Republicans love calling this administration a "Banana Republic"
The right-wing pundits love to hurl insults and ridiculous talking points about the Obama administration. The newest one to date is that what we've really got here is a "Banana Republic." The media won't tell you this, so the blogs have to. Right-wingers were quite happy to try to prosecute Bill Clinton after he left office and weren't shy about their feelings.
Jamison Foser has the lowdown on the bottom feeders:
Gaps in the Right's "banana republic" rhetoric
... In fact, Sean Hannity argues in favor of investigations and prosecutions of past administrations -- as long as the past administrations are Democratic administrations.
In April of 2000, for example, when independent counsel Robert Ray (Ken Starr's successor) suggested that he might indict Bill Clinton when Clinton left office, Hannity said he thought that should happen. On January 21, 2001 -- the day after George W. Bush replaced Clinton in office -- Hannity reiterated that position. In March of 2001, Hannity argued that there should be a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton pardons, and that Clinton attorney general Janet Reno should be indicted...read on
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What really lends this a through-the-looking-glass quality, however, is that the conservative media who now denounce potential investigations of torture by portraying it as a mere policy disagreement previously sought investigations of a pardon. Whether or not you think all of Clinton's pardon decisions were correct, there is pretty much nobody who denies that he had the authority to make those decisions -- so investigating the pardons essentially was investigating a policy disagreement. Torture, on the other hand, is not a policy disagreement; it is a crime. Thus, the Journal's case against investigating the Bush administration better applies to investigations of the Clinton administration -- investigations the Journal supported.
That's what the conservative media consists of: partisans offering inconsistent, insincere, and nonsensical arguments on behalf of torture and the depraved thugs who authorized it.
They are hypocrites, crooks and liars -- the whole lot of them.
We were a banana republic when Chimp was president.
Ya, exactly. republican projection - you can count on it. It's all self indictment.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
No question Bush drove us here but the Banana republic references are aimed at the Keynesian economic approach they are taking on spend our way through the financial mess we are in (the logic yet to be explained), or more accurately borrow our way through. If we just spend (a.k.a. invest and recovery) enough we can punch our way through it, utterly ridiculous. Some have warned of it's folly and the current events is starting show just how bad an idea it really is.
Bargaining fails to break deadlock over IMF
Cracks have opened up in the united front maintained by the leading world economies in trying to combat the global recession.
Tensions flared at talks between finance ministers over how to carry through key elements of the pact sealed at this month’s London summit of the Group of 20 nations.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busines...
New Worries for Next Tier of Banks
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/business/ec...
The capital well is running dry and some economies will wither
The world is running out of capital. We cannot take it for granted that the global bond markets will prove deep enough to fund the $6 trillion or so needed for the Obama fiscal package, US-European bank bail-outs, and ballooning deficits almost everywhere.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/am...
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
The banana republic meme was thrown around last week in response the release of the torture memos and the calls for investigation.
GOPers can't even comprehend the simplest of news stories these days.
We will be acting like a banana republic, however, if we DON'T investigate and prosecute illegal activity. We will be showing the world, yes AQ included, we no longer care for the rule of law if we don't. And if we do that, the term banana republic is too good for us.
They are hypocrites, crooks and liars -- the whole lot of them.
Yep. And those are their good points.
A Conservative Government is an organized hypocrisy.
-- Benjamin Disraeli
I find myself constantly wondering how Republicans can justify their blatant hypocrisy to themselves. They will say absolutely anything, no matter how ridiculous or factually incorrect, if it will make Democrats look bad. Thank the gods for the internet, youtube, blogs & news sites like this that help ensure their lies & distortions are documented for all to see.
And if America was ever remotely resembling a "banana republic" it was under George Dumbya Bush's watch. I'm guessing only about 22% of Americans would disagree with that statement.
has been, IMO, the single most valuable tool in exposing these shameless losers. I truly believe we wouldn't have the current administration in power had it not been for the internet and sites such as this. America has been very slow to awaken, but I truly believe a LOT of eyes have been opened recently. The MSM sure as hell ain't helping the cause.
come to the conclusion that what the Repub party has become, their leaders and followers are truly, perhaps incurably insane. If indeed they truly believe the crap they spew. I mean the behavior I see is completely sociopathic. They'll tell one obvious lie after another and truly believe their own lies even the contradict what they've said before. And will still hold on to it, even when shown the concrete truth. It's not that much different from fundamentalists and religion. If they truly believe what they say. If not, then they are just plain evil and criminal. So there's your choice: evil and criminal or just incurable insane. It's probably a bit of both.
You are very correct. Sociopaths expect one lie not to contradict the previous lie therefor whomever is being lied to should just because of the charm of the sociopath overlook the growing string of contradictions. Criminal and insane definitely a bit of both sometimes a lot of both.
You put a couple tea bags together with a big ripe banana republic and you have the Repressed States of Closeted Republicans.
Teabags & Bananas...perfect symbol for the new repiglicRats.
And yes...they're crazy alright...certi-fuckin-fiable!
Is this not what Simon Johnson, and others not at all of the right, are saying, after all?
The Finance Industry has effectively captured the government. We have handed over three trillion with probably another at least another trillion on the way.
Here is Johnson's The Quiet Coup.
Johnson and Kwak at Baseline Scenario.
On Desmond Lachman here.
Desmond Lachman in the Washington Post here. Welcome to America, the World's Scariest Emerging Market
Day 3 of the "Why Won't #Krugman Post On Bill Black?" Watch here.
Galbraith here.
Robert Reich here.
Max Kaiser here.
It seems to me that the Oligarchs are in control just as in a Banana Republic.
Paulson was a Republican, Geithner is following exactly in his footsteps.
Jamison Foser's piece is interesting but I would suggest there are gaps elsewhere, like here.
There is yet to be any clear indication that we will are going to prosecute anyone for war crimes.
Chris Floyd at Counterpunch here.
Chris Floyd again at Empire Burlesque (if the site isn't crashed) here.
Here is my previous comment with the excellent Floyd pieces.
What is distressing Latin America in now behaving more responsibly in many ways than we are.
Peru, which has a long and sad history in its attempts at democracy, now has found remarkable maturity. They have prosecuted and convicted Alberto Fujimori for crimes committed during his tenure as President. Here in HuffPo.
When we convict George Bush et al for their crimes I will be a believer that we are NOT a Banana Republic.
Until then the evidence is not in our favor.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
I swear, on the same day a couple of days ago I heard four Republican politicans using that term, one of them being John McCain! So I guess the Old Maverick is on the RNC talking-points email list. On the other hand, as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed, they're all full of it because if there's one thing that a Banana Republic DOESNT DO, it's hold regimes responsible for crimes. Of course, if you ask the stupid Republicans, they'd call Chili a Banana Republic for having pursued Pinochet! What a bunch of idiots.
According to the Republicans, Chile under Pinochet's corrupt, violent, and criminal military dictatorship was fine, it only became a banana republic after he was removed from power and prosecuted for crimes by the democratically elected government.
Was Pinochet part of the buschCo new world order i guess?
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Nixon's CIA had the democratically elected President Allende overthrown on 9 11 1973.
Pinochet was their guy.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Hmmm... on 9 11 1973 you say...
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
The first 9 11
I was in Chile before that. It was common knowledge there but not here that the CIA was trying to overthrow the government.
It was known they were passing money around, it was not known that someone would take the money and do it.
Pinochet was their guy.
He was a bad guy.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
Furthemore, to show how stupid the Banana Republic meme is, consider that if there's one thing that characterizes Banana Republics, it's the willingness to use torture. So I guess that makes a hell of a lot of Republicans banana-heads.
Shit. (and Bat-Shit crazy!) This is what the Repub-Thugs have been reduced to....Dumbya 'Chimp' was just an underling (however complicitely dangerous)
What sort of mental illnesses present projection as one of their primary characteristics? Anyone know?
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
the lot of them are sociopaths.
See my earlier post about 4th or so from the top.
repubicatatonia
That the right wing talking heads are not really robots. Seems to me everytime I learn a new word from them they all say it in the same day.
They have no idea how to govern, seriously, so they make up labels to call people, things, and ideas. they sit around and dream up LABELS. It's what they do to let us know they still have no ideas except bad ideas for america.
Remember when Boner was going to come up with an alternative budget? that's when he came up with "banana republic" instead. It was much easier. It has "republic" in the name, and they are "bananas" so it's no surprise that's what they came up with.
I don't think any of them have a clue.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
then I guess you think "freedom fries" wasn't a good idea?
It's funny how labels make some people do things they normally wouldn't do. It takes conscious thought to deflect the effect that labels have on our thought processes. When you say the republicans are brainwashed i think that's exactly right, by their own label machine.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
smoke and mirrors! they are all except for kucinich the same war profiteers democrats repugtards thiers no clean hands here,
Goostepping in perfect alignment! Mein führer! Word of the Day!
Obama=Banana Republic!
Ja mein Führer!
yeah you got it adolph!
STALKER!
dont flatter yourself ,
it's hungry...you really shouldn't feed it.
We should all start saying that we have a "cure" for their "chosen lifestyle" and they can be "saved" from their "deviant" behaviors.
Start using their own words and ideas against them.
Unfortunately....ZOOOOM!!! Right over their little heads.
Hey Mr. 2% Republican, is that a banana in your pocket or do you love to hate me because you cannot control my vote?
'Talk to the hand'
If John McCain had won, we'd have been an...
"Old Navy"!
Nyuk, nyuk! Ah, funny on so many (at least two) levels...
A "Banana Republic."
Means a lot--coming from Banana Republicans.
I always thought a Banana Republic was a country whose goverenment was a puppet of foreign corporate interests, like so many Central American companies under United Fruit. Regardless, imagine Freud delving into right-wing fascinations like tea-bagging, bananas, black rulers and fear.
(which is very little), I think that the Republicans are suggesting that this administration would be acting as if they were running a Banana Republic if they prosecuted torture. I'm not sure they're wrong exactly as that does seem to be the sort of thing that takes probably would take place in a Banana Republic.
What they're missing is that because we have the torture without the prosecutions we aren't performing at the level of a Banana Republic. I am glad to see that the Republicans are willing to concede that W is no better than the deposed leader of a Banana Republic.
Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday interviewed Kit Bond-R, and Carl Levin-D.
After Carl Levin said it should be up to the Justice Department to decide on torture investigations, Chris Wallace turns to Kit Bond and asks, and I paraphrase, "are we now going to be like a Banana Republic, prosecuting the previous Administration each time for policy differences"?
I'm disappointed that Levin didn't take Wallace to task for spewing that Republican canard.
I've heard different meanings for this term. The one that I have heard most often is that "banana republic" refers to the current massive U.S. Government spending and debt levels which resemble those found in many poorer latin American countries. Those that tend to use this term however always fail to mention that the Bush Administration contributed greatly to the very thing they are angry about.
What the Republicans are doing is called projection. They do it all the time. With it's cronyism, crime, and corruption, it was the Bush administration that acted like a banana republic. Karl Rove and company are trying to argue that the whole debate over torture is a policy dispute, which of course is absurd. It's a legal issue, a war crime issue.
"Gaps in the Right's "banana republic" rhetoric
... In fact, Sean Hannity argues in favor of investigations and prosecutions of past administrations -- as long as the past administrations are Democratic administrations."
I see the _irony_. Discretionary use of the rule of law is a hallmark of a banana republic, and Hannity is promoting it.
How can anyone argue that the U.S. _isn't_ a banana republic? High unemployment, economy in crisis, we export raw materials, import manufactured good, execute our citizens, don't have national health care, have a congress controlled my multinational corporations, have come off eight years with torturers in our Executive Office and have a current charismatic leader who "isn't that interested" in seeing that the law is enforced in punishing past behavior. Largest one in history, granted, but not enough to be a banana republic for you?
First the shot chimp in that "satirical" cartoon
Now Banana Republics
Am I seeing a trend here?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
What they're dying to do is call this the fried chicken and watermelon administration
But here in Texas we'd call that a typical pickanic.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
that the next phrase from the rethugs will be "watermelon republic".
After seeing the teq baggers in action, most would be using the N word when the cameras were not focused on them.
They will go there. After all, last fall several pics of the white house lawn were covered with watermelons and don't forget the "Obama Fingers" fried chicken.
They are so afraid of a black president.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
I wonder how President Obama would do in a watermelon seed spitting contest
Or for that matter a hawg-calling contest?
I doubt even that would be enough to drop the elitist image.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Bananas...teabags.
I'm beginning to see a theme emerge.
What's next? Franks and beans?
Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar.
torturers and other war criminals then we really aren't much more then a banana republic.
Thats it!!! right there, if we dont then we are nothing all the red white & blue standing up for whats right means nothing, what a wonderful country we are we condone torture & I for one am sick of it America was always the country the others looked up to because of our values not any more
I think we should investigate Lard-Ass Hannity and then maybe he could come out of the closet with him being a gay man.
On my blog.
The right wing spew machine is in full voice, calling the USA a banana republic, when the Banana Republicans did the crime and are like two guys in an elevator and there is a gart stench, and the perp points to the other guy and says "you did it, do you have no shame"?
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