It was just a decade ago that America’s financial system was in a meltdown and the economy headed into a free-fall.
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was a set of programs created and run by the U.S. Treasury to stabilize the country’s financial system, restore economic growth, and mitigate foreclosures in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. TARP was included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which included the bailouts for large financial institutions, banks, and eventually Chrysler and GM automakers.
Even as the financial system was in a meltdown and the economy in a free-fall, a majority of Republicans in Congress voted against the TARP bailouts. 73 percent of House Democrats voted in favor of the bailouts, compared to 46 percent of Republicans. Despite prodding from Republican President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson, and House Minority Leader John Boehner’s emotional plea to put country first and vote yes, a majority—54 percent—of House Republicans still voted against the bailouts.
“Let it burn!”
In the Senate, strong majorities of both Democrats (80 percent) and Republicans (69 percent) voted for bailout passage, but with significantly greater Democratic support.
This was the actual birth of the so-called Tea Party movement. The grassroots conservatives who opposed the bailouts later comprised the early Tea Party movement.
Fast forward to today. The Tea Party got the president they wanted in 2016, an abrasive egomaniacal man-child demagogue who promised them a trade war with China.
The trade war that these yahoos voted for is now beginning to adversely impact Republican Party constituencies in red states, i.e., farmers (agribusinesses). Farmers’ Anger at Trump Tariffs Puts Republican Candidates in a Bind:
As President Trump moves to fulfill one of the central promises of his campaign — to get tough on an ascendant China — he faces a potential rebellion from a core constituency: farmers and other agricultural producers who could suffer devastating losses in a trade war.
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It has come to this. Today’s America (and Arizona) is the result of 40 years of conservative southern strategizing, negotiating Faustian bargains with segregationist Democrats and the evangelical community. It is the result of dog whistle ads like the “Willie Horton” ad in 1988, obstructing two Democratic administrations on issues like infrastructure, healthcare, raising wages, and immigration that the people wanted. It is the result of gerrymandering congressional districts that give them majorities when the Democrats win the national vote, and embracing underhanded tactics with domestic and (in the case of 2016) foreign sources that “stole” the election from the people’s choice for President.
