Now that the Torpedoists have been themselves torpedoed by the passage of the Obama health insurance reform bill, it's reasonable to ask what target(s) they'll be aiming at next.
You'll recall that members of the Torpedo Party have destruction as their prime philosophy. Anything they can knock down is a credit, so long as they don't have to come up with anything constructive to replace it. With the present bunch in Washington, this is a piece of cake since President Obama is planning all sorts of changes (gasp) to the status quo, any of which should make any self-respecting Torpedoist drool.
Let's start with financial reform. Under the previous administration, "regulation" was a bad word - as it still is to many in the Palin-Beck crowd. As a result, federal agencies were cut to the bone and the people in charge were often connected with the groups they were supposed to regulate. Unfortunately, President Obama kept a few of them around, trusting the leopards would change their spots under the bright light of transparency. Maybe.
The new approach proposed by the Obama Administration would restrict the banks from becoming "too big to fail" by requiring more accounting accountability. In other words, before coming up with creative ideas like credit default swaps, companies would have to submit them to government (ugh) auditors who would investigate the ramifications on the banking industry and the public. Here's where the Torpedoists could really have fun.
First, they'd have to set in motion the Battle Cry of Torpedoism, "It's a government takeover!" This has been used ever since that insidious socialist plot called Social Security became law under that insidious socialist president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the same guy who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - or didn't the Torpedoists realize that the "F" in "FDIC" stood for "Federal?"
The next thing would be to bewail the fate of the poor and small businesses, who would be most hurt by slapping a few more restrictions on multi-billion dollar financial institutions. Here, the Torps have a small problem. Explaining how the friendly monster on every other street corner is safeguarding their welfare is a challenge. The best explanation so far is that allowing the government (hiss) to limit the size and reach of First Gargantua Savings and Loan will open the door to an army of regulators (boo) who will invade the local dry cleaning store across the street and carry off the owner's first-born until an unspecified tax is paid.
Last, in order to knock down reform, the Topedoists have to convince the public that the bankers don't need any. Paint the CEOs as loyal family people who hurry home every night after a board meeting in order to tuck in little Sally. For God's sake, don't tell them the board meeting was held to discuss the foreclosure of the dry cleaning store across the street.
Torpedoism is alive, well and growing. You're going to see a lot of it in the coming months and hearing a deafening chorus as the election approaches. You can tell it's Tprpedoism when all you hear is negative. Listen for catchwords and patent phrases that are repeated over and over. In the ads, look for people who look so sincere, you'll expect perfume and olive oil to run down their cheeks. Watch for expensive "experts" to tell you why "special interests" are working against you - without telling you who they are.
If the other side tries the same thing, gripe like hell. Insist you'll only pay attention to the issues and, in cases of candidates, how they've voted or intend to vote on those issues. There's no such thing as right-wing truth or left-wing truth. There's truth - and lies.
Let's get together and recognize Torpedoism. And then torpedo it.