PAUL BROUN’S CREATIVE MEMORY…. The 2008 financial industry bailout continues to be a problematic issue for Republicans. Nearly two years later, they’re still anxious to use it against lawmakers who supported it — it’s a strategy that’s working in some primaries — but there are some lingering pesky details, including the fact that it was championed by conservative Republicans.
To be sure, the industry rescue has become something of a litmus test — if you supported TARP, the right can’t support you — but it requires some revisionist history. After all, the bailout enjoyed support from the administration (Bush and Cheney), the House Republican leadership (Boehner, Cantor, and Blunt), the Senate Republican leadership (McConnell and Kyl), the Republican presidential ticket (McCain and Palin), and assorted, high-profile conservative voices (Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck).
Not exactly a left-wing bunch.
So, what to do? If you’re Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), you blame former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson — and then you change his party affiliation.
“I wanted to put some perspective on 2008, too. That’s when the President’s chief economic adviser — I guess the Treasury Secretary — told him that the sky was falling and that we needed to pass the Toxic Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which many Republicans voted against. I didn’t buy the Democratic Treasury Secretary under a Republican President because that’s exactly what Hank Paulson is.”
First, Paulson was a Republican. Does anyone seriously think Bush/Cheney would choose a Democratic Treasury Secretary?
Second, the sky really was falling.
Third, I’d like to thank Broun for using the word “Democratic.” He probably meant to get it wrong on purpose, but it was good to hear a congressional Republican getting the majority party’s name right.
