Dave Johnson wonders if rollling back Fin-Reg is a betrayal of the teabag agenda? I don't think so ..

Betraying Their True Agenda

by digby

Dave Johnson points out that the Republicans are already talking about rolling back the new banking regulations and asks an important question:

Last week, in Tea Party Members VS Tea Party Wall Street Funders, I pointed out that Tea Party supporters expect their politicians to do something about Wall Street bailouts, lawbreaking and "too-big-to-fail" domination of the economy, but Tea Party candidates were receiving a great deal of funding from that very same Wall Street. This set up a potential conflict between Tea Party supporters and Tea Party politicians.
Now that the election is over, we're all just waiting for what we think is coming, and asking: What will Tea Party members do when their politicians betray them?

I hate to say it, but I doubt they will see it that way. I've never gotten the idea that the Tea Partiers really cared about Wall Street reform. What they hated was the TARP because it was a government program, which they object to because they object ot all government bailout, emphasis on the government. The idea that the banks and Wall Street did anything wrong has never been a big part of their thinking. (When Tea Partier Pam Stout appeared on Letterman, she was very explicitly against "demonizing" business.)

The Tea party is ostensibly anti-government (at least when it comes to issues outside the bedroom) and certainly anti-tax. They are social conservatives and they have a pretense of being "constitutionalists"whatever that means. But anti-business? Not unless thinking auto industry should go bankrupt in order to bust the union is anti-business.

They are not motivated by either a loyalty or hostility to business. Their "populism" is motivated by hatred of government,a loathing for liberals (and other assorted unreal Americans), love for the Bible, a cartoon constitution and a fantasy America in which everyone agrees with them and does exactly what they want. Tea Party Queen Michelle Bachman says clearly what the Teabag agenda is in this Youtube: lower taxes, reduce spending, repeal Obamacare, close the border and stop climate change legislation. (Despite her "hypnotic" dodging of the question, I'm sure that investigations are on the agenda along with God Knows What other wingnut chestnuts they can push to keep the rubes engaged.)

If the GOP balks at those items, there will be trouble. But with the exception of the Fed audit, which they don't understand but recognize as something they are supposed to care about because Glenn Beck says the Federal Reserve is a communist plot, I don't think they care at all about financial reform. We'll see soon.

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