WASHINGTON, DC, 04:34 AM, SAT OCTOBER 11 | Advertise on Wonkette | tips@wonkette.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS
GET A JOB!

NATION OF RETARDS IS BETTER: John McCain’s advisers are more brilliant than you or me or me or you; we know this. That is why — in an election where massive economic despair is easily the biggest issue on unemployed, homeless, bankrupt voters’ minds — McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm said we are in a “mental recession,” not a real one, and we are also a “nation of whiners.” Savvy. Politics at its best. [WP/The Trail]


1:45 PM on Thu July 10 2008
By Jim Newell
1256 Views

  1. Doglessliberal says at 1:51 pm, July 10th, 2008

    and trickle-down economics is going to work just like last time!

  2. shortsshortsshorts says at 1:52 pm, July 10th, 2008

    “top policy adviser of Sen. John McCain’s, said the nation is in a “mental recession,”

    So the guy leading WALNUTS policy basically thinks there’s nothing wrong with the economy.
    Phil Gramm is apparently in a “mental sense” instead of “real sense.” Hack.

  3. choinski says at 1:53 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Oh that’s terrible. Okay, change the subject.

    I know this is no longer a part of Gawker, but I’ll poll you guys anyway: did anyone else experience a sudden inability to comment on their sites? or have I been ‘executed’? I’m not even sure why. No explanation, no recourse nothing.

    Discuss.

  4. AfghanVet says at 1:53 pm, July 10th, 2008

    “But I’ve cut your bloody arm off!”

    “Tis but a scratch.”

  5. Delicious says at 1:53 pm, July 10th, 2008

    I wish Phil Gramm’s name was Dick Armey, so I could hate him and make fun of his name. Alas, I can only hate.

    Oh yeah, and stop whining loser Americans.

  6. EnBuenOra says at 2:01 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Phil Gramm caused this current economic crisis, so, maybe he should shut the f*** up, though he won’t.

    http://tinyurl.com/Foreclosure-Phil

    Who’s to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. He’s been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win. That’s right: A guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy. Talk about a market failure.

  7. Phil Gramm… the man who gave us the Enron Loophole. In the words of Ken Lay, “We appreciate that, asshole.”

  8. Lionel Hutz Esq. says at 2:03 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Finally, a Republican with the nuts to place the blame where it belongs: The American People. Keep electing Republicans, and this is what you get.

  9. Rev. Peter Lemonjello says at 2:03 pm, July 10th, 2008

    sure, phil…..and after Jan. 20 we’ll be a “nation of islam”

  10. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 2:03 pm, July 10th, 2008

    I like a good, hearty cheese with my whine, thanks.

  11. We are a nation of whiners. This doesn’t make the recession any less real, though. Recessions aren’t gauged by popular poll, yo.

  12. carerer says at 2:04 pm, July 10th, 2008

    So the negative returns in my 401k are all in my head? Cool. I’m going to go stimulate the economy after work!

  13. carerer: You still have a job? ELITIST!1!!

  14. Dave J. says at 2:05 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Phil Gramm… the man who gave us the Enron Loophole. In the words of Ken Lay, “We appreciate that, asshole.”

    Since we’re talking about Gramm, a wise editor would remove the comma and quote Lay thusly: “We appreciate that asshole.”

  15. Serolf Divad says at 2:06 pm, July 10th, 2008

    We’re a nation of whiners, sure… but once this recession/depression finds us all sleeping uder bridges we’ll be a nation of winos.

  16. Monsieur Grumpe says at 2:09 pm, July 10th, 2008

    I’ve been unemployed for 2 months now with not one interview. I’ve been looking diligently and I’m not taking unemployment money. The job market sucks as much as Phil Gramm does in an airport stall. Please, pardon my whining asshole.

  17. carerer says at 2:10 pm, July 10th, 2008

    AxmxZ: Me and Obama!

  18. V572625694 says at 2:11 pm, July 10th, 2008

    WALNUTS will do for the US economy what Phil Gramm did for UBS: take it to the dumper!

    They gotta be making this shit up. It’s too easy!

  19. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 2:11 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Judging from Cindy and Margaret Cho’s expressions in the WSJ pic, McCain must’ve just let one. And a mighty big one too.

  20. ManchuCandidate says at 2:11 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Zombie by Phil Gramm

    But he sez, it’s just me, it’s not the economy.
    All in your head, in your head they are foreclosing,
    On their homes and their cars,
    And their cars and their guns.
    In your head, in your head, they are jobless…

    In your head, in your head,
    Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm,
    Hey, hey, hey. What’s in your head,
    In your head,
    Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm?
    Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, dou, dou, dou, dou, dou…

    Another bear market’s breakin’,
    China is taking over.
    When the money is worthless,
    We must be mistaken.

    It’s the same old theme since nineteen-eighty.
    All in your head, in your head they are foreclosing,
    On their homes and their cars,
    And their cars and their guns.
    In your head, in your head, they are jobless…

    In your head, in your head,
    Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm,
    Hey, hey, hey. What’s in your head,
    In your head,
    Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm?
    Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, dou, dou, dou, dou, dou…

  21. Monsieur Grumpe says at 2:11 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Serolf Divad:
    I’ll drink to that. Seriously. I will.

  22. ForTheTurnstiles says at 2:13 pm, July 10th, 2008

    For the record: Canadians are a lot better at whining than we are. Spend a few hours on an Amtrak train with a load of them and you’ll have more than an earful.

  23. Dave J. says at 2:14 pm, July 10th, 2008

    queeraselvis v 2.0: I love that photo, with both Gramm and Cindy McCain watching over Walnuts’ shoulder to make sure he doesn’t misread the card.

  24. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 2:17 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Dave J.: Cindy looks like she’s about ready to leap off stage and gnaw off the arms off the unsuspecting 4-year-old in the front row.

  25. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 2:18 pm, July 10th, 2008

    queeraselvis v 2.0: *gnaw the arms off* Sheesh.

  26. anabellum says at 2:18 pm, July 10th, 2008

    ooohh i love it when Phil calls me a whiner…

    c’mon daddy, get tough with me….tell me about ALL the sacrifices im going to have to make…make we work longer, harder…yeah on my knees….c’mon thats it………

  27. Cool. The Man says ‘eat your gruel and shut your pie-hole’, rather precipitating a dilemma as gruel consumption requires the pie-hole to be open.

  28. Delicious says at 2:20 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Speaking of the photo, when is McCain going to remove that goiter?

  29. KevoTron says at 2:21 pm, July 10th, 2008

    This is a little off-topic but I saw this column in local alt-weekly The Stranger and thought it fitting for wonkette.

    http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=616617&hp

  30. shortsshortsshorts says at 2:22 pm, July 10th, 2008

    anabellum: *fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap*

  31. StupidGeek says at 2:22 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Hmm, this article makes me feel very, very bitter. I’m going to go whine about it. In my new house made of cardboard.

  32. Truculent says at 2:30 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Gramm is 100% right. The four people in the cubes across from me who were laid off last week were just mentally fired. Damn whiners.

  33. ForeignSickSpecialist says at 2:35 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Doglessliberal: Gramm/McCain voodoo is better than Reagan voodoo. Gramm and McCain have “coloreds” in their family.

  34. Also, John, John, *that’s* not ‘mental’ constipation you have. But perhaps it is? Ah, well.

  35. misterarthur says at 2:43 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Hey, Phil. Come to Detroit. We are just a bunch of whiners and the collapse of one of America’s largest cities is just a fantasm.

  36. TGY: In Gramm’s secret recesses of mind, it’s phrased “Maul halten und weiter dienen!”

  37. Cape Clod says at 3:08 pm, July 10th, 2008

    This is the same man who demonized government hand outs, and yet spent most of his life sucking on the government tit.

  38. villageatrois says at 3:27 pm, July 10th, 2008

    A Golden Oldie: “according to U.S. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, (Gramm-Rudman) is the first binding constraint imposed on federal spending, and its spending caps have become part of every subsequent U.S. budget.”

    I’m still whining about the last time he saved our nation to death.

  39. Hooray For Anything says at 3:45 pm, July 10th, 2008

    Monsieur Grumpe: I was laid off a month ago and am also unable to find jack in terms of finding a job that lasts for more than three months. I guess all that stress about paying off bills, depleting all my savings, and running out of healthcare is all in my mind and that I should stop whining about it

  40. qwerty42 says at 4:30 pm, July 10th, 2008

    hey! things are going OK for Phil, so he can generalize that to everyone else. Statistics people! (n=1)

  41. villageatrois says at 6:52 pm, July 10th, 2008

    If n=1, Sd = 0.

    Proof that diversity is a mathematical impossibility, at least when measured in Gramms.

  42. regisgoat says at 8:39 pm, July 10th, 2008

    I have found that chewing on my tongue vigorously as if it were a piece of juicy steak gives me nourishing blood to consume for absolutely free–maybe all those poormouthing unemployed losers out there ought to try this, instead of looking to Uncle Sam to lighten their load! This practice also prevents me from saying psychotically stupid things like “we’re in a mental recession.” This statement must be hung around Gramm’s neck for the rest of his political life.

Leave a Reply