Enron parable haunting GOP again

by STANLEY CROUCH

Due to unexpected Republican congressional losses in special elections in Mississippi and Louisiana, the elephants now fear that they are headed for a further stripping away of their tusks come the fall.

No one should be surprised. In The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove -- the butcher of the Beltway -- plays at being a pundit. He warns that the Republican Party must fashion a platform of change because, "Public revulsion at GOP scandals was a large factor in the party's 2006 congressional defeat."

Let us thank brother Karl for maintaining his identity and revealing but half the truth. Could you be more precise and give us some of the details of what brought about repulsion and the echo that may be heard in the fall? Why would you? I will help you out, Brother Karl. It's the only neighborly thing to do. So, here we go: To truly understand the GOP's problems, take a look at "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," the 2005 documentary that remains essential viewing on DVD.

The central lesson of that movie is this: Our country cannot maintain a reasonable living standard if whatever party in power continues to adhere to a philosophy of free markets that turns capitalism into the high seas and invites the ruthlessness of the buccaneers of the bottom line.

Supposed believers in pure free markets will tell the little guy in business trouble that business is a gamble and bad investments or poor planning will bring you down, but the market -- thank the Lord -- will survive and thrive. It will be as it always has been: The impartial market will work it out. You can bet your life on it. This is the gospel of materialism that celebrates a mysterious god of finance. This god functions beyond sentiment and understands only the prayers of goods and services that are answered with the blessings of money.

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