The Republican platform comprises four words: get rid of Obama. The party has no constructive suggestions for anything, only the destructive goals of ending “socialist” programs like Medicare and dismantling Obama’s health-care reforms. Today’s NYT has a great column, “Downhill with the G.O.P.,” by Nobelist Paul Krugman, who describes the pathetic “plans” Republicans have for the budget. He concludes:
Realistically, though, Republicans aren’t going to have the power to enact their true agenda any time soon — if ever. Remember, the Bush administration’s attack on Social Security was a fiasco, despite its large majority in Congress — and it actually increased Medicare spending.
So the clear and present danger isn’t that the G.O.P. will be able to achieve its long-run goals. It is, rather, that Republicans will gain just enough power to make the country ungovernable, unable to address its fiscal problems or anything else in a serious way. As I said, banana republic, here we come.
Naturally, this straight-shooting smart guy has cats. He and his wife Robin Wells serve two of them, Doris Lessing and Albert Einstein. Here’s Krugman with Doris:
And the Krugman family:
This comes from a biased source, but here is one take on the Republican’s ‘agenda’
Here is another take:
http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/numbers_dont_liebut_people_do/
It’s oft been said, but we truly do have the best politicians money can buy.
Cheers,
b&
I find the Krug himself to be a bit catlike, in the sense that I want to pet his fuzzy head and beard.
…okay that’s kind of creepy and I probably shouldn’t have posted it.
“banana republic here we come?” Paul’s awakening to the inevitable now? What’s taken him so long? Most others in the watch towers began this mantra on January 21 of 2002. By 2004 everyone was fairly certain were the country would be going w/ a chimpanzee in the Oval office for another four miserable, freakin’ years of democract dismantling, all of course, in collusion w/ delusional fatheists.
Yea. the chimp and his pals did a real number on this once promising country. I’m gonna’ really miss it.
As the faux Times front page said in 2004: We’re fucked.”
~Rev. El
Actually, Krugman’s been saying this since at least the 2000 campaign when he noticed the con job the Bush people were trying to pull. He’s been called “shrill” for repeating it so much but it’s hard to ignore something that keeps getting worse.
I think you are being a little unfair, Reverend. Krugman was among the few voices warning back in 2004-2005 that we were in a sitatuion similar to the 1920s.
Why do you have to insult innocent chimpanzees by comparing them to George W.? Thou shalt not take the name of the chimp thy evolutionary cousin in vain.
Interesting that you’d post on Krugman – I was thinking last night about an interview he did recently (I think it was with Charlie Rose), where he said that it’s 1932 right now. Of course he meant economically, and that’s reinforced with the record high for gold yesterday, but it occurred to me he could have meant politically as well – 1932 in Germany. Particularly if the teabaggers gain traction.
Still, I’m optimistic that things will change once Bill Clinton takes to campaigning.
Unrelatedly, since I can’t get anyone to comment on this over at peezees, does anyone else have to go thru password recovery every time they try to post there?
What password recovery? What password?
To log in, in order to post, same as here except that here it works like a normal site – I give my username and password (email) and my comment is posted without further aggravation.
I usually have no trouble with passwords or anything when I post at Pharyngula but occasionally something strange will happen. Sry I can’t help.
Good group of links from Center for American Progress Action Fund:
Unpacking the GOP’s “Pledge to America”
Speaking of banana republics, a very good, IMO, 10-part series in Slate on income inequality in the US:
The United States of Inequality
Krugman’s book (The Conscience of a Liberal) is excellent.
Paul Krugman was almost certainly the first person to give his first thoughts on being awarded the The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel by publishing in his NYT blog a LOL cat!…:)
Probably also the first economics (quasi-)Nobel winner known to frequent Science Fiction conventions, let alone hold an on-stage conversation with an SF author (Charlie Stross).
Maybe for a good reason, at least if we believe that science fiction may make you somewhat more sensitive to surprising possibilities: the models central banks, investment banks and hedge funds and rating agencies used (until late 2008) took counterfactual worlds as reality (no possibility of bankruptcy in some of the most sophisticated models!) and viewed all-too-possible events as near-miracles…:)
A Facebook friend posted this earlier today and, as always, I thought, “Krugman is sharp.” I guess his readership is pretty high brow so you don’t hear a lot of teabagger and other right wing wackaloon attacks on the ideas he lays out in his column.
No, but he has been fighting with the Chicago economists without any pause!..:)
As the former Baracks’ pastor reverend Wright said: God dam america…. that invented banana republics, as a mock image of its own. sick abd tired of your imperialism.god dam krugman and anyone that does not see what you did to..the banana republics..
I don’t know why Obama doesn’t just agree to have periodic summits on any number of topics with republican leaders going forward- e.g. every other month. I think over time this would be the best tonic to exposing the sheer vacuousness of their ideas, plus highlight the total insanity cultlike character of the Beck/Palin/Koch brothers inspired tea-party movement.
” I think over time this would be the best tonic to exposing the sheer vacuousness of their ideas”
Unfortunately it’ll do little good with Congressional Democrats always ready to roll over.
Wow. I was gearing up to write a comment urging everyone to proceed with caution on topics where we lack expertise (much as I would urge a priest to proceed with caution when talking about biology), but I then read Krugman’s column. It strikes me as 1) straightforward and uncontroversial and 2) devastating.
Please proceed with insulting Republicans.
If only they supported the tax cuts to the rich, then the photos could be captioned “Liberal economist elite embrace fat cats”?
Some times I can’t help myself.
Argumentam ad felis?
Indeed—those who have cats get an extra dollop of credibility. Remember–Hitler had dogs!
Medicare? I used to remember such a thing from long long ago. It’s hard to believe it’s the same thing. The Democrats brought us Social Security (FDR and the “New Deal”) and Medicare (LBJ’s social security reforms), but it’s clear that the GOP serve different masters and it’s not the average American citizen.
“The (Republican) party has no constructive suggestions for anything”
This kind of hyperbole makes it seem that you haven’t even tried to look for their suggestions. I’m not saying their suggestions are any good, but to say they have no constructive suggestions sounds like, well, it’s just beneath you.
I notice you did not actually give an example of a constructive Republican suggestion.
Google it yourself, big boy.
Republican agenda:
Lower taxes
Pass homophobic laws
Lower taxes
Pass misogynist laws
Lower taxes
Pass racist, bigoted laws
Lower taxes
Pass antiabortion laws
Lower taxes
Pass laws to make antichistian anything illegal
Lower taxes
Pass laws making anything Islamic illegal
Lower taxes
Pass laws letting corporations do anything and shaker regulation
Lower taxes
Take away any environmental laws
Lower taxes
Pass laws to favor the wealth and screw the middle class
Lower taxes