McSame and His Economic Darwinists

We told you about some of the dubious characters who are Walnuts! McSame's band of economic advisors. Well, Harold Meyerson, in today's WaPo makes a case why these economic Darwinists shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the levers of the American economy. In his op/ed "Bailing Out The Reaganites," Meyerson addresses how McSame and his crew are seeing the fruits of Ronnie Raygun's laissez-faire policies, especially in the unregulated, speculative financial sectors, at the same time he and his fellow Rebunglecans have fallen over themselves asking, "What would St. Ronnie do?":

"Now, the task of squaring the Reaganite worldview with the collapse of the Reaganite world under the weight of its own doctrines has fallen squarely on McCain and those Bush administration officials charged with averting an economic catastrophe... Until recently, McCain's economic message consisted chiefly of abolishing congressional earmarks in appropriations bills - a classic Reaganite proposal that would have no effect on our economic situation."

So who does McSame turn to for the economic expertise he admits he sorely lacks? Why former Sen. Phil Gramm (Rethug- TX), who authored the 1999 legislation that repealed the New Deal law restricting the speculative activities of banks! Gramm also lobbied Congress "to overturn state laws restricting predatory lending and the issuance of mortgages to prospective home owners who could not afford them."

Meyerson also tags Bush Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (former Goldman Sachs co-chair) for his "ambivalence toward regulation" and for his proposal that "would actually lead to less government oversight of Wall Street." Meyerson concludes:

"In their unwillingness to do what it takes to save the economy, McCain, Paulson & Co. are treading a familiar path. From 1929 through 1932, Andrew Mellon, Herbert Hoover's Treasury secretary [and ancestor of Richard Mellon Scaife, Hillary's new BFF on the far right] and owner of one of America's largest banks, saw no role for the government in helping the economy other than to encourage companies to lay off their employees."

Ah yes, the wonderful legacy of laissez-faire Rebunglecans!