Bailout Blather and Hypocrisy.........

Every Foreign Dollar Counts at NRO
by Tom Piatak

National Review Online has run numerous editorials against the idea of a federal loan to the Big Three, without, so far as I can tell, any dissenting voice arguing for such a loan from any of its columnists, most of whom have also attacked the idea of a loan for Detroit. NRO’s opposition to a loan for the Big Three cannot credibly be explained by any general opposition to government loans to private enterprises or concern for fiscal restraint, since NRO was an active proponent of the Wall Street bailout, with National Review editor Rich Lowry going so far as to chide House Republicans who had argued against Treasury Secretary Paulson’s plan for being “extremely irresponsible.” So far, the amount of federal money given to the financial sector by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve is $4.6165 trillion, vastly more than the Big Three are requesting, and Bloomberg reports that the “U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers.” Instead, NRO has taken a line that, in any other context, it would condemn as anti-American, repeatedly praising foreign manufacturers and denigrating American manufacturers and the Americans who work for them.

Given NRO’s position, one would think it unseemly, at least, for NRO to be running advertisements for the “Hyundai Holiday Sales Event,” but NRO has done just that. Of course, Beltway conservatives have a long history of accepting foreign money while taking positions inimical to American manufacturers. The Heritage Foundation’s dependence on South Korean donations became something of a scandal in the 1980’s. And there is no doubt that Hyundai is a foreign interest: in the 2007 model year, its cars sold here had an average of 10 percent domestic content, as opposed to 80 percent for GM and Ford. Meanwhile, South Korea, a country saved from communism by American blood and still guarded by Americans, effectively blocks American car imports into the country. Perhaps NRO might want to change the slogan for its current fundraising drive from “Every Dollar Counts” to “Every Foreign Dollar Counts.”



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Everything that Mr.Pitiak wrote about the crew over at NR goes in spades for our legislators. Seven HUNDRED billion for Pitibank and other empoverished financial speculators? Our rulers show all the fiscal restraint of drunken sailors on payday. If the subject,on the other hand, is a stimulus package which may RETURN money to the source.........meaning taxpayers, or a bailout for detroit which may benefit some blue collar types.......well, then they all become fiscal conservatives once again. Makes me wonder if the object isn't just to transfer as much wealth from the middle class as they can manage. ~Nazgul