From C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Thomas Frank explains why the supposedly "fiscally conservative" Republicans actually love deficits so much. They love them so they can assure that government can't work and heaven forbid Democrats might be able to enact any of their evil "liberal" ideas because the bank is busted already. Pretty much exactly like what we have going on now but as Frank explains, this is nothing new.
What he said here I'm sure is nothing new as well to anyone who has read his book The Wrecking Crew. While I have not read the book, I've read enough reviews on it to know that he's giving a very basic synopsis of what he lays out in the book here. That one is on my “remember to buy the next time I get to the book store” list.
As I noted in my other post from this same interview you can watch the entire segment on C-SPAN's web site.
For more on the book you can check out Frank's site:
Casting his eyes from the Bush administration’s final months of plunder to the earliest days of the Republican revolution, Thomas Frank uncovers the deep logic behind the graft and incompetence of conservatives in power. He shows how leaders dedicated to a doctrine of government by entrepreneurship proceeded to sell off the state, channeling the profits to cronies and loyalists. He surveys the federal agencies doomed to failure by the inept and even hostile staff appointed to run them. He charts the practice of wholesale deregulation and the devastating results now clear for all to see. From political scandal to mortgage meltdown, Frank documents the consequences of enshrining the free market as the logic of the state.
As conservatives retreat to lick their wounds and a new administration prepares to undo the years of misgovernment, The Wrecking Crew makes clear the challenges before the nation. A brilliant and audacious stocktaking—now thoroughly revised and updated—this is Frank’s most revelatory work yet.
You can check out some other interviews with Thomas Frank talking about the book along with an audio sample in the link above as well.
