Republican cronyism and corporatism is why the party doesn’t consistently support limited government (see Medicare Part D, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, sugar, ethanol, farm subsidies, et cetera), and why the party lacks credibility when they wave the free-enterprise flag to justify tax cuts or deregulation favored by the business lobby.
Republican corporatism and cronyism is why the GOP can’t reach out to swing voters, whose main impression of Washington is that it’s a rigged game. That impression is true. An anti-corporatist, anti-cronyist Republican presidential candidate could appeal to this mindset, arguing correctly that the game is rigged, and big government is doing the rigging.
Why do Republicans engage in corporatism and cronyism? Why do they enclose themselves in a K Street bubble and discard their free-enterprise principles?
They do it because they see big business as “our guys.” Because the former Republican senators and congressmen, and the former Reagan and Bush insiders who are now on K Street, give them a call, host a fundraiser and whisper in their ear.
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