It’s rare that I find two conservative columns, published in the same paper and on the same day, that I shout “Amen!” upon reading. But these are not ordinary times.

1.) An intellectual eviscerates the bailout: George Will hits another one out of the park. Full article here, choice quotes below:

(A) timeless political trope is: Government should budget the way households supposedly do, conforming outlays to income. But the (financial) crisis came partly because so many households decided that it would be jolly fun to budget the way government does, hitching outlays to appetites. …

Suppose that in 1979 the government had not engineered the first bailout of Chrysler (it, Ford and GM are about to get $25 billion in subsidized loans). Might there have been a more sober approach to risk throughout corporate America?

Suppose there had never been implicit government backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Better yet, suppose those two had never existed — there was homeownership before them, just not at a level that the government thought proper. Absent Fannie and Freddie — absent government manipulation of the housing market — would there have developed the excessive diversion of capital into the housing stock? …

The public wanted catharsis and respect for its center-right principles and got both with Monday’s House vote. It still needs protection against obliteration of the financial system.

Now, I disagree on that last point — the majority of people don’t walk around saying, “Boy, I like them center-right principles!”, they just want to pay the bills and get a decent night’s rest. Ultimately, though, the man has some strong, strong points.

2.) Governor’s critic turned conservative effigy: Kathleen Parker, who I noted last week called for Sarah Palin to drop off the GOP ticket, gets her comeuppance for such suggestion. (Full article here.)

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a dumpster, but since she didn’t, I should “off” myself.

Those are a few nuggets randomly selected from thousands of e-mails written in response to my column suggesting that Sarah Palin is out of her league and should step down.

Who says public discourse hasn’t deteriorated? …

Palin’s fans say they like her specifically because she’s an outsider, not part of the Washington club. When she flubs during interviews, they identify with that, too. “You see the lack of polish, we applaud it,” one reader wrote.

Of course, there’s a difference between a lack of polish and a lack of coherence. Some of Palin’s interview responses can’t even be critiqued on their merits because they’re so nonsensical. But even that is someone else’s fault, say Palin supporters. The media make her uncomfortable.

Or, it’s the fault of those slick politicos who are overmanaging her. “Let Sarah be Sarah” has become the latest rallying cry among my colleagues on the right. She’ll be fine if we just leave her alone, they say. Between prayers, I might add. …

Such extreme partisanship has a crippling effect on government, which may be desirable at times, but not now. More important in the long term is the less tangible effect of stifling free speech. My mail paints an ugly picture and a bleak future if we do not soon correct ourselves.

The picture is this: Anyone who dares express an opinion that runs counter to the party line will be silenced. That doesn’t sound American to me, but Stalin would approve.

Tags: bailout, George Will, Kathleen Parker, Sarah Palin

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 11.35 am and is filed under politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.