Wall Street Is Unprepared for a Dem Sweep

Reader Comments
Back to blog

John F. Kennedy is one who said "A rising tide lifts all boats". Stop rewriting history to justify your leftism with the Kennedy myth.

Jon of CO 7:49PM February 07, 2008

The Democratic Party of today is different from any other Democratic Party in US History. It is solidly anti-business and pro-huge malignant growth government. That combo can never be good for Wall Street or anybody else except the corrupt politicos who run the machine, and the rich moneybags who benefit, like George Soros.

Al Fin of WA 6:57PM February 07, 2008

"The $3 trillion Bush proposes spending in 2009 would be the first time that milestone has been reached. Bush also presided over the first budget to hit $2 trillion, in 2002. It took the government nearly 200 years to reach the first $1 trillion budget, which occurred in 1987 during the Reagan administration."
Good thing we had a conservative in office and conservatives in the majority in both houses of Congress. Anybody who says the Democrats are going to be bad for markets, and/or Federal finances is totally full of crap.

gab of CA 6:29PM February 07, 2008

Sell stock.
Buy guns and canned goods.
There won't be a Repub legislature to buffer the Dems this time. And the Dems won't need time to get up to speed like the 1st term for Bill.

Jim,MtnViewCA,USA of CA 6:11PM February 07, 2008

"What we need is a viable conservative populist third party".
With all due respect that is a triple contradiction in terms. One wonders how a life long Republican could be so ill informed....assuming that your self representation is accurate.

dgorton of IL 5:58PM February 07, 2008

Joel,
Actually I did that "little research" and found something different. From best to worst since 1974 the DJIA has averaged:
23.6% during the 6 years when there was a Democratic President and both houses were Republican.
18.2% during the 2 years with a Republican President and House and a Democratic Senate (Includes the entire year 2001 although Jim Jeffords didn't switch parties until the spring)
13.5% during the 14 years when there was a Republican President and both houses were Democrat
13.0% during the 4 years when all branches were Republican
12.7% during the 4 years when all houses were Democratic
10.8% during the 6 years when Republicans controlled the Presidency and the Senate and the House was Democrat
The DJIA average annual gain during the period was 14.8%
The lesson to glean from this is that the market outperforms the average only when Republicans control the House and either the Senate or the Presidency but not both.

Bob K of TN 5:50PM February 07, 2008

"Yes, I imagine those hoping for centrism won't get it and that more government regulation (oh how we need it) will happen and more - as mentioned, the stopping in their tracks of more tax cuts for the wealthy etc.
A great day on Wall Street! Because the dems WILL come in, and it WILL be Obama."
Gee Carol, that's swell. I'm sure you won't mind at all when your post-election tax bills skyrocket into the stratosphere. After all, it'll be a small price to pay for all those wonderful "free" programs the Democrats are promising to implement.
Then again, I guess you're also assuming that Al Qaeda will realize the error of its ways and go on permanent holiday once Prince Charming rides into the Oval Office on his magical steed and declares the restoration of Camelot. "Click your heels...and it shall be so."
If you really believe the above, can I also interest you in some unimproved swamp land down in Louisiana? It's a really great investment--trust me.

MarkJ of IN 5:36PM February 07, 2008

Your "research" is utterly unserious, not unlike the NFC/AFC Superbowl winning data. The dems are running as a socialist party, neither candidate is equipped to hold back the hard core wing. This will be a short term debacle for the economy and a long term one for the party.

dave of NY 5:29PM February 07, 2008

I was very optimistic in 1994 when the Republican Congress was elected. The person above with his ranking of economic progress did not give the timeline. Jimmy Carter had a very left wing Congress and that was certainly a wonderful economic climate, wasn't it? I think we are in for some bad years to come. I sold everything and bought gold shares when Clinton was elected. They did well, too. I did not realize how well the combination of Clinton/Rubin and the GOP Congress would do and that is when the "Clinton" economic surge occurred. Bush did the best he could, after 9/11 followed the 2000 bubble burst, but he and the Congress then proceeded to make every possible mistake in the economy. It will take a new generation of Republicans to get the party back on track. It's time to hunker down now.

Michael Kennedy of CA 5:27PM February 07, 2008

To put my commentary into perspective, let me point out that I am a 66 year old Republican who first voted for Goldwater.
The GOP is broken and I am not certain it ever will be fixed. Regardless of what anyone tells you, Bush has been a disaster in the minds of every Republican I know. The GOP leadership and members of congress have, for the most part, left the same impression.
I no longer will give to the GOP at either the national or the state level, and nearly every Republican I know makes the same statement. The low level of fund raising seems to bear out the accuracy of this observation.
Many Republican members of congress have indicated they will not run for reelection, a clear signal of how they view the political future, that is, one dominated by the Democrat party.
I am from Arizona and stopped supporting and voting for McCain some time ago. I will not vote for McCain under any circumstances, regardless of the political repercussions. I am not alone in this sentiment. The post-primary reports I have read show McCain as having barley carried his home state. McCain would not have won Arizona if the opposition votes had not been split between Romney and the Huckster.
The GOP managed to field a slate of wannabees which for the most part failed to appeal to the GOP base. Every Republican I know and speak to are dissatisfied in some major way with the GOP choices offered. Most have felt now for some time that the GOP has lost its way and no longer represents them. Many already have switched to Independent, either through registration or state of mind.
Wall Street and the market had better prepare for a Democrat president and for both houses of congress to be democrat, and for some time to come. It isn't going to be pretty. Democrats in total control will screw up things so very badly that there will be change. As constituted, the GOP hasn't done much better and likely will not offer anything much different in the future. Our two-party system is broken. What we need is a viable conservative populist third party. That may not happen, but rest assured, there will be fundamental change at some time in the relatively near future. The system cannot continue in its present state too much longer.

Jon Elkin of AZ 2:26PM February 07, 2008