Economic Hypocri-sis -- How Big Business propped up the whackadoodles it now fears will crash the economy

America's great minds of business and finance have reached a consensus on the government shutdown and worse, the prospect of a debt default: While the latter is worse, both are bad. Those same great minds are well aware how the shutdown came to pass and why default still looms on the horizon, whether next week, next month, or next year.

Yes, the frightened corporate leaders surely know how this happened -- because their money funded the tea party candidates and organizations responsible for the crisis.

Consider Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., a tea party freshman whose outspoken stupidity on a default's potential benefits, such as an improved U.S. credit rating, has provided a bit of dark humor in these dark days. Yoho, a large-animal veterinarian, announced months ago that he would never vote to raise the debt ceiling.

Like most Republican candidates, he had no problem raising contributions from business interests, notably including contractors, insurance companies, manufacturers and agricultural processors. All of which presumably share the horror of default expressed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But no doubt Yoho parroted the usual right-wing cliches about taxes, regulation, labor, and health care, so all the business guys wrote a check without caring that Yoho is an ignorant yobbo.

Or consider Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., who came to embody the idiocy of the shutdown when he declared "we're not going to be disrespected" by the White House but couldn't articulate precisely what Republicans needed in order to reopen the government and avoid default. Another low-wattage tea party newcomer, Stutzman likewise raised plenty of money from commercial banks, real estate firms, insurance companies and various manufacturers. Why do these executives write checks to elect someone like him?