Economy Going Up, But Tea Party Is Still Planned

Paul Krugman
E J Dionne

“We can’t govern out of anger, we don’t want to cut off our nose to spite our face.” - Barack Obama

That damned Obama! His handling of the economic crisis is supposed to fail! People are supposed to be calling for the head of Alfredo Garcia, er, Tim Geithner! We're not supposed to have progress, it just makes the Republicans look even more foolish!

So, this report from the NY Timeswhom we know can't be trusted: "When the Obama administration outlined its plans to stabilize the banking system last month, leery investors panned the proposal as being short on substance and sent stock markets into a tailspin. But investors seemed to be warming to the plan’s finer points.

Stocks in New York soared in early trading as the government provided more details of its plan to create a public-private partnership to buy up troubled mortgage-related assets from big banks. Shares of banking giants like Bank of America and Citigroup, which could participate, bounded ahead by double digits."

A quick analysis from the American Prospect has this to say on the Fed's plan unveiled this morning: "Geithner said he sees a large problem of risk aversion right now; this plan is designed to create incentives for people to take risks and purchase these troubled assets. But make no mistake, private investors have some skin in the game -- though not as much as the government -- and will see their equity stakes wiped out in the case of a loss. But because most of these legacy assets are based on the mortgage markets, you have to see the plan as kind of a complicated bank shot. The government is betting that these assets are undervalued, both because the recession has driven down values more than the actual popping of the housing bubble, and because the new housing policy package, in stemming foreclosures and backstopping home values, will lead to gains in that sector, as will the forecast and much-hoped for return of economic growth in the fall of 2009. That is why Treasury is in particular encouraging long-term investors to participate in this program -- buying a pool of mortgages now could prove quite lucrative for taxpayers and investors down the road. Of course, if Krugman is right, and the bad assets continue losing value over time, then this is going to be a very expensive failure, but also the kind of failure that could create the political incentives for the kind of insolvent bank seizure he advocates." I've seen other critiques, both for and against his plan, which is a very conservative approach and is not tackling the regulation issues. Only time will tell if it works better than bankruptcy or other more sever forms. Personally, I'd like to see Phil Gramm tarred and feathered and dragged by his thumbs across five states...

To counter balance the recent uptick on Wall Street, local conservatives are trying to create another anti-Obama budget Tea Party. 

From the Gazette: "Had enough of multi-hundred-billion-dollar bailouts to pay for bonuses to losers who have brought your country to the brink of financial ruin? Tired of fraudulent stimulus programs that promise "jobs" but deliver only pork? Tired of the corporate-jet crowd taking your money so they won't feel their own failures in the least? Tired of having these obligations thrust upon you and your dependents, while worrying about merely keeping a job, finding a job, or making it through your next furlough? If so, join one of the 1,000-plus peaceful tax day tea parties scheduled for April 15." Fun and games will ensue, if you buy enough tea bags to make it worthwhile. The last time they did this in Denver, our own Michelle Malkin was photographed being chummy with some guy who had a swastika... I sure will show up, with my camera in ready, for some good, old fashioned American family fascist traditions in the making... Maybe Michelle will do some face painting for all of the future fuhrers and fuhrettes...

Another look at the tea parties comes courtesy of the Political Animal: "Let's call the "tea party" and "going Galt" nonsense what it is: unprincipled partisan hackery. If these were truly principled protests, they'd have been around all through the Bush and Republican-controlled Congress years, too.

Quite right. It's no doubt inconvenient for this crowd, but a Republican Congress and Republican White House worked together to increase the debt by $5 trillion, expand the size of government, increase spending, increase the tax burden on the middle class, and expand the powers of the executive to undermine civil liberties. The some people attending "Tea Parties" not only cheered these GOP policymakers on, but voted to keep them in office as long as possible. (Indeed, many condemned those who disagreed, accusing liberals of "treason" for failing to support elected leaders during a crisis.)

Literally just two months into a Democratic administration, far-right activists are now holding public protests? They're mad about deficits and a loss of "liberty"?

I almost feel sorry for the folks who get conned into believing this nonsense."

Some vintage late night jokes about the news media:

"Boy there's a lot of changes in the nightly newscast. Tom Brokaw stepping down. Dan Rather stepping down. Soon the most trusted man in television could wind up being Geraldo Rivera." --Jay Leno

"As you know, Bill O'Reilly is being accused of sexual harassment from a female producer on his show. She claims they had phone sex and he claims, no he is just a victim of vast right hand conspiracy." --Jay Leno

"A female producer at Fox News has filed a sexual harassment suit against Bill O-O-O'Reilly. She claims he repeatedly talked to her about phone sex, threesomes and masturbation. The last straw was when he asked her if her breasts were fair and balanced." --Jay Leno

"There's a lot of controversy surrounding the authenticity of this memos shown on '60 Minutes' concerning President Bush and his service in the National Guard. If there's one thing you don't want to see, it's a president who didn't really win the election being brought down by phony documents." —Jay Leno

"We begin tonight with a simple, indisputable fact: as a young man, President George W. Bush benefited from family connections to get a place in the Texas Air National Guard, thus avoiding service in Vietnam. As you would guess, this has led to calls for the resignation of Dan Rather." --Jon Stewart

"Earlier this week, '60 Minutes' featured documents that they say proved President Bush did not fulfill his requirements for National Guard service. Well, now there's talk that the documents are forged. Well, of course, President Bush is stunned. He said, 'You mean I did show up for duty?" —Jay Leno

"Fox News announced they have phony documents also, but then they realized 'Oh, it's just our regular script."' —Jay Leno

"The election is in full-swing. Republicans have taken out round-the-clock ads promoting George Bush. Don't we already have that? It's called Fox News." —Craig Kilborn

"After five weeks of drug rehab, Rush went back to doing his radio show. He told his audience just because he was doing something that was contradictory to what he was telling other people to do, that doesn't mean he was a hypocrite. I thought that was the definition! He told his radio audience that he never lied to the public, he lied to himself. And today Bill Clinton went 'This guy's good.'" —Jay Leno

"After a week of speculation in the press, Rush Limbaugh admitted that he is addicted to pain killers and I'm sorry to say, hoagies. Limbaugh blames his addiction on a botched back operation and lesbians." —Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"

"Today, Rush Limbaugh said he can't talk about the prescription drug scandal he's involved in because he said I don't yet know what I'm dealing with. Hey, didn't stop him from talking about black quarterbacks." —Jay Leno

"Big news on CNN, a search has uncovered illegal biochemical agents, toxins and other dangerous substances. Not in Iraq, in Rush Limbaugh's medicine cabinet." —Jay Leno

"Pretty ironic, that the only Republican with a prescription drug plan is Rush Limbaugh. Actually today Rush said he would have no comment on his drug problem until he could figure out a way to blame it on the Clintons." —Jay Leno

"The Bush administration announced that it is starting its own news channel in Iraq so they can deliver the administration's point of view without any interference. Not surprisingly they are gonna call it the Fox News Network." —Conan O'Brien

"A couple of hours ago, President Bush arrived back in the United States after a controversial trip to England. The president said he was looking forward to seeing his loved ones. Of course he was talking about the reporters at Fox News." —Conan O'Brien

"The French ambassador to the U.S. has written an angry letter alleging that the U.S. is engaging in a disinformation campaign of false stories. So, I guess they get the New York Times over there too." —Jay Leno

"More looting in Iraq today and that’s just by Fox News. A TV engineer for Fox News has been charged with trying to smuggle stolen Iraqi paintings into the U.S. No wonder they got so much good video of all those people looting, they were right there with them. Well, let's just hope his jury is 'fair and balanced' as Fox News." —Jay Leno

"CBS news anchor Dan Rather has interviewed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. When asked what it was like to talk to a crazy man, Saddam said, 'It's not so bad.'" —Conan O'Brien

"You know the saddest thing about that interview with Saddam Hussein? He actually came off more normal than Michael Jackson and Robert Blake." —Jay Leno, on Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" interview with Saddam Hussein