# It couldn't be, could it? \[Republicans planning on economic failure\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952 "2011-06-26T23:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/121 "2011-06-30T14:15:57Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > That’s bullshit. > > Republican don’t oppose all welfare, they oppose excessive welfare by for instance people who can work but don’t due to welfare. How about people who are able to work but are unable to find a job of any sort? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/122 "2011-06-30T15:03:23Z")
They are lazy, lying bums hoping to cash in on our wildly generous welfare. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/123 "2011-06-30T15:05:26Z")
Wait - for this foreigner’s education…your federal politicians are allowed to maintain active involvement in their financial assets? From “Conflict of Interest Act” [Conflict of Interest Act](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/index.html) > [@](#): > > 1. (1) Subject to subsections (9) and (10), a reporting public office holder shall, within 120 days after the day on which he or she is appointed as a reporting public office holder, divest each of his or her controlled assets by doing one of the following: > > […] > > (b) placing it in a blind trust that meets the requirements of subsection (4). ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/124 "2011-07-01T00:44:55Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He’s not a Republican, he doesn’t need to use his imagination nearly so often. Well, lack of imagination would certainly explain why Democrats are stuck in a deep ideological rut. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/125 "2011-07-01T01:49:01Z")
Mine wasn’t good. But it was better. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/126 "2011-07-01T03:40:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Mine wasn’t good. But it was better. Naw. You need to get over the idea that your adolescent sneering is witty. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/127 "2011-07-01T03:45:48Z")
Eat your heart out. ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/128 "2011-07-01T03:49:54Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Wait - for this foreigner’s education…your federal politicians are allowed to maintain active involvement in their financial assets? > > From “Conflict of Interest Act” [Conflict of Interest Act](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/index.html) Yeah, spooky, right? Here’s something else, corporations can back political candidates on the grounds that ‘it’s free speech’. Man, I tell you, Al Capone would be seriously impressed with how well the mob bosses called “corporate execs” are running the country. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/129 "2011-07-01T04:12:34Z")
Its probably not much. He could, for instance, be in one of those investment funds that put money into two likely but mutually exclusive outcomes, and bet on both. No money is lost, none made, but the point is stability, not profit. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/130 "2011-07-01T10:14:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > To get back to the OP, at least one Republican is planning on economic failure: > > [Eric Cantor is shorting the bond market](http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/27/eric_cantor_conflict_of_interest): Wow. If things like this were more generally known, would Americans finally come to their senses? ETA: Regarding “He could, for instance, be in one of those investment funds that put money into two likely but mutually exclusive outcomes, and bet on both”. My Edit window will close before I can find the fund’s report, but this comment is wildly unlikely given just the name of the fund: _ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT_ ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/133 "2011-07-08T03:00:57Z")
The Repubs raised the debt ceiling 7 times when Bush was president. Now it suddenly is wrong to do it . It would not be because trashing the system for a while might harm the Dems, could it? It is a dangerous game they are threatening to play. What if they collapse the economy and don’t win the election? Then will they keep it down for 4 more years? What pricks. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/134 "2011-07-18T17:22:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The Repubs raised the debt ceiling 7 times when Bush was president. Now it suddenly is wrong to do it . It would not be because trashing the system for a while might harm the Dems, could it? It is a dangerous game they are threatening to play. > What if they collapse the economy and don’t win the election? Then will they keep it down for 4 more years? > What pricks. Republicans have been Republicans first and Americans second for a long time now. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/135 "2011-07-18T23:53:52Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Well, lack of imagination would certainly explain why Democrats are stuck in a deep ideological rut. I call it institutional inertia . . . imagination can’t get a hearing . . . but, N.B.: The “rut” in this case is the center-right neoliberal DLC-DINO wing (Obama included), and nothing further left than that. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/136 "2011-07-19T14:43:52Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > Are the Republicans actually banking on a collapsed U.S. economy in order to propel themselves into power in 2012? I mean, when you start voting down what would, in ANY other political climate, be traditionally popular REPUBLICAN legislation, how can an objective observer see it any other way? No. It’s Obama that wants the economy to collapse, so that he can come galloping to the rescue with more big government spending. It’s worked so well for us already… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/137 "2011-07-19T17:01:09Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > No. It’s Obama that wants the economy to collapse, so that he can come galloping to the rescue with more big government spending. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/138 "2011-07-19T18:20:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > They are lazy, lying bums hoping to cash in on our wildly generous welfare. Duh. For a while. then they lose their homes and live in our luxuriant streets and parks. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/139 "2011-07-19T19:10:31Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Republicans have been Republicans first and Americans second for a long time now. Exchange Politicians for (Republicans) and I’d wholeheartedly agree with you. I’m sure many will argue the validity of my post though. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/140 "2011-07-19T19:27:13Z")
No it’s Republicans. The rich thrive when the Dems are in and business is good. But the top Repubs have a different vision of America. They want to kill anything that might cost them money . They want to gut safety nets and gouge the people out of their homes and wealth. It is an America designed and developed to make the rich masters of the country and perhaps the world. They use the patriotism and religion of the people against them. They are just tools for control. The Tea Baggers have fallen for it 100 percent. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/141 "2011-07-19T21:23:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s been used to support the federal government’s encouragement of policies via its spending power (i.e., highway funds to states with 21 as a minimum drinking age and 55 mph as a maximum speed limit). Which case was that? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952/142 "2011-07-20T08:56:29Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It’s Obama that wants the economy to collapse, so that he can come galloping to the rescue with more big government spending. I think conservatives want others to understand their point of view, so I’ll give it a shot: @ **Clothahump** - Is that your honest opinion, or just playful snark? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-couldnt-be-could-it-republicans-planning-on-economic-failure/586952.md?page=8)