Republican officials said they intended to press for a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers through the end of the year. Current law permits a $7,500 tax break and limits it to first-time homebuyers.

Reihan Salam puts it well when he points out:

As David Brooks has ably described, the stimulus package represents an awkward marriage of long-term Democratic objectives, like pouring more money into higher education and green energy and big-ticket infrastructure projects, and short-term measures that governments at all levels will have an extremely difficult time absorbing. Many of these long-term objectives are very worthy ones that Republicans should embrace as well, particularly efforts to upgrade our physical infrastructure. Yet the speed with which this measure has been pursued means that spending discipline has gone out the window. State governments that receive billions of dollars will have no way to evaluate the efficacy of spending, and so we will find, two or three years hence, that vast sums were wasted, and indeed that vast sums fell into the wrong hands.

We don’t need any more waste. I don’t pretend to have the answer. I don’t know that Republicans do either. But Mr. Rich is very remiss in his attempts to portray President Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Tim Geithner as people who are serious in wanting to fix our problems since we heard nary a peep from them when all of this was transpiring in the first place.

We cannot afford to dawdle, but to dismiss serious debate and pretend that a more judicious oversight is not required is more irresponsible than taking no action at all. While obstructionists are not needed, neither are rabble-rousers and demonizers the likes of Mr. Rich. It is ironic that Mr. Rich’s editorial also makes sure to lambaste Rush Limbaugh. The two have more in common than he realizes.