From The Dallas Morning News:
WASHINGTON – Texan Phil Gramm handed John McCain a huge headache Thursday by calling America a “nation of whiners” whose economic complaints are mostly “mental.”
“Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I strongly disagree,” Mr. McCain said, trying to tamp down the problem caused by his longtime friend, who holds a doctorate in economics and taught the subject at Texas A&M before moving to Congress.
In a campaign in which the economy is the top issue, Democrats pounced on the comment. They said Mr. McCain is ill-informed on economics and out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Americans.
“I guess what he meant was, it’s a figment of your imagination, these high gas prices,” Barack Obama told supporters in Fairfax, Va.
…snip…
The former senator’s suggestion that much of Americans’ economic pain and uncertainty is psychosomatic came in an interview with the conservative Washington Times. “You’ve heard of mental depression. This is a mental recession,” he told the paper. “We have sort of become a nation of whiners. … You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.”
Mr. Gramm, a budget hawk in Congress who’s known Mr. McCain for decades, played a key role in rescuing the campaign a year ago.
…snip…
Asked if he still would consider Mr. Gramm for Treasury secretary or another top administration post, he said, “Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus, although I’m not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that.”
It was probably a joke, but he never cracked a smile.
Then Shecky McCain added, “I’ll be here the whole week. Tip your waitress. Try the veal.” He thinks that tipping a waitress will solve the economic crisis.
The fact that Mr. McCain’s headache came from Mr. Gramm was a bonus for Democrats, who have been pointing to recent news reports tying some of the Gramm legislative legacy, including banking deregulation, to the mortgage crisis, the Enron debacle and other problems.
…snip…
Mr. Gramm didn’t respond to an interview request placed through aides at UBS, the Swiss banking firm where he is vice chairman. But he called the Washington Times on Thursday to clarify he wasn’t criticizing the public. Rather, he was faulting “American leaders who whine instead of lead. … Certainly too many members of Congress and the Barack Obama campaign fall into the category of whiners.”
Of course it’s the fault of members of Congress and the Obama campaign! It’s not like Chimpy and his war that costs $5,840 per household, $2,147 per person, and $341.4 million per day had anything to do with it! You know, that war that your buddy, Captain Underpants, wants to continue.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
Under “sleaze” in my dictionary, it says “See Phil Gramm.”
and his wife’s pic is right next to his. i bet he and wendy love to hang out with capt u and cindy lou. they roll around in their money and laugh at poor people. wendy relives her glory days at enron, phil giggles about throwing people out of their homes, while cindy lou wonders what she will spend her newfound extra millions on when her anheuser-busch stocks skyrocket while thousands of people lose their jobs in st. louis. meanwhile, capt u calls his wife disgusting, demeaning names while he barbecues chicken and ribs for the press. those people know how to party!
Nonnie, I once heard an interview with Barney Frank. He said they had only censured one Dem and that was Phil Gramm. Shortly after that he jumped ship to the Rethugs and launched his campaign for the Senate. He and his wife both (along with CU and spouse and Mitch McConnell and partner) leave a trail of slime whererever they go. CU can try to distance thems as much as he wants, but they are truly exemplary of the R party (the Marie Antoinette school) of let them eat cake. Their policies are working exactly as planned.
gramm was a dem at one time? i didn’t know that. sardonyx posted in a comment over at the big orange that molly ivins called gramm “the world’s meanest republican.” that’s pretty damned mean.
p.s. thanks for keeping me company over here. nightowl’s computer ‘sploded, gotta hasn’t been around in ages, dcAp is gallivanting in europe somewhere, and i don’t know where fotc has been. 😦
Yep, Gramm was a Dem when he was in the House. They kicked him off of one of the committee’s.
You better find someone to pick up the slack next week. My vacation ends and my move begins so I’ll be out of touch for awhile.
Nonnie, here is the info on Gramm from Wikipedia:
“In 1976, Gramm unsuccessfully challenged Texas Democratic Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, in the party’s senatorial primary. Nine years later, Gramm and Bentsen would begin what became an 8-year relationship as senatorial colleagues from Texas. During their Senate tenures, both attempted to run for President, but neither made a serious showing.
In 1978, Gramm successfully ran as a Democrat for Representative from Texas’s 6th congressional district. He continued his service in the House, being reelected as a Democrat in 1980.
In 1981, Gramm attended Democratic Caucus budget meetings and then secretly shared their strategy with Republicans to help pass newly inaugurated President Ronald Reagan’s budget.[citation needed] In response, the House Democratic leadership stripped him of his position on the committee. He won re-election to his House seat again in 1982. Following his reelection, Gramm resigned his House seat on January 5, 1983, forcing a mid-term special election. Gramm ran in that election on February 12, 1983 to fill the vacancy that he had created, but as a Republican. Winning, he became the first Republican to represent the district since its creation, and after he left the House, the seat was retained for the Republican party (by Joe Barton).”
As you can see he is a special kind of scumbag. I don’t care if he supported Reagan’s budget as a Dem or not, but to serve as a mole for the Rethugs while he was a Dem is especially lowdown.
I know that Molly Ivins usually could find something good about almost everyone. She loved Texas politics and the colorful characters in Texas. I even saw her give Bush credit for his attempt to bring the two sides of the Texas House together when he was the Guv. However, I don’t think she could ever bring herself to say anything nice about this guy. I know that in the interview I heard with Frank, he really didn’t like Gramm either.
oy! if you are going to be gone, too, maybe i should just sit here and twiddle my thumbs for a couple of weeks.
that’s a very, very interesting history of gramm. it gives you insight into his dark, cold heart. he apparently will do anything to win. you are correct, he certainly is a special kind of scumbag, though i hesitate to say that, as i hate to insult scumbags that way.
I know, I certainly can’t thing of anyone who deserves to be lumped into a category with him. His constituency has always consisted of him only.
You’ll be twiddling, DCap is gallavanting and others must be lollygagging (except Nightowl who seems to be exploding). I’m not sure where that leaves me.
jeb,
there’s always wendy, his wife. she seems to be quite content with gramm, so i can only suppose that, as in nature, water seeks its own level. in this case, the water is fetid, polluted, and poisonous, but it is still true. i guess that makes it a constituency of two.
while dcAp is gallivanting, nightowl ‘sploding, gotta and fotc missing, i suspect that you will be unpacking. i will be like the maytag repairman–so very, very lonely. 😥
Nonnie, just remember that in cyberspace, no one can hear you scream.
but my windows will still break. and my throat will still get sore.