Reporter David Herszenhorn has a habit [1] of treating conservative opposition to big government legislation in purely cynical political terms, demonstrated once again in his Wednesday post on the paper's "Caucus" blog , "McConnell Blasts Financial Bill as 'Takeover.' [2]"
Herszenhorn blasted Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, even relaying suggestions from unnamed conservatives that he should resign for the failure of his hand-picked candidate, Trey Grayson, to triumph in Kentucky's Republican Senate primaries against Tea Party movement pick Rand Paul.
Whatever Congressional Democrats and President Obama do, according to the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, it must be a "government takeover."
In the push to gain seats in the midterm November elections, Mr. McConnell's meta-political argument is that one-party control of Congress and the White House is a very bad thing. And the buzz phrase to back up his point is "government takeover" on virtually every issue.
A day after Mr. McConnell's hand-picked candidate lost the Republican Senate primary in Kentucky - prompting some conservatives to suggest that Mr. McConnell should resign - he unleashed his harshest criticism yet of far-reaching legislation to overhaul the financial regulatory system. Mr. McConnell and Republicans had said they planned to support the bill and insisted on going through protracted negotiations to help shape it, first by delaying floor debate and in recent weeks by offering dozens of amendments.
Some of those Republican amendments were overwhelmingly approved.
Mr. McConnell's complaint? You guessed it! Government takeover.
"The fact is, Washington can't even pay its bills, and yet over the last 16 months it's taken over banks, insurance companies, car companies, the student loan business and health care," Mr. McConnell said in a floor speech on Wednesday. "And now it's got its sights set on anyone in America who engages in a financial transaction. The arrogance of this approach to governing is astounding."
Herszenhorn took it upon himself to do some anti-McConnell fact-checking:
Never mind that the many of the banks have repaid their government loans plus interest or that General Motors just turned a profit, or that the student loan program was already a federal program before Congress voted to stop big banks from feasting off the taxpayers to earn easy profits.