STEELE URGES ‘TRUST’ OF WALL STREET…. We talked yesterday about Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s appearance on CNBC, where he argued in support of George W. Bush’s job-creation efforts — apparently unaware of how spectacularly those policies failed.
But as it turns out, Steele had another interesting insight to share during the same interview.
RNC chair Michael Steele defended Wall Street as the creators of wealth in a combative interview today while urging the Obama admin not to “demonize” and “demagogue” against a system that plunged the economy into recession.
In a stop on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Steele attacked government spending and the admin, all while urging more trust in Wall Street.
“Don’t trust the federal government to get it done. We’re here on Wall Street. We are on Main Street. Trust those people who built the economy in the past. The federal government has never created one job that is sustainable long term.”
“Good luck telling the American people to trust Wall Street to create jobs,” shot back host Erin Burnett.
Good luck, indeed. I haven’t the foggiest idea why Steele says things like this. Steele may not remember 2008, but it was an unregulated Wall Street that brought the global economic system to its knees. Americans bailed the financial industry out, and then the industry hired legions of lobbyists to work with Republicans to kill efforts to bring some safeguards and accountability to the system.
Michael Steele wants us to “trust those people”? Does he not realize that the public is generally not fond of Wall Street right now?
There’s also, of course, the larger matter of where Republicans’ loyalties lie. When it comes to the BP oil spill disaster, Republicans side with the oil industry. When it comes to the economy, Republicans side with Wall Street. When it comes to health care, Republicans side with insurance companies. When it comes to energy policy, Republicans side with polluters.
I’ve seen the polls, and I know which way the partisan winds seem to be blowing, but this has to be the strangest election-year message I’ve ever heard.
Postscript: Just as I finished typing this, I see an item from Sam Stein noting that Steele is slamming the Obama White House today for not “cracking down on Wall Street” enough. This comes less than a day after Steele slammed the Obama White House for being too tough on Wall Street.
Our political system would be so much more effective with a serious, credible opposition party. What’s become of Republicans is genuinely sad.
