Paranoia Strikes Deep
Gandalf Grey
Paranoia Strikes Deep
by Paul Krugman
Last Thursday there was a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to protest pending
health care legislation, featuring the kinds of things we've grown
accustomed to, including large signs showing piles of bodies at Dachau with
the caption "National Socialist Healthcare." It was grotesque - and it was
also ominous. For what we may be seeing is America starting to be
Californiafied.
The key thing to understand about that rally is that it wasn't a fringe
event. It was sponsored by the House Republican leadership - in fact, it was
officially billed as a G.O.P. press conference. Senior lawmakers were in
attendance, and apparently had no problem with the tone of the proceedings.
True, Eric Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican, offered some mild
criticism after the fact. But the operative word is "mild." The signs were
"inappropriate," said his spokesman, and the use of Hitler comparisons by
such people as Rush Limbaugh, said Mr. Cantor, "conjures up images that
frankly are not, I think, very helpful."
What all this shows is that the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it
used to exploit.
The state of mind visible at recent right-wing demonstrations is nothing
new. Back in 1964 the historian Richard Hofstadter published an essay
titled, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," which reads as if it were
based on today's headlines: Americans on the far right, he wrote, feel that
"America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they
are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive
act of subversion." Sound familiar?
But while the paranoid style isn't new, its role within the G.O.P. is.
When Hofstadter wrote, the right wing felt dispossessed because it was
rejected by both major parties. That changed with the rise of Ronald Reagan:
Republican politicians began to win elections in part by catering to the
passions of the angry right.
Until recently, however, that catering mostly took the form of empty
symbolism. Once elections were won, the issues that fired up the base almost
always took a back seat to the economic concerns of the elite. Thus in 2004
George W. Bush ran on antiterrorism and "values," only to announce, as soon
as the election was behind him, that his first priority was changing Social
Security.
But something snapped last year. Conservatives had long believed that
history was on their side, so the G.O.P. establishment could, in effect,
urge hard-right activists to wait just a little longer: once the party
consolidated its hold on power, they'd get what they wanted. After the
Democratic sweep, however, extremists could no longer be fobbed off with
promises of future glory.
Furthermore, the loss of both Congress and the White House left a power
vacuum in a party accustomed to top-down management. At this point Newt
Gingrich is what passes for a sober, reasonable elder statesman of the
G.O.P. And he has no authority: Republican voters ignored his call to
support a relatively moderate, electable candidate in New York's special
Congressional election.
Real power in the party rests, instead, with the likes of Rush Limbaugh,
Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin (who at this point is more a media figure than a
conventional politician). Because these people aren't interested in actually
governing, they feed the base's frenzy instead of trying to curb or channel
it. So all the old restraints are gone.
In the short run, this may help Democrats, as it did in that New York race.
But maybe not: elections aren't necessarily won by the candidate with the
most rational argument. They're often determined, instead, by events and
economic conditions.
In fact, the party of Limbaugh and Beck could well make major gains in the
midterm elections. The Obama administration's job-creation efforts have
fallen short, so that unemployment is likely to stay disastrously high
through next year and beyond. The banker-friendly bailout of Wall Street has
angered voters, and might even let Republicans claim the mantle of economic
populism. Conservatives may not have better ideas, but voters might support
them out of sheer frustration.
And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened
in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P.
has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually
governing - but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from
dealing with the state's fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a
whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively
ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.
The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational
right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here - and
it's very bad for America.
� 2009 The New York Times
Paul Krugman is professor of Economics and International Affairs at
Princeton University and a regular columnist for The New York Times. Krugman
was the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. He is the author of
numerous books, including The Conscience of A Liberal, and his most recent,
The Return of Depression Economics.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,
that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in
this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud
of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing
of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to
which we are committed today at home and around the world.
"
-John F. Kennedy, 1961
Werner
> http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/09-2
>
> Paranoia Strikes Deep
>
> by Paul Krugman
>
> And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened
> in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P.
> has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually
> governing - but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from
> dealing with the state's fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a
> whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively
> ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.
>
California has been a true blue state for decades. Democtrats have
governed to to bankruptcy. This also happened on a national level.
> The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational
> right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here - and
> it's very bad for America.
>
>
No, the point is that the takeover of individual liberty by
BigGovernment politics was bad for America.
http://www.capitaldistrict-lp.org/how.shtml
Governing has become a way to get privileges for some at the expense
of others.
http://www.capitaldistrict-lp.org/what.shtml
http://www.investmentu.com/IUEL/2008/August/the-national-debt.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp8ZmQMCtqA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FSoXKapKQs&feature=related
liberal2
> On Nov 9, 1:14 pm, "Gandalf Grey" <valino...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/09-2
>
> > Paranoia Strikes Deep
>
> > by Paul Krugman
>
> >...
> > And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened
> > in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P.
> > has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually
> > governing - but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from
> > dealing with the state's fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a
> > whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively
> > ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.
>
> California has been a true blue state for decades. Democtrats have
> governed to to bankruptcy. This also happened on a national level.
No, fool, the 1970s Prop 13 was the road to California's fiscal
disaster. Grow up. It also is responsible for the insane housing costs
as property taxes act as a brake on price increases.
Werner
> On Nov 9, 3:32 pm, Werner <whetz...@mac.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Nov 9, 1:14 pm, "Gandalf Grey" <valino...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/09-2
>
> > > Paranoia Strikes Deep
>
> > > by Paul Krugman
>
> > >...
> > > And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened
> > > in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P.
> > > has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually
> > > governing - but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from
> > > dealing with the state's fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a
> > > whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively
> > > ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.
>
> > California has been a true blue state for decades. Democtrats have
> > governed to to bankruptcy. This also happened on a national level.
>
> No, fool, the 1970s Prop 13 was the road to California's fiscal
> disaster. Grow up. It also is responsible for the insane housing costs
> as property taxes act as a brake on price increases.
>
>
as taxes in general act as a brake on the economy, you fucking jerk.
>
>
>
> > > The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational
> > > right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here - and
> > > it's very bad for America.
>
> > No, the point is that the takeover of individual liberty by
> > BigGovernment politics was bad for America.
> >
http://www.capitaldistrict-lp.org/how.shtml
> > Governing has become a way to get privileges for some at the expense
> > of others.
> > http://www.capitaldistrict-lp.org/what.shtmlhttp://www.investmentu.co...