As if we needed any more evidence that the GOP holdouts against the bailout were motivated by discredited Reagan era corporate welfare politics. ... Today Ryan Grim of Politico reveals that Bill Isaac, an obscure Sarasota-based financial consultant and onetime FDIC appointee, almost single-handedly pushed House Republicans (and some Democrats) into anti-bailout stances earlier this week.
"That guy is more responsible for bringing this thing down than anybody else. He whipped them up into a frenzy,” said a frustrated House GOP leadership aide, who argued that Isaac's early 1980s experience may have been impressive then, but questioned whether it transferred to today's financial system.
“Joe Gibbs was a great coach,” he said. “In the 1980s.”
Isaac doesn't have a great track record on the economy -- last year, he said the housing market had already hit rock bottom. Isaac donated $1,000 to Ralph Nader this election cycle. Truly bizarre story.
--Dana Goldstein
