"All their troubles proceed from us."

Over at the Hullabaloo, Digby absolutely nails one out of the park with her analysis on our new rump party - the GOP.

Watching some of the most tawdry and infuriating Republican Senators knife their fellow citizens over the so-called bailout of the automakers (once again spinmeisters, please use the phrase Auto Industry RESCUE, eh?) has just about put me over the edge. Jerks like Jeff (I can outdrawl any of y'all) Sessions and Mitch (I can't believe I won) McConnell whine and complain becasue they are asked to save American jobs. Funny, I didn't hear of their principled stand against auto companies when they fell all over themselves to squeeze their own citizens into giving HUGE taxbreaks and subsidies to relocate foreign automakers into thier own states. Given that states like Alabama have long lived off the proceeds of federal taxes paid by workers from Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, the venality and hypocrisy of these pearl-clutching hissy fit mongers is pretty much beyond the pale.

In a sinking economy, the failure to save jobs - any jobs - is exceptionally stupid, nay criminally negligent. Economists and industry analysts are already warning that failure among the Big Three will cost HUNDREDS of BILLIONS in economic losses, revenue shortages and costs - seems like a LOAN of some TENS of BILLIONS is more than a good deal in this situation.

And please don't cry "moral hazard" now. Congress and the Bush Administration crossed that threshold months ago when they started subsidizing banks, insurance companies, mortgage brokers (and most importantly, their extraordinarily well paid corporate leaders). Just like these titans of our unraveling economy, the Big Three are simply "too big to fail." Indeed, several HUNDRED BILLION dollars already flowed to major banks with the caveat that they should get the "credit markets working again;" yet, consumers can't get loans to buy cars and (obviously) the Big Three cannot get them either!

But the part of this entire sad, sad episode that torques me off the most has to be the shameless displays of know nothingism and aggreivement from the Rump GOP. As Digby notes, its a stench that can not be salved since "All their troubles proceed from [the rest of] us." That "us" being the rest of our progressive, fair-minded, patriotic and good natured nation. As Digby notes:

It means they are not a majority, which is the good. But it also means that it is far more conservative and consumed with a sense of its own victimization at the hands of the rest of the country. That makes them dangerous, even in their relative weakness... Losing the last of their moderating regional and ideological ballast leaves them with nothing but a 250 year old chip on their shoulders and they have quite a vivid history of acting in very destructive ways toward the nation as a whole.

Well, maybe it is time to knock that chip off some shoulders. One can only hope. But, given the spinelessness of so many of our Democratic leaders lately, its a slim hope at best.


(PS - to understand what MUST happen to auto industry leaderhsip, if the Feds get to call any "Rescue"-related shots that is, check out Driftglass' solution. Come to think of it, Drifty's idea of a "bigger axe" would work pretty well for the "federally rescued" financial industry and in Congress too!)