McCain's Gramm "Mental Recession"

If you've wondered whose interests the Republican Party and their nominee John McCain serve the statement by his economic advisor Phil Gramm ought to clue you in.

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

You see in the world Gramm and McCain move in there is no pain, no lost jobs, no wage depression, and no choices between gasoline and other items. They have gold plated health insurance their interests served by three branches of government. Your complaints are whines.

A major export boom is the natural consequence of the tanking value of the dollar, along with soaring gasoline prices or any other imported item. This statement isn't about plain stupidity or tone deafness, it is their reality. Their real constituency, wealth, does well out of this situation even with a dropping stock market. They are not truckers, they are not construction workers, they are not...well hell, workers in any shape or form. A tank of gasoline for their yacht or jet aviation for their jet would be annoying at $10 per gallon but wouldn't force choices. The factory that leaves still pays into their pockets.

John McCain says Phil Gramm doesn't speak for him, odd. He certainly speaks to him - a lot. If there is any real clue as to what John McCain really thinks look at his tax policy and economic regulations. This is Phil Gramm. This is one of the smart people McCain surrounds himself with on economics, the ones he references to back up his economic policy ideas, Gramm by name. McCain has a real problem with this one, his constituency of wealth wants what Gramm advocates and McCain stands for, but the unhappy public doesn't like this talk. What's a McCain to do? Ambassador to Belarus as a joke won't do the damage control needed and if Democrats are real smart this will stay on the top of their chart. The "bus" references are already out but even with that, there is gold to be mined by the Obama campaign.

The dirty words of "Savings and Loan" and "Enron" are laying there waiting to be picked up. Gramm's fingerprints are all over the legislation that led to these disasters along with "mortgage meltdown" and "oil speculation." McCain's involvement in all of these, beyond his toadying for Chuck Keating is demonstrable. McCain vote for this stuff and supports it to this day. This is one of the results of the idea that "riding in a jet and getting shot down" qualifies someone for anything. Policy has a lot to do with qualifications, as well as judgement. Gramm is a definitive example of both on McCain's part.