So apparently everything was a done deal until The White Horse snorted in.

Word is that McCain is now enamored with an alternative plan that has emanated from deep in the bowels of the Republican caucus, which calls for:

the removal of regulatory and tax barriers to help facilitate the use of private capital to produce liquidity; temporary tax relief provision to help companies free up capital; and temporary suspension of dividend payments by financial institutions.

In concrete terms, the "alternative" is to get rid of the capital gains tax! And deregulate even more!

Of course!

I thought the problem was that banks had invested trillions in worthless paper that nobody wants to buy. It is worthless, ergo they cannot sell it for a profit, therefore eliminating the capital gains tax -- a tax on profit -- will not help anyone unload the worthless paper.

Or is the idea that the Wall Street banks should all unload all of their profitable investments, all at once, to raise the cash they need, and eliminating the capital gains tax is an incentive to do this? Capital gains tax is like 15%, kids. If everyone sells their high-performing investments at once, the price would easily be driven down by 15% if not more.

So what McCain wants is to come in on his white horse, throw everything into disarray, and use the crisis as a pretext for yet another tax cut -- not just a tax cut but the wholesale elminiation of a tax -- that will do nothing to solve the crisis but will temporarily enrich wealthy pigs and big corporations during the next few months before they all commit suicide or are murdered by packs of enraged looters.

Who the fuck is this guy?? He's stealing appetizers from the buffet of the Titanic!

Also, sweet deal that he didn't come down to fight for a higher equity stake in the banks or for more meaningful mortgage relief or for stronger regulation. Nope, it was all about killing the capital gains tax.

I am so sick right now.