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| Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News |
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| Written by Bill Gallagher, | |||
| Saturday, 28 February 2009 07:53 | |||
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By Bill Gallagher Former President Bill Clinton couldn't resist. Self-control has never been his strong suit. Clinton told ABC News that President Barack Obama avoided happy talk and "shot straight with us" in describing the depth of the economic crisis. But then Clinton offered a bit of gratuitous advice to the president just one month in office, saying, "I would like him to end by saying that he is hopeful and completely convinced we're going to come through this." Usually, a president of the same party would present that counsel in private, but that's Bill Clinton. In spite of the forum, the advice is wise and Obama should listen. The bad economic news we hear every day is numbing. Six-and-a-half million Americans are collecting unemployment benefits and the rate of new people making claims is staggering. Bankruptcies, foreclosures, shrinking home values and a plunging stock market add to the economic pain. Retirees watch their savings melt and many are seeing their private pension payments and benefits reduced. Health insurance remains out of reach for tens of millions of Americans and every day people are loosing health care benefits or seeing out-of-pocket costs skyrocket. $30 trillion dollars of wealth has evaporated and there simply is no model that provides a nifty guild that will lead us out of this frightening economic contraction. But Obama and the Democrats can offer hope and are showing a willingness to try different approaches. How would things be if George W. Bush and the Republicans were still in charge? The Republican approach to the crisis has been to try to peddle the same thread-worn nonsense that they always offer: cut taxes, especially for the highest earners; reduce government regulations, allow more pollution and environmental desecration, declare health care is a privilege for the well-to-do and punish unionized workers. Obama and the Democrats should trumpet the good news of their stewardship of the economy and remind the nation how hapless Republican alternatives are and how responsible they are for our present economic condition. When he speaks to member of Congress this week, Obama should lay out the direction he's taking - dramatically different from the do-nothing Republicans and emphasize his willingness to innovate and experiment. The Republicans are going to resist any change and seek only to obstruct and vilify the Democrats' attempts to pump the horrible economy they inherited from a Republican Party tied to the malefactors of great wealth. The shrill, grating voice of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has replaced George W. Bush's Texas twang as the most annoying sound in American public life. The Senate Republicans - sparing the three defectors who voted for the Obama stimulus package - will continue to obstruct progressive legislation as long as they can and Majority Leader, Sen. Harry Reid, doesn't call their filibuster bluff. Reid should have done that late last year when the Republicans blocked loans to the American auto industry. McConnell saw this as an opportunity to help the Toyota plant in his state of Kentucky and his opposition to government loans to the American-based automakers was transparently disingenuous given the billions of dollars of tax breaks the Southern states gave to foreign manufacturers to lure them to their communities. If he had his way McConnell, along with pals like Sen. Richard Shelby (R- Al), who also has foreign plants in his state, would have already killed the U.S. auto industry. They despise the idea of unions, and workers getting decent wages, health benefits and retirement. At the next possible opportunity, the Democrats should give the Republicans the forum of the filibuster to drone on about how they can help working Americans and present their plan to revive the economy - a difficult task since they don't have one and can only repeat their mantra of cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations. The Democrats should look for that opportunity and offer a message of hope and sell programs that will benefit the poor, the unemployed , the uninsured and working people struggling from the consequences of the failure of government regulation and unbridled greed. The hypocrisy of the Republicans needs to be heralded at every occasion. The members of the House and Senate who opposed the stimulus are now celebrating projects coming to their states and districts. They have no shame. Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, an expert on hypocrisy, self dealing and obstructionism has become the political soul of the House Republicans. The poster boy for this rotten reincarnation is the new House Minority Whip, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. Cantor told The New York Times "I talk with Newt on a regular basis because he was in the position that we are in: in the extreme minority." Cantor's unintended pun tells it all. They will oppose every initiative Obama makes and take no responsibility for anything. Theirs is not to govern. Theirs is to hope Obama fails and always embrace extreme partisanship. If that means adding to the suffering of working Americans, so what. All they care about is the 2010 midterm elections. While rallying every member of the House to vote against the Obama stimulus that helps nearly every American and will soon provide income tax relief for 95% of workers, Cantor sang a different tune when he pushed for the $700 billion bailout of banks and financial institutions that George W. Bush wanted in the dying days of his administration. For the Cantor family, what's good for Wall Street is good for them. The Congressman's wife, Diane, is the managing director of a Virginia-based subsidiary of New York Private Bank and Trust. The bank got $276 million from the U.S. Treasury. The taxpayers' money the bank got is almost nine times the median amount received by companies participating in the program. The American Banker reports the bank's CEO, Howard Milstein, changed the bank's tax structure to make it eligible for the bailout and government welfare. The bank claims Diane Cantor did not know of the deal and a spokesman for her husband said it was a "freak coincidence" the bank got the money. It's stunning how many " freak coincidences" benefit Republican interests and their corporate sponsors as they condemn government programs to help working Americans. While many Republicans in Congress want the CEO's of the Detroit auto companies fired, we never hear the same calls and GOP outrage about the banking and Wall Street executives whose reckless behavior is largely responsible for the mess we are in today and who used government money to pay themselves fat bonuses. Just over a year ago, Bush signed into law his $168 billion stimulus plan. With Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader John Boehner beaming over his shoulder, Bush signed the law that resulted in most taxpayers getting tax rebate checks - $600 for individuals and $1200 for couples. How has it worked? The failure is self-evident and as the economy continues to nose dive, Bush ignored the warnings of his own regulators that the game of mortgage backed securities was about to bust. In a 4900-word analysis of the crisis in the December 21, 2008 edition, reporters from the New York Times blew the lid on Bush's refusal to allow federal regulators to put the brakes on out-of-control investment schemes. The article - must reading for those interested in the truth - is entitled: "The Reckoning - White House Philosophy Stocked Mortgage Bonfire." As Bill Clinton told ABC, "Had we moved aggressively a year and a half ago" as much "as 90% of the current crisis could have been averted." Clinton also knows the treachery of the nihilist Republicans. Recall not a single Republican in Congress voted for Clinton's first budget in 1993. Newt Gingrich predicted a recession. Clinton dramatically reduced the federal deficit, ran up surplus, drove interest rates down and his administration provided us with the greatest period of sustained economic growth in our national history. Obama can remind people of that truth. He should revive his aspirational message and take on the Republican Nay Sayers who only want him to fail. In the musical play, The Wiz, great entertainment on Broadway (I saw the original), but a flop on film, Evilena, the wicked witch character, has a wonderful song Obama could use. "When you're talking to me
Bill Gallagher, a Peabody Award winner, is a former Niagara Falls city councilman who now covers Detroit for Fox2 News.
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