Reply #16: Dave Sirota is a great guy and a brilliant political writer, but he is also a rigid ideologue and an [View All]

[Douglas Carpenter]

economic illiterate. If it was a matter of pure ideology, I would be against the bipartisan recovery package too.

There are better plans for sure. But what there is not, are better plans that would gain at least the grudging support of the Congressional Democratic Leadership like Chairman Barney Frank, Chairman Chris Dodd and Sen. Obama, as well as the support of the White House, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Chairman, and the House and Senate Republican leadership and Sen. McCain. Any plan that does not have this kind of broad bipartisan and multi-ideological support, albeit grudging support, is not a plan that is on the table and thus is not a proposal that can actually be enacted. It is just pontificating into the wind.

Anyone who thinks that time is not of essence, or who thinks this is some kind of Bush Administration, "mushroom cloud" hoax, should clue themselves into the international markets right now. Every public financial market in the whole world, especially the credit markets, are nervously watching and waiting. Without relief and relief, very, very soon, credit will evaporate within days, if not hours. All the market data from every financial market on earth confirms this undeniable fact.