Morning Joe 6/11/2012 -- Why centrism will not work

On Morning Joe, Scarborough had it all to himself. Something is happening behind the scenes between Joe, Mika and the producers, and it's showing on the program. Regulars like Mark Halperin appear frustrated with the program and with Scarborough's belligerence and Mika's snarkiness.

Oh well, this morning Halperin was saying that gotcha journalism is getting old, and he said this in relation to Obama's comment about the private sector being fine. I agree with Halperin, but I wish people like Halperin would make these points when Republicans are excoriated for misstatements. The Leftists on the program, like Halperin, Steve Rattner and David Resnick, all said Obama isn't really out of touch when it comes to the state of the private sector economy, but they are wrong, because they are out of touch. Rattner had charts to show how Obama's performance is not as bad as some people say it is, and Rattner had to ignore a lot of facts just to the make the point that Obama is not as bad as completely awful -- not in creating jobs, because Obama can't create jobs, but in getting out of the way so that jobs can be created by a free market.

John Barrasso made the most pertinent points, although Scarborough patronizingly led Barrasso to the Centrist position. It's obvious Scarborough thinks he's politically superior to the likes of Barrasso and other Republicans in congress who are opposing tax increases and more spending. Scarborough, along with Sam McKinnon, David Brooks, David Frum and other Centrists, promotes the enlightened position, the Golden Mean, the Great Compromise, the Bi-Partisan Solution. Barrasso took the bait, and maybe Barrasso means it, but if he does, and if he represents other Republicans in congress, then the nation is screwed. Scarborough's idea is to promise long term reduction of entitlement spending in return for immediate, revenue-raising tax reform and infrastructure/education/research spending. Scarborough asked Barrasso if the Democrats would agree to long term entitlement reform, would he, Barrasso, agree to tax reform that raises revenues and the above mentioned spending increases. Scarborough said China is spending on these things, so we have to spend on these things to be competitive. Barrasso said he would as long as they get the promised spending cuts. This is the same Great Compromise that always brings on current spending increases and broken promises regarding entitlement reform later down the road. The cuts never materialize.

Scarborough views the global economy as a battle between States, with each State managing its economy and pumping the economy up through spending on infrastructure, research and education. Although Joe acknowledged a week or so ago that China is presently creating a bubble, he believes we should do the same thing as China but somehow avoid the bubble? Joe said we should do what China's doing, but what China's doing is leading to a giant bubble and high prices. Going back to the orginal conversation on the program this morning, about whether Obama understands the private sector, it's obvious that hardly anyone in the political realm understands the private sector in terms of a need for a free market. The political realm in America is dominated by the statist mindset. The interventionist thread ran through all the conversations on Morning Joe today, even the conversation regarding the European crisis, which is a result of decades of government interventions within European economies. Now, the experts are advising bigger interventions, which is what happens with statism -- interventions lead to bigger more confusing interventions.

Barrasso should have told Scarborough that the Centrist way is the way to collapse, and that infrastructure, education and research should all become parts of a free market. But, no one can even comprehend how this is possible --if they can't imagine a centalized plan from DC, then it can't happen. Americans have to transcend the political realm, because in this realm lies our destruction.