It was a staple of the conservative talking heads in the last decade. It wasn't the Democrats (Bill Clinton especially) that were responsible for the good economic times, they would say. It was the Republican Congress. Or residual Reaganism. Or something. But not the Democrats...
As Bush's fuck-ups mired the country into the most debt it had ever seen, they were quick to point out that a President doesn't actually have anything to do with stimulating the economy. It's the markets, they would say. Or maybe something to do with keeping socialism down. But it wasn't Bush's fault, oh no...
I'm glad to say we now have a real-life example, over the last few weks, that takes the Republican Party talking point behind the shed and puts it out of its pathetic misery.
In three words: Cash For Clunkers.
More below the fold...
Cash For Clunkers (CFC) is officially H.R. 2346, 111th Congress: Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009. Also known as the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009. When it was proposed just last month, what was the Republican response to this common-sense plan to stimulate the economy using the government? Well, the Republicans saw it was a simple but bright idea to tie helping the environment to the need to kick-start the American auto industry, and...
...nah. Only kidding. They tried to strangle it before it even began. As Fox News itself reports:
Congress approved a "cash for clunkers" program Thursday to provide government incentives of $3,500 to $4,500 to motorists who trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles after Senate Democrats narrowly defeated a Republican effort to kill the plan.
Rush Limbaugh fill-in Mark Davis said Cash for Clunkers "helps your shiftless cousin buy more meth" and lets you buy "carton of Lucky's". He hoped to "destroy it with bitter cynicism" and his vote for when this would become available? "My vote would be never".
The usual naysayers were out in force too. Cash for Clunkers Program destined for failure, said one. The Pending Cash for Clunkers Program: Failure From the Get-Go (?) questioned MilitantLibertarian.org.
As I pointed out in a previous diary entry, they really didn't think twice before they painted themselves into a corner. In March, I predicted that the Republican's desire to pass off anything to do with the Stock Markets as Obama's doing would come back to haunt them. Sure enough, the Dow Jones hit 9,000 again and they had no way to take the plaudits. So how that "big failure from the get-go" of ours coming along, you ask?
Absolutely incredibly well, thanks for being right-wing and bitter!
In Eynon, Pennsylvania, workers at Tony Domiano Chrysler Jeep Dodge went from not knowing if their dealership would survive the Chrysler bankruptcy to having their boss say this:
"I never thought I would say this, but I don't think we have inventory to meet demand," said Domiano general manager Jim Kreidler, estimating that three times as many people are coming through the dealership.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, CFC is "driving cars of dealerships' lots".
In Charlottesville, Virginia, "dealers say it's a win/win situation. They say the government is getting gas guzzlers off the road, consumers are getting into new cars, and the auto industry is getting a much needed boost."
"I've never seen anything like this before," said Jay Malone, Brown Automotive sales director.
Bloomberg.com reports the seasonally adjusted annual sales of total light vehicles sold in the US may reach a 10 million annual pace in July for the first time this year. The pace has been no higher than 9.9 million in any month this year, and Rod Lache, a New York-based analyst at Deutsche Bank, estimated a 10.2 million sales rate.
Best of all, WZZM in West Michigan says dealers say they're having a hard time keeping cars on the lot...
"It has been excellent," said Keller-Ford salesperson Pat Kelly. "It's to the point where quite frankly, we don't have enough coverage for the people coming in."
Dealers across West Michigan are seeing cars fly of of the lot because of the new program. Chrysler Dealer Harold Zeigler is amassing a small graveyard of clunkers in their back lot.
"This has been the craziest 48 hours, and I've done this for 20 years, the craziest that I've ever seen," said General Manager and Vice President Scott Comar. "We've had 500 people either stop in, call in or on the internet contacting us to find out what's going on."
Demand for cars has reached unprecedented levels. IN MICHIGAN, home of the Big Three. And this is the final nail in the Party Of No's coffin...
The federal government said the cash for clunkers program will continue until the trade ins of old cars equal 1 billion dollars.
They estimated it would take until around November to reach that limit, but dealers are saying the deal is too hot.
Many say the total will probably surpass that amount as early as Monday, some even speculated it has already happened.
If I were Obama, I would extend this offer. Keep it going until November, no matter how many cars are sold. We need those inefficient gas guzzlers off our roads, and we need leverage over Big Oil. With CFC, we'll get that in spades.
And all purely because of a government policy to get gas guzzlers off the road for tax incentives. Remember: this wasn't the car companies that put this in motion. It wasn't just demand from customers with no incentive. It was the H.R. 2346, 111th Congress: Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009. Also known as the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act of 2009.
In future, any Republican that tries to say "well, you can't give Obama the praise because a President doesn't directly affect the marketplace blah blah blah" is talking crap. Three words, Cash For Clunkers, has finally taken that Republican lie and slaughtered it. These cars are selling in record numbers because of the trade-ins. And it's a promotion that came straight from the Democrats. And it's a winning plan that was widely opposed by the Republicans. Once again, we have proof of how Republicans are just bad for American business and job creation.
If you have a Senator or Congressman that voted for Cash For Clunkers, call them and thank them for their foresight and wisdom.
If you have a Senator or Congressman that voted against Cash For Clunkers, call them and tell them their only hope to salvage something from their wreck of a political career is if they get back on the high road and propose an extension for Cash For Clunkers.
My tip jar has a quote from FDR, from 1937. This is one such occasion where the full phrase is needed...
In our generation, a new idea has come to dominate thought about government, the idea that the resources of the nation can be made to produce a far higher standard of living for the masses of the people if only government is intelligent and energetic in giving the right direction to economic life.
That idea--or more properly that ideal--is wholly justified by the facts. It cannot be thrust aside by those who want to go back to the conditions of ten years ago or even preserve the conditions of today. It puts all forms of government to their proof.
Not just the improvement of our communal standard of living, but the improvement of our environment too.