Jonah Goldberg Stomps a Myth

Jonah exposes the vomit from the belly of the beast in Big Bedfellows: Big Government, Big Business:

...The notion that big business and big government are at war with one another is one of the great enduring myths of the 20th century. The truth is that ever since Teddy Roosevelt abandoned his love of trust-busting, progressives have liked big businesses big, really big. The bigger the business, the more reliable the partner for big government.

Why is Obama working tirelessly to save Detroit automakers? Because GM is a wonderful poster boy for peddling nationalized health care, and UAW is an indispensable cog in the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton's health-care plan required working with large corporations and other firms. It was little guys for whom she had nothing but contempt.

Chiefly under the auspices of the National Recovery Administration, the New Dealers sought to create huge cartels and trade associations that could work side by side with economic planners.

Would Barney Frank rather work with one giant Fannie Mae that will always take his phone calls and do his bidding, or a thousand smaller firms that would need to be herded like cats?

Many of these firms got so big because politicians in both parties liked to have important businessmen take their phone calls, do their bidding, and fund their campaigns.

Although whale vomit may be somewhat unappetizing to many of us, it also can produce something very attractive to the progressive among us. One product secreted by sperm whales, called ambergris, has been useful in fixing scents in perfumery production. Here's the formula:

Sweet rhetoric + puke = Liberal Policy.