How much blame do the Republicans deserve for our current mess?

Nice job! Justin. all the listed things seem logical conclusion to me. Fed & the American Govt. are specialists in playing the blame game; meaning to blame firms like Fannie, Freddie etc. for the mess created by themselves. I agree with Ron Paul, the Americans need to get this awareness and come out of a fantasy world and start working towards removing the concept of Federal Reserve from the American System once and for all. The Fed's basic teaching, between the lines, to an individual unit of an economy is to live the whole life as a debtor which is contrary to the history of this world. Due to the advancements in Tech economics this mess created by them affects the whole world in one blow which is unforgiveable.

I know this is off topic, but I just want to commend Time magazine for allowing readers to respond to opinion pieces. I was just looking at a piece in Fortune magazine, which does not facilitate feedback, and decided I am not interested in reading their views if I can't repond when appropriate. I note, however, that Newsweek allows feedback on all of their articles.

Back to topic. If there is one single factor that can be traced to the this monumental financial disaster, it is the deregulatory/market fundamentalism which permeated our system since Reagan was in office. I think it is very fair to say the Republicans were the champions of this cause. If you don't like a regulatory safety net move to China.

To the question "how much blame does the GOP deserve?", the answer is...
ALMOST ALL (95%) OF IT.
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while the Democrats aren't precisely blameless, they are mere accessories (the Dems sold their souls, but the Devil is still the real villain; Faust is just the guy who sold out to Satan) --- the economic disaster was the result of concepts and ideas pushed by the GOP, and the laws passed and (de)regulations promulgated pursuant to those concepts. Many Dems were caught between a rock and a hard place -- GOP "small government/tax cut" demogoguery made it futile to resist GOP programs.
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But "journalists" also deserve because the media was willing to treat absurdities (like the Lauffer curve as a rationale for tax cuts) as truths, repeat flat out lies ("Social Security Crisis") with impunity, and push an economic agenda that hurt average americans while not touching the journalistic establishment (the journalistic establishment -- the people who set the news agenda -- are all in the upper income brackets, and don't give a flying fig about jobs being sent overseas because they can't imagine "reporting" on US politics being outsourced to Malaysian sweatshop workers).
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but ultimately, it all comes back to the Republican agenda...absent the "fatten the rich, and screw everyone else" economic philosophy of the GOP, Dems would have nothing to sell out to, and journalists would have nothing to lie about.
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As I taught my Scouts, "people do what you Inspect rather than what you Expect."
That is the source of Alan Greenspan's stupidity.
It is also why "Conservatism" is such a crock of carp.
The greed that motivated the deregulation of finances literally made the hedge funds an legal version of the Ponzi scheme. (See Ari Officer's excellent article at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1869196,00.html )

If one wanted a common denominator it is Dick Cheney's buddies at Enron and Haliburton that set the tone for almost everything wrong with the US at the moment. I am a "Liberal Republican" that voted for Obama, but is looking forward to January 21 as "Henry Waxman Day." That is when US Representative Waxman can start indictments of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Gonzales and other Bushites without our "current President" pardoning them.

"The Financial Crisis Blame Game" is fair and well reasoned. It follows that people who adhere to dogma or are pushing an agenda will find fault with it.

Blame-shifting is always much more palatable than acceptance of responsibility. The fact is that when things were going well Rove & Co. wanted a permanent Republican majority. Now, you can't find a single Republican beyond (Lugar, Hagar probable exceptions) who are willing to face the music. Ultimately, this comes down to a combination of hubris, deregulation and the toxic elixir of over-leveraging. The actors are many but the fundamental problems are always the same.
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1) Nobody thought the party could go on too long.
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2) The house owners let everybody keep their keys and attempt to drive home.
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3) Finally, no adult had the courage or common sense to at least take away the punch bowl, if not the keys to automobile.

Republicans dominant for the last 28 years? I guess Republicans get credit for the Clinton years and Reagan boom as well. Thanks a lot. You can have Carter.

I would really like to know where you learned math. I'll agree you can have Carter. If you go back to 55 years to 1954, the Democrats have controlled Congress for 37 of those 55 years, which leaves 18 for the Republicans. At least when I learned math, 37 from 55 was 18. Must be nice to be able to add an extra 10 onto that.

Democrats don't want to take any responsibility except during a boom.Democrat rags like Time shouldn't even bother having a business columnist. Just stick to peddling Obama covers and leave real news to somebody who isn't pining away for the USSR to get back together.