One of the minor forms of relief available during our present economic difficulties has been watching Republican pundits squirm and twitch as they try to evade the history of their own rhetoric. Today's example, from William Kristol in the New York Times:

After discussing how Republicans have the Democrats just where they want them, trapped helplessly in Washington in charge of the White House and Congress while Republican governors are poised for, well, coping with a catastrophe, Kristol turns his laser-like thoughts to the economy. You see, the key is that Republicans need to tell a good story about why the financial meltdown is not their fault.

"I don't see why a commitment to free markets requires permitting banks or bank-like institutions to leverage their assets at 30 to 1. There's nothing conservative about letting free markets degenerate into something close to Karl Marx's vision of an atomizing, irresponsible and self-devouring capitalism."

Since it is exactly Mr. Kristol's wing of the Republican party that has spent thirty years since Reagan's "Government is not the solution, government is the problem" saying precisely that any form of regulation or oversight that goes beyond gentle avuncular suasion is tantamount to the rape of "free markets" (free markets which rule all, guide all, solve all problems, blessed be the free markets), his sudden turn is hilarious.

After all, who, exactly, does Mr. Kristol think will prevent banks and bank-like institions from leveraging their assets at 30 to 1. The government, of course! Regulation! In contrast, letting banks do as they will has been (at least according to three decades of Republican orthdoxy), an essential feature of the 'free market'.

But no: now it turns out that letting markets operate as 'atomizing', with each participant following only his or her own interest, is actually Marxist! I never thought I'd see Bill Kristol agree with Marx's critique of the policies and ideas of, well, Bill Kristol and all his Republican free-market absolutists, but now we've seen it. What fun!