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The Spectacle Blog
Kevin Williamson has a terrific essay in the latest National Review about how the bailed out big boys of Wall Street are suddenly swinging from Barack Obama to Mitt Romney. Williamson concludes of these fair-weather friends:
They are the repo men, headpiece filled with subprime-mortgage derivatives, and they are looking to repossess the Republican party they abandoned in 2008. Free-market, limited-government conservatives should be none too eager to welcome them back, nor should we let our natural sympathy with the profit motive blind us to the fact that a great many of them do not belong in the conservative movement, and that more than a few of them belong in prison.
This set Hugh Hewitt all aflutter, though all he can do is bleat “that’s Bildeberger” and insist there’s no “they” in the face of Williamson’s statistics. Part of this is Hewitt’s natural tendency to suppress his conservatism in defense of Romney, but many conservatives tend to assume that big business is naturally on their side.
Not so. An industry that gives 70 percent of its donations to Obama, that takes federal bailout money, that does special favors for Nancy Pelosi, that suppresses potential competitors, isn’t pro-free market. The sooner conservatives understand the difference between pro-business and pro-market, the better off we’ll be. Williamson’s piece is a good place to start.
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More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/12/29/ocuppied-wall-street
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martin j smith| 12.29.11 @ 3:17PM
But who is a Conservative ?Romney is not. he is a deal maker and refuses to call Obama exactly what he is: A Socialist (actually Marxist -Leninist would be better ). Romney's refusal to be hones is parallel with Wall Street now complaining about Obama. Crocodile tears is all. Romney and Wall Street perfect together but for Romney I have very little regard for him. He is not my candidate as Wall Street is not Main Street.
Clint| 12.29.11 @ 7:14PM
Who is Mitt Romney? Created by NIU Students for Liberty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1wPrsEP2nc
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Dan| 12.29.11 @ 3:29PM
We should flatter them, tell them what they want to hear, gather in as much money as we can from them, issue rather veiled threats that we won't look approvingly on them hedging their bets, offering some money our way while the bulk flows elsewhere.
We should mention that we don't desire to see Schumer flush with cash, that we won't be pleased if we don't see Schumer's coffers run high and dry.
And then after we prevail, we should pivot upon them with a ferocity unseen in American history, we should sic prosecutors upon them, we should insist on the creation of a genuine transparent market.
We should make New York City awash with as many prosecutors looking for scalps as there are rats running hither and yon throughout all of New York's five boroughs.
But don't worry any establishment types who read that, ------------- your boy the mormon won't even consider such a thing.
Dan| 12.29.11 @ 3:32PM
Good luck too, with the penetrating of Hugh Hewitt's unnaturally thick forehead.
He's so besotted with Romney that we're likely to hear any day now of his movement from Catholicism to Protestantism and now into the pews of the Latter Day Saints. You can throw Bill Bennett in the mix too, he's another one who has demonstrated himself thick when it comes to weighing the various candidates.
Kyle Smith| 12.29.11 @ 3:37PM
Hugh used to Catholic and left the faith? Now I dislike him even more. I will be pleased the day he is dropped from my local affiliate. I heard that interview last night with him and KW, and I couldn't believe all the "That's just nutty", "Bilderberger", "nutter", "your like Ron Paul", blah, blah, blah. Conservatives should stop agreeing to go on Hugh's show to be interviewed, and Hugh will go out of business in a week; that'd be great.
RayH| 12.29.11 @ 4:26PM
Couldn't agree more. Hewitt is an establishment RINO first and a conservative... well, never.
Dan| 12.29.11 @ 11:57PM
Yea, Hewitt used to be Roman Catholic, abandoned the Church most likely via pressure from the wife.
He went to the Presbyterians.
Oldefarte| 12.29.11 @ 5:00PM
The major business segment typically goes in whatever direction politically that benefits profits in their collective opinions; and were completely brainwashed/propagandized by Obama's H&C bullexcrement just as was the majority of the American taxpayer-voters in 2008. Hopefully these fools have no learned their lessens the hard way with the continual economic/financial collapse/destruction that is 99% due to the Obama/Democratic Party policies of the last three years. To the business community along with every other community, it's hopeful that they will WAKE UP STUPIDS by November of 2012!!!!
Ed| 12.29.11 @ 5:11PM
Except they did get the dough, Bernanke keeps printing it and shoveling it their way, and no changes with Obama II could be expected. It's not like these folks have any loyalty to some abstract entity like the US. Who do you think Paulson was most loyal to- 1) the Constitution; 2) Bush; 3) Goldman Sachs?
Oldefarte| 12.29.11 @ 10:47PM
Grow up Ed! Paulson and other Wall Streeters are typical business persons who are primarily motivated by the profit motive and how best to make money. They don't give a rat's ars about the constitution. To repeat, they, like the typical dumbarsses of the American society baught into the H&C bullexcrement of Obama/Democrats in 2008 and thought STUPIDLY that they could co-exist with them and make their desired profits. but it hasn't worked out for them that well. Obama/Democrats in control are purely SOCIALISTS that disguised their intended modus operendies regarding CAPITALISM/PRIVATE BUSINESSES. They hate same and want to destroy same or at least to control them in furtherance of their socialistic agenda of providing labor union workers with any business profits instead of these companies' rightful owners [the stockholders]. Obama/Democrats' every other words spoken is these GREEDY MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES who should be forced by the government to GIVE MORE OF THEIR FAIR SHARE of their income that rightfully belongs to those that EARN IT! Now that these businesses have hopefully seen the light of day as to who/what Obama/Democrats are, hopefully they will wise up, deny political campaign contributions to these socialist Democrats and instead contribut to the CAPITALIST oriented Republican Party and it candidates for their own self interests. If Obama/Democrats are re-elected next year, you/Ed cand kiss this country goodbye since after another four years of this H&C socialism, the USA will more rightfully resemble Cuba!!!!!!!!!
Ed| 12.30.11 @ 9:15AM
Sorry but that's frothing without a point. What chapter in the capitalism handbook does it say "If I profit, I keep the money; If I lose, you pay". Paulson was our Treasury Secretary, you bonehead. Our interests, not those of Goldman Sachs, should have come first. They didn't. That's really not capitalism but much more akin to fascism. Read some history.
Tom Osterman| 12.30.11 @ 12:29AM
Let's not overlook the possibility that some of them were paying the Dems protection money.
Quartermaster| 12.30.11 @ 6:46PM
More like certainty. The Dems are gangsters, pure and simple.
Wayne| 12.29.11 @ 9:11PM
Never confuse big business with capitalism. Big business don't like the competition of small business, so if they can get the government to restrict the competition they will.
Oldefarte| 12.29.11 @ 10:58PM
Come on Wayne, that's horse excrement and you know better [or should]. Major banks etc don't tremble in fear over some mom&pop; community bank in Po-dunk Nebraska. The only difference is SIZE, with both concerned with profit generation, and the fact that most small businesses go bankrupt after several years of operation due to inept managerial knowledgedge by their owners. They are similar however in that both large and small businesses are today dying economically/financially due to Obama's/Democrats excessive taxiation/regulation policies in order to take over same and divert their profits to labor unions and their workers. They will not be satisfied in their socialistic terrorisms until every business large or small is represented by a labor union, whose excessive wage rates will eventually strangle said businesses to financial death. If Obama/Dmocrats win in November, everyone desiring a paycheck will have no other choices other than the US military, the peace corp or as a Chicago community organizer, aka Acorn representative!!!!!!!!!
Clint| 12.30.11 @ 2:20AM
We Are Being Set Up By RINO-CINO Flunkie Stooges For The Ruling Elites' Frontman Mittens Romney.
These Are The RINO-CINO Flunkie Stooges Who Gave Us The Serial Traitor To Conservatism, John McCain Of McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy,McCain-Lieberman,Gang Of 14, Opposing Bush Tax Cuts Of 2001 & 2003,TARP.
Now They Are Trying To Give Us RomneyCare,TARP, Cynical Flip-Flops On Abortion, Gays, Refuses to Sign Pro-Life Pledge, Illegal Immigrants, "Little Chain Saw Al" At Bain, Crony Capitalism Campaign Money Trail.....
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Haddit| 12.30.11 @ 12:06PM
So we all better vote NEWT.
DaveM| 12.30.11 @ 8:07AM
As the old saying goes, nobody hates competition more than a successful capitalist.
Oldefarte| 12.30.11 @ 2:46PM
Ed, maybe you should instead read some economic/financial theory, instead of liberal arts 'history'; FYI 'bonehead' the GD financial structure of this nation would have disintegrated into oblivian if Paulson/Bush had not bailed out the major banks and your $20 checking account would have been flushed down the financial toilet, moron; why don't you read history to learn that the the socialistic Democrats began the governmental assault upon banks/financials with the CRA of 1977 and that the current real estate and financial collapse is a eventual result of a snowballing cascade of governmental welfaric policies by Democrats in control ever since; since the Democrats were the original cause of diminishing banking/financial profits collapse starting in 1977 and continuing forward to today, the PaulsonBush bailout were in a sense a repayment of amounts previously stolen from same; and finally DUMBARS, maybe you should also learn history by understanding that the banks that were bailed out by Paulson REPAID BACK EACH AND EVERY CENT BORROWED FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND TAXPAYERS WITH INTEREST [WHICH IS MORE THAT THE AUTO MANUFACTURERS HAVE DONE BUT OF COURSE THEIR BAILOUTS WERE DUE TO THE DEMOCRATS PROVIDING GOVERNMENTAL WELFARE TO THEIR LABOR UNION SUPPORTERS, RIGHT?:
['....Sorry but that's frothing without a point. What chapter in the capitalism handbook does it say "If I profit, I keep the money; If I lose, you pay". Paulson was our Treasury Secretary, you bonehead. Our interests, not those of Goldman Sachs, should have come first. They didn't. That's really not capitalism but much more akin to fascism. Read some history.....']