Unbelievably good

Matt Taibbi takes down David Brooks:

Populism: Just Like Racism!

And even if I were to accept the Brooksian view of an upper class that must be looked to to fix things and take care of the lower classes and create the needed wealth to help us escape our economic crisis, the whole point is that this upper class he is talking about has abdicated that very responsibility — and, perhaps having reached the cynical conclusion that our society is not worth saving, has taken on a new mission that involves not creating wealth for all but simply absconding with whatever wealth is remaining.

It’s not pessimism or “combative divisiveness” to talk about these problems and insist that they get fixed. On the contrary, it’s a very positive view of what citizenship is to believe that everyone has a real role in fixing his country’s problems, and that when we identify problems, we should try to do something about them because we might actually succeed.

On the other hand, telling oneself that when powerful people “rig the game” one should just tolerate it, because one’s best hope for seeing the situation fixed rests in hoping those same powerful people fix it themselves — I would describe that as pessimism, or something worse than pessimism. The whole point of America is that we are all supposed to be our own masters, never viewing anyone as being by birth or situation inherently better or more capable than ourselves, and so the notion of relying upon some nebulous class of investment bankers to “channel opportunity” from on high strikes me as being un-American.

If there is a Republican who aspires to be Reagan 2.0, the best thing they can do is read Taibbi's reporting on the Bubble and Crash. The game-changing candidate will be the one who combines an intelligent appreciation of Hayek with a clear-eyed willingness to address the need for financial reform.

Hint-- Jamie Gorelick, Larry Summers, and Barney Frank are gifts that keep on giving.,

Note that Ann Coulter gets it.