the irony is that ford was elected on a sort of libertarian mandate pushing for small government, with all the typical arguments about how government interference just fucks everything up.

and, this is an example of where these arguments are actually useful - when the government is too incompetent to do anything right. but, it's a reflection of the quality of the ruling party, rather than the value of government.

so, you can understand why they'd make those arguments, when you see how they actually legislate, themselves; when you put that mirror up against their own (lack of) competency, it makes sense for them to think nothing can ever be done correctly via collective action.

and, that's the reverse irony of it - i'd certainly rather not let conservatives interfere with the market, at least.