Hypocrisy: The Staple in the Left’s Diet
Full Disclosure: I disagree with the populist baiters on the Left and the Right who malign business-owners and corporations, executives and boards who allegedly are “using our tax-payer dollars” to “wine and dine” their “rich clients” after having taken bailout money (or, for that matter, after having the temerity to bring in a profit in this atmosphere). These red meat arguments (along with the private-jet-to-Congressional-hearings meme) are pure drivel and miss the point of how a business actually runs. They’re built on class-envy and have basically no grounding in anything other than jealousy and getting yours, and they’ve been perpetrated by a media (from MSNBC on the Left all the way to FOX on the Right) more interested in “gotcha” than in explaining anything in their news. Whew. That said,
President Obama, cheered on by his minions in the press, has been railing against corporate excess since before he even took office. These rich folk, he’d have us believe, are living high on the hog, gilding the lily at our expense. Well, guess whose salary, room-and-board, and all entertainment expenses literally are at our expense, and guess how he’s been living.
Without a hint of irony or embarrassment, the AP passes this wire story today about how “Obama kicks up White House entertaining”. There’s too much good stuff in here about how the Obamas are throwing parties every week, along with an elaborate Super Bowl shindig to quote, and it only takes a minute to read, so follow the link if you’d like the details. And again, my purpose here is not to criticize the president for throwing parties. It’s just very disingenuous for him to attack Corporate America as sanctimoniously as he has (see Dan’s post from earlier today) about “responsibility” while he throws his own soirees literally on our dime. Kind of like how we can’t have our thermostats at 70 degrees, while he can raise hot-house flowers in the Oval Office.
And where’s the press? Read through the AP article and try to find any criticism. This is the same press, by the way, who mocked Bush for all his “vacation” time. Again, not to give quarter to those arguments, which were completely baseless and ridiculous. But do you think the press has suddenly discovered how valuable the president’s time is all of a sudden and is therefore willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt? You know, no more silly arguments about how the president is spending so much leisure time? Don’t hold your breath.
-ColoradoPatriot (Nick) from HQ
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The press goes by WHAT the President is. If he’s a Democrat, and better yet a Democrat who relieve their white liberal guilt, anything and everything he does is good by definition. If he’s a Republican, and worse yet a Republican who doesn’t buy into their white liberal guilt, anything and everything he does is by definition bad. This includes acts such Presidential as breathing, eating, going to the bathroom, walking, etc.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — March 2, 2009 @ 11:28 am - March 2, 2009
Remember all the “citizens” of New Orleans who stayed in their projects when Katrina blew through and then when shopping the next day through broken windows and doors and windows and doors that still had to be broken?
Remember Schoolbus Nagin on the morning after Katrina directing the nation to come to the aid of New Orleans?
Well, the same crowd is emptying the treasury, dining large, basking in 24/7 media glory and passing out other people’s money including the potential productivity of the children of 2075.
Thursday through Sunday, I was trapped in a conference of liberal “intellectuals” and the plenary sessions orbiting the talk fest. They are all still locked into “hope” and “change” and even militantly wedded to total rejection of the “failed policies” of the past. No tax cuts. No letting the market take its course. No moves but bold moves and reorganizing the structure of the economy, the flow of money and the creation of a livable income, housing, and health care for all. There was even a “serious” discussion of stimulus through government provided digital TV sets for those still glued to analogue sets. (An income based entitlement, blah, blah, blah.)
They are all atwitter dreaming up ways to spend.
Thankfully, I was able to slip away to the Cpac speeches on Saturday afternoon and breathe a bit of air that had been in touch with sanity and reality.
thelittleletterpeople like gillie and his array of alter egos are more numerous and feel more empowered than you might think.
As a Republican, I am really cranky about “moderate” Republicans and the Republican politicians who think they can co-opt the Democrats at their socialist games. 2010 is going to be the acid test for whether the Obamarama and the socialist cancer has metastacized and infected the American psyche.
At some point, the European countries tasted the fruit of socialism and bought into the “experiment” of a government directed economy, the redistribution of wealth through taxation and health, housing and income subsidies for the “victim” classes.
What the Democrats are doing is no bigger a surprise than the blueprint unfolded in Germany of the 1930’s. The main difference is that the 22nd Amendment keeps Obama from becoming President in Perpetuity.
Will we Republicans be able to interrupt the revolution by retaking the House in 2010? Only if we get serious about our core principles. A great deal of de facto nationalization has already occurred. There is much more “nationalization-lite” waiting in the wings. These are desperate times for those who believe in the power of capitalism.
Comment by heliotrope — March 2, 2009 @ 12:05 pm - March 2, 2009
Hey, the man’s taken control of one of the world’s great nations, let him celebrate. Especially since he’s been “planning” this since before the economic “catastrophe” occurred. ; )
Comment by DoorHold — March 2, 2009 @ 12:10 pm - March 2, 2009
There’s plenty to criticize about Obama’s presidency without resorting to silly nonsense about his thermostat and Super Bowl parties.
For example, the President is now asserting that he is the only one in the entire country with the Constitutional authority to declassify information. He literally thinks he can classify whatever evidence he wants, and that such action is unreviewable by anybody for any reason.
Or are you guys cool with all that?
Comment by Levi — March 2, 2009 @ 12:48 pm - March 2, 2009
I thought the only thing Obama considered classified information were his college transcripts.
Comment by Snarky — March 2, 2009 @ 1:36 pm - March 2, 2009
-5 Oh, excuse me. I thought someone around here might be interested in discussing the President asserting that he has extra-Constitutional authority. But I guess the bar for serious political discussion around here is set around making lame jokes about thermostats and mundane Presidential pageantry.
Have fun losing the next election!
Comment by Levi — March 2, 2009 @ 2:00 pm - March 2, 2009
Least you could do is provide a link, Levi.
Would be nice to have a link to information I could use. Since, unlike you, I actually read information.
Comment by The Livewire — March 2, 2009 @ 2:06 pm - March 2, 2009
Presidents hold official functions. This is silly.
Corporate executives who have to come to Congress for welfare oops I mean bailout money should be ashamed of their behavior.
BTW, have you ever met any of these people? I have worked for at least four. This isn’t class envy. This is letting the light shine in on how entitled these overpaid lame-brains really are. If they knew what they were doing they would not have made such horrendous decisions and I can tell you that they were warned repeatedly by the people working for them.
None of this has anything to do with the Obamas’ cocktail parties.
Comment by Houndentenor — March 2, 2009 @ 3:11 pm - March 2, 2009
I have always supported corporate America and believed that it should be allowed to grow unfettered. But over the last decade, greed has warped their thinking and tainted their creativity. The leaders of corporate America now remind me of rich kids who never had to work for anything, are given everything on a silver platter, burn through all of their cash and then turn around and ask their parents to cover their bills while they continue to party. You cannot chastise the American people for being fed up with the stupidity that has taken over Wall Street. I just hope corporate America can get back in touch with its responsibility and move forward out of this pit.
Comment by Clint — March 2, 2009 @ 4:13 pm - March 2, 2009
Well, since you won’t offer any other information or resources, the only thing left to do is to discuss how much of a total dick you are.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — March 2, 2009 @ 4:58 pm - March 2, 2009
Re. this thread’s subject matter, a better title might be Hypocrisy: The Staple in the Left’s Stomach.
Comment by Ignatius — March 2, 2009 @ 5:05 pm - March 2, 2009
No, I should say it was years of “stimulative” artificially low interest rates that did that. Followed by today’s new world where the government will actually bail you out, and getting bailed out is the name of the game. I mean, that would mess up anybody.
And “greed” is good: it only means you’re purposeful, you’re looking out for your interests and goals. I want business people to do that. There is smart greed and stupid greed. The problem is not with the “greed” part, but with the “stupid” part. The problem is that we’ve had a big uptick lately in “stupid”. And again, you have to look at the political and business climate underlying that: the perverse incentives created by various and sundry forms of government intervention in the economy – bailouts, artificially low interest rates, regulations, high taxes and more. Almost anybody would get stupid and irresponsible in that kind of environment. You’re a chump, if you don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t get stupid or irresponsible… and yes, I am a chump.
You can. Because (in line with my above comments) the American people would be much better off directing their ire at Washington – at the endless (and myriad forms of) government intervention in the economy. It would get far closer to the heart of the problem.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — March 2, 2009 @ 5:47 pm - March 2, 2009
In other words, paying yourself a bonus and then looking for a bailout isn’t stupid, in a world where *that is the game to be played*. Greenspan, Clinton, Bush, Bernanke and Obama have (progressively over 15 years) made it the game.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — March 2, 2009 @ 5:51 pm - March 2, 2009
It’s spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.
Comment by w b h — March 2, 2009 @ 6:16 pm - March 2, 2009
The leaders of corporate America now remind me of rich kids who never had to work for anything, are given everything on a silver platter, burn through all of their cash and then turn around and ask their parents to cover their bills while they continue to party.
That is a common thread for people who don’t know just exactly what one has to go through to become a CEO.
Contrast that to the luminaries of the Obama Party like Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, Frank, and what they’ve done in terms of an actual working record, and you see very quickly that the chief regulators of business in this country have almost universally never run a business or worked outside of government themselves.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — March 2, 2009 @ 7:28 pm - March 2, 2009
The leaders of corporate America now remind me of rich kids who never had to work for anything, are given everything on a silver platter, burn through all of their cash and then turn around and ask their parents to cover their bills while they continue to party.
That is a common thread for people who don’t know just exactly what one has to go through to become a CEO.
Contrast that to the luminaries of the Obama Party like Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, Frank, and what they’ve done in terms of an actual working record, and you see very quickly that the chief regulators of business in this country have almost universally never run a business or worked outside of government themselves.
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — March 3, 2009 @ 4:19 am - March 3, 2009
[...] now own solely (except for 3 squishy Senate Republicans,) Obama is partying it up, and, as Gay Patriot points out President Obama, cheered on by his minions in the press, has been railing against corporate excess [...]
Pingback by Obama Still Partying While Nation Burns : Stop The ACLU — March 3, 2009 @ 8:51 am - March 3, 2009
Businesses hold corporate functions. This is silly.
National Executives who have to come to the American People for welfare oops I mean bailout money should be ashamed of their behavior.
BTW, have you ever met any State or Federal executives? I have. This isn’t class envy. This is letting the light shine in on how entitled these overpaid lame-brains really are. If they knew what they were doing they would not have made such horrendous decisions and I can tell you that they were warned repeatedly by the people working for them.
None of this has anything to do with the Corporate parties to keep clients or build new databases.
Comment by The Livewire — March 3, 2009 @ 10:36 am - March 3, 2009