This excerpt originally appeared in National Review Online on April 30, 2012.

The very “pro-business” and very not-pro-market letter, which you can find here, is disconcerting for many reasons, the least of which is that Republicans should understand that crony capitalism isn’t capitalism. Again, it is not the role of the federal government to prop up a few selected companies and shelter them from adversity caused by competitors — even those helped by foreign governments. The Ex-Im Bank represents corporate welfare at its finest; in this case, the beneficiaries are the largest businesses in America.