Posted on 01/09/2012 6:24:44 PM PST by americanophile
The last two presidential election cycles have revealed a stinking hypocrisy in conservatives: They profess their love of capitalism and entrepreneurship, but when offered a real capitalist and entrepreneur, they go, “Eek, a mouse!” And they tear him down in proud social-democrat fashion. In the off season, they sound like Friedrich Hayek. When the game is on, they sound like Huey Long, Bella Abzug, or Bob Shrum.
Last time around, Mike Huckabee said Romney “looks like the guy who laid you off.” Conservatives reacted like this was the greatest mot since Voltaire or something. To me, Romney looked like someone who could create a business and hire the sadly unentrepreneurial like me.
Others said, “He looks like a car salesman,” or, worse, “a used-car salesman.” Ho ho ho! Commerce, gross, icky, yuck. Better Romney looked like an anthropology professor.
As I say in Impromptus today, I was watching a clip of Romney tangling with an “Occupy” protester last week. Romney was defending corporate profits. I was astounded. I don’t think I had ever seen a candidate do this. When the subject comes up, you’re supposed to denounce corporate profits or say, “Hey, nice weather we’re having, huh?”
Phil Gramm once explained to Bill Buckley why he never talked about free trade on the stump — he, a professor of economics and a free-marketeer: It wasn’t worth the trouble. “Free trade benefits almost everybody,” said Gramm. “But they don’t know who they are. Free trade hurts a few, and they all know who they are.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Here's what we have now:
Ineptocracy (in-ept-o-cra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.
- Karl Marx
Democratic Association of Brussels
January 9, 1848.
If Romney can defend himself successfully by being transparent, releasing his tax returns and other information on Bain, then he might survive the far worse onslaught he would get were he to get the GOP nomination.
Better now than later.
Agreed.
Me too, ABO.
These are tough times for us. And I suspect tough times for many businesses larger and smaller than us.
Politics is all about perceptions.
If throwing a bunch of money around because you already have it is conservative....
If using your fame or name or influence to buy and sell and profit regardless of adding value is conservative...
Does that whole 1% thing deserve to be attached to the concept of conservatism? How do those business tactics square with a fair price for a fair value? What about those of us whose major concern is repeat customers. Are we the real fools? Is free enterprise dead and we're just the bitter clingers?
“Corporate raiders” - interesting language. Where have I heard it before? Oh yeah, I heard it coming from anti-capitalist Democrats.
Oh, yeah, everything I, the great I don’t like is “COMMUNISM”!
And apparently you have no idea what it means. Do you understand “hostile takeover” and believe that is a conservative value? Funny. I thought honesty was conservative.
I understand. I know lots of people that lost everything they had worked for 20 or more years. My own company went through lots of mergers and aquisitions.
We lost a lot of benefits over the years, but still had a fairly decent package by the time I could retire. I missed the cutoff for being able to keep my health care by 2 years, but at least I still had a lump-sum pension.
I imagine that most of what Bain Capital was doing was legitimate—some may not like it, but there is a need for firms who specialize in clearing out financial debris, reconsolidating failing businesses, etc. (vultures, as it were).
A more useful point of attack against Romney, would be to assault the narrative of him being a so-called entrepreneurial businessman with his finger on the pulse of the “real economy”—he isn’t that: he’s just been a successful finance guy who’s headed an investment firm. Which is a very different kind of acumen, and it’s questionable how appropriate that kind of acumen will be for creating jobs.
To a poster, every one was already against Newt Gingrich. Were it their guy, they’d be high fiving. Hypocrites, all.
I figured that.
Hedge funds illegal? Am I really on a conservative website anymore? Eliminate hedge funds and then all investing will fall under strict government control. Your comments are repugnant and you are a statist.
I guess there are some little babies who need to make sure the governemnt protects them from making bad investment decisions. Hedge funds are for sophisticated investors - and you are NOT a sophisticated investor.
Reads like a road map...LOL.
I avoid candidate threads because of the stupidity. However anyone with common sense knows what Romney is.
I pointed out there is a difference. I don't know what Bain Capital did, but that record needs to be exposed warts and all. If Romney can't defend it, better to know now than later.
Besides live by the sword - die by the sword. Romney drew first blood. So I don't feel sorry for him.
It certainly was difficult for me, Herr Marx, but I persevered and learned it. Then again, my life is less exciting than yours was.
I see the National Review is already trying to figure out the best way to protect Romney from Bain.........
Indeed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.