More Republican Opposition

Oy. Via Mark Thoma, here is a snippet of another Andrew Leonard post:

[Richard] Shelby said he wants to "shelve" the existing bill and "start all over and look at it in a bipartisan way." But all that means is that he wants the bill to be written as if the Republicans were still in power, ladling out tax cuts to all and sundry. Meanwhile, he says the real focus should be on fixing the bank system.

"What will turn the economy around is us finding some solution to the financial frozen assets and banks not making loans because that's what will create jobs."

But as the interviewer astutely noted, that's precisely what the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), currently being rejiggered by the Obama team, is for. And Shelby voted against TARP -- even though the initiative was cooked up by his own party. I guess when the choice is between bailing out banks, and bailing out the general public, the Republican option is a no-brainer: help the rich!