We expect most of the Dems to be protecting various interest groups (like the unionized auto industry), because they’ve always advocated industrial policy. At least they’re consistent. But it’s wrong for the GOP to claim they’re for competition–and then move to protect big business from competition.

Agribusiness, another traditionally GOP constituency, is the only reason that crop-based ethanol exists as a fuel additive for your car.

“The general Republican opposition to the bill stems from the banks’ dislike of it. Banks are big business and, for obvious reasons, traditionally a Republican constituency.”

This is the crux of the problem in our country and our economy today. Big business, of all sorts, wish to get larger and more difficult to control (regulate) with the help of the power they wheel at the expense of those over whom they wheel that power. As we’ve seen in the events of the last 18 months, bigger isn’t always better. We need to stop encouraging the growth of the power of big business at the expense of everyone else. If the best and brightest are running our big businesses they should need no help from our government. But on the other hand, we, our government, should be easing the way for all who wish to compete to have that opportunity to suceed and grow without our government’s hinderance at the direction of big business. After all, our government was formed for “We the People”, not “We the Multinational Corporations of the world”.

We are an innovative nation of people looking to improve their lots in life through hard work and to do so sometimes need the help (financing) of a bank. It’s the grass roots local banks and Credit Unions that have the face-to-face relationships with their customers and have a true business interest in seeing them succeed. We, as a nation, need to start supporting American prosperity from the ground up, from Main Street up to Wall Street, not the other way round. Pouring money in at the top, hoping it will “Trickle Down” has been shown to be a recipe for failure.

For Republicans, “free market” is nothing more than a campaign slogan. When one of their donors feels that their profitability is threatened, they’ll roll (bend?) over in a New York minute.

One of the reasons that Rove was able to help Bush win, is that he cleverly found wedge issues that would divide his opponents base. The Republican base is now being divided into factions. One group believes they can win simply by opposing Democrats and calling them names (Tea Party?) and those that actually care about applying conservative principles to governing. You know, like so many of the lost, confused and increasingly abandoned people that hang out here.