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Counter debate: the bailout boondoggle

The first portion of Reason’s Counter Debate is now available. I quite enjoyed listening to Bob Barr pointing out the economic nonsense of the two ‘major’ party candidates.

My impression from the debate is I agree with Bob Barr on his economics and McCain on the war that is coming to an end. It is, however, economics which look to be the big worry right now. It is a shame Bob Barr was not invited. He would have injected a little bit of capitalist free-market sense into the event.

5 comments to Counter debate: the bailout boondoggle

  • Paul Marks

    The tragic thing is that, although he has been voting against subsdies and earmarks for more than 20 years, on this vast theft from the taxpayers John McCain has been useless.

    700 billion Dollars of Corporate Welfare (on top of all the hundreds of billions of Dollars that have already been wasted) to “save” a credit bubble “financial system” that can not be saved.

    It is not just Bob Barr – it is mainstream people like former Speaker of the House N.G.

    He begged McCain to lead the charge against the bailout (and to support an less statist alternative that was proposed), but John McCain did not do so.

    John McCain said a lot of good things in the debate.

    He attacked Senator Obama’s vast new spending programs.

    He opposed the “cost plus” contracts in the military.

    He opposed the ethenol subsidies and other such.

    John McCain also pointed out that, far from being unimportant, “earmarks” act as a “gateway drug” – when people get used to voting for earmarks they tend to vote for everything else as well. They are corrupted.

    And on overseas policy Senator McCain pointed out the folly of Senator Obama’s policy of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq – and how such a policy would lead to defeat in Afghanistan also.

    But it was all undermined by the Bush/Poulson bailout.

    Being on the same side as Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Christoper Dodd, Barney Frank – and on and on.

    One can go on about media bias and ACORN vote fraud (and I do), but if John McCain loses this election and freedom finally dies in the United States (and the rest of the West) he will really have only himself to blame.

    Already it has started the Obama “truth unit” is reaching out to law enforcement people in various areas to demand the removal of signs (and other such) from private property containing what they consider “misleading” information about Senator Obama.

    Should he win this will spread to all forms of media (including the internet).

    No more “misleading” information – by international agreement everything will have to be “fair” (i.e. leftist).

    The Marxist Comrades will have won – exactly 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall (when we thought we had defeated them).

    Remember the Obama Berlin Rally before 200, 000 screaming German leftists – the wall I am interested in destroying is the wall between “rich and poor” and “between nations”.

    World government and collectivism.

    And it will NOT be the fault of Dale or Bob Barr – it will be the fault of JOHN MCCAIN.

    Senator McCain had this election for the taking (he could have saved not just the United States but the West generally), but he seems to have thrown it away by supporting the Bush bailout.

  • Paul Marks

    The tragic thing is that, although he has been voting against subsdies and earmarks for more than 20 years, on this vast theft from the taxpayers John McCain has been useless.

    700 billion Dollars of Corporate Welfare (on top of all the hundreds of billions of Dollars that have already been wasted) to “save” a credit bubble “financial system” that can not be saved.

    It is not just Bob Barr – it is mainstream people like former Speaker of the House N.G.

    He begged McCain to lead the charge against the bailout (and to support an less statist alternative that was proposed), but John McCain did not do so.

    John McCain said a lot of good things in the debate.

    He attacked Senator Obama’s vast new spending programs.

    He opposed the “cost plus” contracts in the military.

    He opposed the ethenol subsidies and other such.

    John McCain also pointed out that, far from being unimportant, “earmarks” act as a “gateway drug” – when people get used to voting for earmarks they tend to vote for everything else as well. They are corrupted.

    And on overseas policy Senator McCain pointed out the folly of Senator Obama’s policy of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq – and how such a policy would lead to defeat in Afghanistan also.

    But it was all undermined by the Bush/Poulson bailout.

    Being on the same side as Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Christoper Dodd, Barney Frank – and on and on.

    One can go on about media bias and ACORN vote fraud (and I do), but if John McCain loses this election and freedom finally dies in the United States (and the rest of the West) he will really have only himself to blame.

    Already it has started the Obama “truth unit” is reaching out to law enforcement people in various areas to demand the removal of signs (and other such) from private property containing what they consider “misleading” information about Senator Obama.

    Should he win this will spread to all forms of media (including the internet).

    No more “misleading” information – by international agreement everything will have to be “fair” (i.e. leftist).

    The Marxist Comrades will have won – exactly 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall (when we thought we had defeated them).

    Remember the Obama Berlin Rally before 200, 000 screaming German leftists – the wall I am interested in destroying is the wall between “rich and poor” and “between nations”.

    World government and collectivism.

    And it will NOT be the fault of Dale or Bob Barr – it will be the fault of JOHN MCCAIN.

    Senator McCain had this election for the taking (he could have saved not just the United States but the West generally), but he seems to have thrown it away by supporting the Bush bailout.

  • I think that McCain really does not understand economy. I remember during the 2000 campaign he jokingly said that if Greenspan died, we would have to resurrect him Bernie’s style.

  • Sunfish

    Already it has started the Obama “truth unit” is reaching out to law enforcement people in various areas to demand the removal of signs (and other such) from private property containing what they consider “misleading” information about Senator Obama.

    I’m a little disappointed that McCain hasn’t called Obama out on that either. Or on the threats to stations that carry ads from the NRA that Obama characterized as ‘lies.’ (And for the Obama voters reading this: he admitted that he was planning handgun registration and another AWB, in an interview with an editor of Field and Stream of all magazines. Who’s lying now?)

    I’m also a little surprised that Gov. Blunt HAS. All he needs to do now is offer to pardon anybody that the “Truth Squad” charges.

  • Paul Marks

    I hear Governor Blunt has a good record on tax and spending (and other stuff) – so perhaps it is not a surprise that he has called out the left.

    John McCain has been “unpartisan” too long – “reaching out” to poisonous snakes is an unwise thing to do.

    If he wants to win the election he has to other side are ENEMIES – just as much as those shooting at him in Vietnam were enemies.

    And in the case of Barack Obama, ACORN and so on – they have the same ideology as those people John McCain faught in Vietnam.

    If John McCain thinks the above is “paranoid” or that Barack Obama is a “decent man” then McCain has no chance.