Failed Conservatism or Wishful Liberal Feeeling?

This election established that "conservatism" is a failed political ideology that has no place in the modern world. America has spoken and rejected that ridiculous ideology. (a generic Liberal)
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OK, I’ll bite, looking at Tuesday’s results, I must agree, though I'm happy to see that the "NEW" Liberalism now opposes gay marriage, which went down to overwhelming defeat in Arizona (atoning for failing to do so in 2006), Nebraska and even California, of all places....even SF voted in favor of strictly defining marriage as "between 1 man and 1 woman...and three more states passed referendums banning race and gender preferences, which must now also be an established part of this "New Liberalism.”

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Four of five Americans polled want a smaller, less intrusive government and lower taxes, even though almost 2 of 3 support the NSA surveillance programs (as does Obama)....all I can say is that I support all those positions...always have..

Now I see where Rahm Emanuel (a former IDF member) and a bona fide Conservative Democrat, who was responsible for recruiting scores of Blue Dog Democrats to run in 2006 and 2008 is now Barack Obama's Chief-of-Staff! Doesn't sound much like an olive branch to the Arab street, does it? It also seems to signal that Obama has aligned himself with those who've most outwardly opposed the Party's Left-wing )the Waxman's, the Conyer's and the Feingold's)...Has this "New Liberalism" moved to the Right, or have I moved Left???

Sadly, the biggest casualty in this election was the economic truth - the credit crisis was not a "bipartisan failure" (even though many Republicans DID help block the called for reforms and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003 and AGAIN in 2005). That crisis is almost entirely the fault of Rep. Frank, Senator Dodd, Franklin Raines, Tim Johnson, etc.

The MSM has been in the tank for Liberals for decades. An independent survey showed that ABC and CBS ran appx. 58% negative stories on McCain compared to 22% negative on Obama and 20% neutral stories, while far-Left MSNBC ran 78% negative on McCain and 13% negative on Obama and 9% neutral.

By comparison, the "hated FoxNews" reportedly ran 40% negative on McCain, 40% negative on Obama and 20% neutral.

Ironically enough, the MSM hasn't been able to convert many Americans - gay marriage again went down to defeat, even in CALIFORNIA, which went for Obama by 24 points! Race/gender-based preferences also barred on a number of ballot initiatives....PLEASE Liberals....PLEASE don't think that the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity "had more influence than the entire MSM." That's utter BS. The American people merely thought for themselves on those issues and voted their Center-Right predilections.

As for the economy, ironically enough, we've had a Democratic Congress since 2007 and they've moved the country onto a very definite Keynesian path.

The Spring "stimulus package," the recent "$700 BILLION bank bailout" and the 2007 SHAMnesty Bill were all Democratic creations, originating in Congress.

It's no coincidence that the economy has taken a nose dive since 2007.

The Misery Index will tell the story going forward. If 2009's Misery Index tops double digits and 2010's (when the last vestige of Supply Side policy, the Bush "across the board" income tax cuts expire) gets worse, then we'll be on a four year negative Keynesian track.

But we'll see.

Obama ran on a platform built on tax cuts, on supporting the NSA surveillance program and on gun rights...he even touted lowering the Corporate tax, which is really just a stealth sales tax, as its passed on to all of us, as consumers.

If he follows through on that agenda, I'll be fine with much, if not most of it.

Bottom-line, the Misery Index will tell the story on the economy over the next couple years.

Both a Prescient and Depressing Assessment by Henry Manne...

In my view, Henry Manne (pictured left) is sadly, but completely on the money and he doesn’t sugar-coat this at all.

We are very much entering a deepening Keynesian cycle. We’ve started this cycle, at least officially, in January of 2007.

How bad does it get?

How much economic liberty and individual freedom will we all lose?

That’s hard to say.

Especially given how naïve and gullible so many “Leftist youths” are. It seems easy to get them to embrace austerity in the name of the environment, the most ubiquitous of personal intrusions (what you can and cannot eat, how much exercise should be mandated) in the name of “health,” and they’ve been incredibly easy to get to replace individual rights with protections for terrorists and child-rapists.

The question doesn’t seem t be whether it’ll get better or worse. We KNOW it’ll get much, much worse. The only real question for those who cherish liberty is, “How much worse will it get,” and short of either some ham-handed over-reaching that even somehow alienates hordes of today’s naïve and gullible youth, or an even more massive economic crisis that can’t be blamed on market failure in a Keynesian cycle, it figures to get very bad indeed.

And Manne is right again in acknowledging that NEITHER Obama nor McCain will do much to change that. In fact, the ultimate difference between these two is minimal, at least in terms of economic liberty and individual rights.

We are entering a dark period for liberty from any conceivable perspective;

"That we are in the midst of one of the most serious financial crises in history is clear. The general causes of this economic maelstrom are now pretty well known: expansion of credit via low-interest rates by the Fed; subsidization and grotesque encouragement of inappropriate housing loans (courtesy primarily of Messrs. Dodd, Frank and Schumer and the FMs); a bad accounting call on mark-to-market by the SEC; and finally exacerbation and opaqueness engendered by financial instruments too complex to evaluate, decipher or untangle.

"Some might add government actions and regulations past and present, such as bans on short-sales or threats to close markets, that have prevented the private sector from making fast and efficient corrections. But that idea is not part of the consensus that has emerged.

"The great credit crisis of 2008 and its aftermath come as a result of a "perfect storm" of almost unrelated events. Leftist attitudes were reaching a crescendo among the ideological classes, spurred on by such disparate and often logically irrelevant notions as racism, feminism, environmentalism, global warming, a health care crisis, an unpopular war and high energy costs. The political part of the mix included a bizarre set of primary elections and unlikely final candidates, one of whom is perhaps the most liberal figure in American politics. Globalization and increasing international trade stirred up the nativists and protectionists more than usual. The inevitable market-distorting results of interest rates kept too low showed up alongside a poor man's affirmative action lending program, all of which created a bubble that had to burst eventually. And new and not well-understood financial devices and organizations were creating public confusion and mistrust.

"It was unlikely that all these influences would come to fruition at the same time, but they did. That is the nature of random events. The unlikely happens, and, almost by definition, no one is prepared for it when it does...

"...The political direction of the country is now determined for a long time to come, and it is inevitably leftward. Politicians would never resist a popular but massive demand for more government regulation (even the few with enough brainpower to recognize what is going on). The business community has never been a strong supporter of free market capitalism, and it certainly cannot be counted on to change its stance this time around. The media, the various leftist trend-setting elites and university faculties have been waiting a long time for an opportunity just like this, and we can be sure that they won't squander it. The shrillness of their attacks on free markets will reach new heights of righteous indignation and assumed moral and intellectual superiority.

"No policy issue based on private property, low taxes, small government or free trade will escape the charge that any unregulated free market will lead to disastrous excesses just as happened with the great financial crisis of 2008. This will be true for such soon to be rebuffed ideas as tuition vouchers for private schools, private health care, lower estate taxes, deregulation in its many forms, reduced use of eminent domain, tort liability restraint and free trade.

"We can anticipate a new reign of mercantilism, as the protectionists among us wield this strong new weapon against globalization and open markets. And all of this is true in large degree regardless of who wins the forthcoming election...

"...Bankers eager for federal help now will find themselves regulated not far short of total federal control of their business behavior. Banks won't be permanently nationalized, but what we will get will differ from that result semantically more than factually. Derivatives, for all their promise of alleviating panics and distributing risk, will not now be allowed to evolve into the brave new system once predicted for them. Accounting rules will become even more convoluted as we continue to ask for more information out of double-entry bookkeeping than it can ever deliver.

"Still, there is a glimmer of hope left to those who detest this seemingly inexorable slide into socialism or its first cousin, the super-regulatory state. That glimmer comes from the ghosts of Adam Smith, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, who still haunt the halls of the left. And in spite of all the claims made that this debacle marks the demise of free market philosophy, it won't go away so easily.

"This time around, unlike during the New Deal, there is a substantial intellectual establishment to ride herd on leftist proclivities. There are numerous free market blog sites, which, for instance, can be properly credited with forcing modification of the recent short-sale ban. There are countless free market think tanks in Washington and all around the country exerting considerable influence on government policies. Libertarians are a small but growing political factor, and there are even a few university economics departments and law schools where sanity prevails or is at least occasionally evident.

"Like it or not, these few intellectual bastions of freedom philosophy will be about the only thing that keeps these ideals alive in the coming years. But we should never underestimate the power of good ideas. Like the bad ones we are about to witness in large numbers, they may just have to bide their time until a new crisis causes the fickle and uninformed public to demand a new direction.

"If these ideas are maintained in the inventory of ultimate possibilities, then there is always the chance of their public rediscovery and rebirth. It has happened with liberty before. And one thing is absolutely certain: Sooner or later the new era will end in another crisis. Perhaps then the defenders of freedom will be able to claim the moral high ground."


Henry G. Manne is the dean emeritus of the George Mason University School of Law.

Read the entire piece at http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/13/crisis-economy-friedman-oped-cx_hm_1014manne_print.html