Racism and Betrayal: What the Bailout Failure Taught Obama About Republicans

Obama Mosaic

The last few days should have been a brutal lesson in realpolitik for Obama. He went all out to try and pass a Republican bill on the assurance from Republican leaders that they would put half their caucus behind it. While I think the bill shouldn’t have been passed, I believe that Obama thought doing so was in the country’s best interest, which is why he was willing to deal.

And how did the Republicans repay him? With betrayal and racism. First they spent the last week trying to blame the Community Reinvestment Act for causing the crisis. The not so sub-subtext? That it was forcing banks to lend to Blacks and Latinos that caused the mess. That’s a simple lie, CRA sponsored banks and lending institutions have a lower default rate than non CRA lenders, because there are more stringent conditions, but lying has never stopped Republicans from dealing in racist appeals to the worst people in America.

Then, push comes to shove time, Boehner fails to deliver. A massively unpopular bill has been defeated, and the storyline is that it’s because Republicans didn’t vote for it. Obama and the Democrats have been left swinging in the wind, trying to pass a bill the public hates with the Republicans scuttling it.

Unfortunately Obama doesn’t seem to have learned a lesson from this. He is still pushing the bill hard, a move which is likely to:

1. Give him a smaller majority in the House or in the worst case scenario give the House to the Republicans
2. Turn him into a one term president when the bill doesn’t actually make the economy notably better for ordinary Americans.

I don’t really know what to say about Obama anymore. It boggles the mind that the Paulson bill, a Republican bill, has somehow turned around and become the Obama bill, pushed by Democrats. It is fantastically unpopular and for good reason, since it is a bailout for the richest people in the world, not just America, and does almost nothing for the ordinary people who are expected to pay for it.

Obama can’t lose this election to John McCain. McCain has turned himself into a punch line. But a lot of the house members whose arms Obama is twisting are likely to pay the price for him. Likewise in 2010 Obama is setting himself up for huge reverses in Congress, then in 2012 he will become a one term president. The smart move at this point would be to put up a good bill that helps Main Street, let the Republicans defeat it if they chose and then fight the election on it. Why not? If Obama can twist arms for the Paulson bill, why not for a good bill?

Interesting question, isn’t it?

Related posts:

1. Conservative Blogger Rick Moran Calls on the Right to Condemn “Crazies”, Sees Racism in Attacks on Obama
2. Republicans Still Dubious About Voting For Senate Health Reform Bill
3. Bank Bailout: When a Bonus Exceeds Earnings, How is It Not Fraud?
4. Red State Targets Blue Dogs Who Vote for IMF Bailout
5. NY-23: The Failure Of Blue Dogging