Losing Your Soul
by Sudhama Ranganathan Wednesday, May. 19, 2010 at 6:55 AM
uconnharassment@gmail.com

With TARP money and stimulus aid given to large institutions which seemed to revel in the new influx of cash we witnessed a new level of resentment towards moneyed institutions and cozy Washington connections sown nationwide. We all saw large corporations take TARP money and hand out huge bonuses as though hard working Americans were a joke to be laughed at. At a time we were told they needed the help out of desperate circumstances it turned out, for many, the real worry had to do with not being able to maintain lives of excess. It seems they felt taxpayers could bail them out of having to be taken down a peg or two. We saw what we had always thought – they could care less about ordinary Americans. They just wanted our money.

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The amount of money itself was staggering. Most of us had reservations and doubts, but were told by both those in Washington and those outside it was an emergency step needed to keep our economy from collapsing. Although the bailout has stabilized the economy we didn’t sign on to foot lavish lifestyles. The money that went to those bonuses could have gone to helping put more ordinary folks back to work. That angered us all.

The alarm came from all sides, we heard Democrats supporting it like president elect Obama. He said in November of 2008, “part of the way to think about it is things could be worse.” (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/18/news/tarp_report.card.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008111812) Here he acknowledged the huge debt, but his belief regarding what would have happened if it weren’t done. Joe Biden supported the bailout and, like then Senator Obama, voted for it. Then Senator Hillary Clinton voted for it as well. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00212#name)

John McCain supported the bailout and even suspended his campaigning to go to Washington to work on the emergency measure. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0XaY01E_rE) (http://washingtonindependent.com/68578/yes-palin-backed-the-bailouts) Sarah Palin did as well (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txfqWzGMgmY) and she even boasted about it in her debate with then Senator Joe Biden and discussed her support of it in her book “Going Rogue.” (http://washingtonindependent.com/68578/yes-palin-backed-the-bailouts) They both supported the TARP bailout.

Even conservative leaders like Glenn Beck (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0809/22/gb.01.html) and Rush Limbaugh (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031709/content/01125106.guest.html) supported it. After the bill was passed McCain, Palin and Beck all backtracked to say they no longer supported it as the measure became unpopular among grass roots conservatives and even tried to use anger against the measure hoping to leverage the Tea Party to their advantage.

Republican leader Rush Limbaugh not only still supports it, but calls himself “the last man standing” for consistently supporting the giant Wall Street bonuses given after the bailout. Says Limbaugh, “Let me tell you something, folks. I am all for the AIG bailouts, and I am all for the AIG bonuses.” (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031709/content/01125106.guest.html) He went on to later say, “We need some perspective here. Okay, so they’ve got $170 billion in bailouts, the bonuses are $165 million… The populist thing to do, the popular thing to come and do here today is bang my fist and be outraged over how in the world can they use my taxpayer money this way.” (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031609/content/01125106.guest.html) He has even criticized Beck for rebuking Republicans at CPAC. (http://rawstory.com/2010/02/limbaugh-hits-beck-criticizing-republicans/)

The Republican leader referred to any anger felt by the grass roots Americans as, “phony anger over class envy.” (http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201004270028) It’s as though the idea we were upset because our tax dollars paid million dollar bonuses while we couldn’t afford monthly payments was misplaced anger. It was our problem and we just didn’t understand how things work for us middle and lower income jerks. We were out of line and didn’t know our place.

The grass roots Tea Party movement started out telling us it had strict requirements for candidates it would support and it was not affiliated with any party. It told us it was a movement of people fed up with cozy relationships between Washington and big business interests. It was a movement tired of Washington slick sales pitches that always left us holding the bag. It was a movement that said it would not tolerate people who supported corporate interests over those of ordinary Americans while pretending we were the most important. Sounded great.

Yet, now the Tea party is telling us to vote for a party that still has intellectual leaders like Limbaugh who support fat cat bonuses on the already broken backs of taxpayers. It wants us to vote for a party who still has leaders who scoff at our anger over the bonuses calling the anger “the popular thing to do.” (http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031609/content/01125106.guest.html) I suppose when they spent $400,000 of our money on a single corporate retreat we were just throwing a hissy. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95501975)

I guess when “The White House had to intervene to persuade Citigroup to abandon plans to buy a $50 million executive jet after getting its $45 billion boost” we were being difficult. I suppose when, “Merrill Lynch's former CEO John Thain had to be shamed into personally repaying the $1 million he spent on renovating his office while surviving on an additional $45 billion public loan” we were just big cry babies. Apparently when, “Bank of America partied hardy at the Super Bowl” last year with our money we were just being uptight. (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Business/story?id=6801950&page=3)

AAWWWW let ‘em live a little. After all they’ve been through don’t they deserve it? Limbaugh seems to miss the fact when they are on our dime for screwing up they can consider themselves under “austerity measures” or they can refuse the money. Simple.

Someone explain to us why the people who gave us TARP in the first place deserve to go back? Tell us why the people who gave us the health care reform act known as the 2006 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act are going to do different this time? If it’s time to throw the bums out why are we being told to throw them back in?

I just don’t see what’s changed so much and why a third party or independent candidate wouldn’t do as well. It’s like we’re being told the only way to change the Washington culture is by bending and bowing to Washington incumbents and asking them to “oh please” change themselves. If they didn’t do it before what will change them now? It’s time someone explain exactly what the double message is supposed to mean.

To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.

www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com

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