Whatever else you think about tea-party-infused Republican leaders in Congress, at least they're consistent in their opposition to big government intrusion in the economy, right?
Absolutely. Unless you count intrusions of taxpayer funds into corporate projects back in their districts.
For example, President Barack Obama's effort to accelerate federal-backed loans to job-creating, green-energy projects has been a target of howling Republican ridicule. In particular, they're now assailing a 2009 loan guarantee to the failed solar-panel maker, Solyndra, holding it up as proof that green energy programs are a waste, driven by raw politics.
GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell recently sputtered in rage that “The White House fast-tracked a half-billion dollar loan to a politically connected energy firm.”
Fair enough — the Solyndra deal did stink. However, Mitch's tirade would've had a lot more moral punch if it were not for Zap Motors.
In 2009, even as the Kentucky senator was loudly deriding Obama's original stimulus program, he was quietly urging Obama's energy secretary to give a quarter-billion-dollar loan guarantee to Zap for a clean-energy plant it wanted to build in McConnell's state.
Never mind that Zap Motors had its own shaky financial record; it was, as McConnell now says of Solyndra, “a politically connected energy firm.” Connected directly to him, that is. The senator's robust enthusiasm for Zap came after the corporation hired a lobbyist with close ties to the Kentucky Republican, having been a frequent financial backer of the senator's campaigns.
The moral of this GOP morality tale is it's okay to hate government spending, except when you love it. Decry federal largesse loudly, but when it serves your own political needs, hug it quietly . . . but tightly.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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