This Federal Bailout Proposal is a Disaster | The Smirking Chimp

I am so mad about this proposed federal bailout of Wall Street, I can't see straight. Do you understand what they're going to do? They are about to steal ONE TRILLION dollars from us and just hand it over to the guys on Wall Street who screwed everything up. They are going to take all of their bad loans and dump it on us. We're going to have pay for their mistakes!

But they already made the money. They keep the profits and we keep the debts. It is absolutely, positively outrageous. The only thing more outrageous is that both of the presidential candidates are going along with it. Obama seems to be supporting it almost more enthusiastically than McCain. That is a terrible idea.

Here are two important things you must know about the impact of the financial bailout.

First, when the American people find out what's been done here, they are going to be livid. Conservatives, liberals, moderates, everyone. Why should we have to pay a trillion dollars of our own money to save the asses of bankers who already made a killing from these loans? Now, they get to unload all of their "toxic assets," as Paulson is calling it, on us. Who in their right mind would support that?

Wall Street is ecstatic. The market is through the roof right now because they can't believe they got such a good deal. Understand this is not an isolated bailout here and there. The Treasury Secretary just said he is going to take ALL of their bad loans off their hands. Why wouldn't they be elated?

The Bush administration and the Republicans (especially Phil Gramm) pushed for deregulation that allowed for, and almost encouraged, these mistakes. Now, the guys who told us they didn't believe in big government are going to send in big government to pick up the tab. Privatize the profits, socialize the debts. We have been robbed!

Even Jim Bunning (R-KY) said that when Hugo Chavez nationalized industries in his country at least the Venezuelan people get the profits as well. We only get the losses.

Secondly, this is likely to be the biggest issue of this campaign. How the candidates handle this could easily determine the outcome of this election. Whoever taps into this anger the best will win. Elections are about marketing. It doesn't matter that John McCain has been pushing for deregulation his whole career if he seems like he is going to be tougher on Wall Street in the next 45 days. He can be wrong as long as he likes as long as he wins the PR war over the next month and a half.

Obama is well on his way to blowing this already. Today he issued a terribly professorial statement about this bailout plan. He promised to be non-partisan and fully backed the plan. I couldn't imagine a worse response.

Non-partisan? Are you kidding me?! The Republicans are nearly completely responsible for this debacle (Bill Clinton should have never signed those laws Phil Gramm pushed through Congress, so the Democrats get blame, too). On the most important issue of the election, you're going to be non-partisan? Especially when you have the facts on your side? How badly do you want to lose this election?

For the love of God, tell the people what they need to hear - this meltdown is completely the fault of the George Bush, Phil Gramm, the Republican Party, the conservative movement and yes, most importantly, John McCain! John McCain with his reckless deregulation caused this to happen. If you don't tell the American people this, who will?

And why are you supporting Paulson's plan? The plan is a total overreaction, has no accountability, no checks built in so this mess won't happen again and leaves all of the "toxic assets" on the American taxpayer's lap. It will be judged very poorly by the history books. It is an amnesty plan for Wall Street. You should be tapping in to people's anger over this, not siding with the guys who are blowing it.

Do these guys know anything about politics? Blame it on Bush. Blame it on the Republican Party. Blame it on John McCain. They earned it. It is their fault. Now, you're going to bail them out by agreeing with their stupid bailout program (I understand the need for limited bailouts, even though I can't stand them, but this general amnesty is a terrible precedent -- it's like pardoning Nixon) and treating this as a non-partisan issue. This is a terrible mistake. And one that could cost Obama the election.

McCain has already done a much better job of sounding populist on this issue. If he plays the politics better, the people who are really going to get burned are us. He is going to put the same deregulators who caused this mess back in charge. He might even select Phil Gramm as his Treasury Secretary and put the fox back in charge of the henhouse. I'm asking Obama to be better at politics because the most important policy consequences are at stake here.

If Obama allows the Republicans to deceive the American people into thinking it wasn't their fault and they are put back in charge, this is all going to happen again. What message do you think Wall Street just got from Paulson's bailout plan? Take all the risks you want, the government will always take your bad loans off your hands. You are too big to fail. You will always be bailed out. If McCain gets elected, we'll have to pay for this round of mistakes and the next.

Obama better not blow this and he's in the middle of doing just that right now. I have one important piece of advice for him right now: Get mad. Get mad like it's your money they just took from you. They came to your house in the middle of the night and took your daughters' education fund. They robbed you. Now, are you going to go get the sons of bitches who did this or are you going to let them get away with it?

This Federal Bailout Proposal is a Disaster | The Smirking Chimp