Dems For Buddy?

On Edit....

I wrote originally wrote this blog about possibly supporting the Republican dark horse Buddy Roemer -- based on some of his general pronouncements, particularly his opposition to the power of big business over our government.

Well, never mind. I found these positions in one of Buddy Roemer's speeches (the all-caps are his):

WE WILL ELIMINATE THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, AND ALL ENERGY SUBSIDIES (OIL, ETHANOL, GAS, AND UNPROVEN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES), SAVING THE TAXPAYERS SOME $140 BILLION A YEAR.

Just another anti-government tear-it-down-istas??

Even Adam Smith the "father of modern capitalism" approved of government subsidies to start up industries. (And we won't go into that "unproven energy technologies" bs. Somehow, too many power seekers seem to believe whatever they proclaim, and ignore the reality, such as the proven energy technologies of wind and solar (with tide coming our way.))

It is looking as if he'st another right winger who erroneously thinks that when the founders spoke of limited government, they meant small and weak.

What they meant was, as opposed to a monarch with almost unlimited powers vested in the one person, a limited government is one with (1) the limits which arise internally from the checks and balances among the three branches of government and (1) the limits which arise externally from the power of the citizens to vote.

See more at "limited government," see http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-limited-government-means.html

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He also points firmly in two opposite directions at once, advocating both strong protectionist measures - which we ditched as part of the Reagan Revolution and allowing jobs and production to be shipped overseas (an idea I support) while simultaneously chanting about "free trade."

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Finally, he supports "deregulation of small business." Well, maybe he doesn't know that small business is already excluded from a wide range of regulations.

He shouts (again, his all-caps"):

DEREGULATION OF SMALL BUSINESS IS ANOTHER STEP TO CREATING JOBS, WITH ELIMINATION OF ALL NEW REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTED SINCE JANUARY OF 2008. THERE ARE SOME 80,000 PAGES OF COMMENTS IN THE FEDERAL REGISTRY IN 2010 ALONE.

Note that he seems to be trying to pull a fast one - suggesting that the number of pages of comments in the Fed Reg somehow reflects the number of regulations.

I don't access to the Fed Reg or the tools to measure the relationship of comments to actual regulations. However, part of my practice in the last century was reading the Federal Register everyday to look for an analyze regulations which affected by bank clients. From that experience, I can tell you that the vast bulk of printed material in the Fed Register is made up of comments: comments on potential regulations, comments on proposed regulations, comments on regulations adopted, and comments on regulations which were not adopted.

Elimination of all regs since Obama was elected. Hmmmm. Looks like an unintended admission that he's just another Anti-Obama-ite

And then he proclaims:

REGULATIONS ARE THE NEW TAXES.

Partisan bull pucky! Regulations are the checks and balances on industry and commerce, protecting us against such things as environmental pollution and shady business practices.

Regulations are no more taxes than the Ten Commandment's prohibition that "Thou shalt not steal" is a tax. God is taxing me by prohibiting from building my wealth through theft.

Building a product more cheaply through polluting the environment, or through chicanery, is nothing but theft, the Ten Commandments regulation against it isn't a tax.

BTW, it is an honor to pay taxes, it is patriotic. The anti-tax mania of the Republican party, and it's offspring of questionable parentage, the Tea Party weakens our country.

“I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.”

– Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Every tax, however, is, to the person who pays it, a badge, not of slavery, but of liberty."

- Adam Smith, the "Father of Capitalism:"

Yes, maybe regulations increase the cost for a company to do business, but they protect our country and our the society from businesses sticking the public with costs such as pollution-caused disease.

= = = = End Edit

The original post:

As a life long liberal, there is much about today's politics which I lament. I knew in 2008 when I canvased and phone banked and even did data entry for then candidate Obama that, despite the right wing fixation, Obvama was and is no liberal.

I did not expect him to surround himself with Goldman Sachs people and apparently but their investment bankers view of reality. And he seems to have fully embraced corporate power and corporate ideas - perhaps he spent too much time talking to advocates of the Chicago School of Economics when he was at the University of Chicago.

But a dark horse has appeared on the Republican side of the aisle, but he sounds more like a Democrat than do many of today's democrats.

Buddy Roemer.

It has been written that "His platform is twofold. First, he wants to focus on creating jobs by deregulating small businesses, making the country energy independent and cutting back on unfair foreign trade.

"Second, he wants to eradicate the power of special interest money in Washington. Accordingly, he is refusing to accept money from any political action committee, and he has limited the amount of money supporters can donate to $100 a person.",(the DailyCaller, link above)

I have concerns about that bit about "deregulating small business." Small businesses are already excluded from a lot of regulations and I'm concerned that this is just a disguised Republican "regulations are evil" pitch.

(Regulations are nothing more or less than checks and balances on groups of people and commerce. The process of adopting regulations allows plenty of opportunity for business and trade groups to participate and shape the regulations. Regulations are not just some form of random tyrannical pronouncements from faceless bureaucrats.)

And being in favor of "energy independence" is pretty much as bold a position as being in favor of Mother's Day.

There are a lot of details to come, he has mainly voiced solme generalizations, but I'm sure going to be keeping my eye on his campaign.

But who knows, maybe a Republican will finally qualify for my vote for President....