War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Democrats Are Radicals
By: Paul Krugman (nytimes)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Biden was evidently feeling feisty on Tuesday. In particular, he kept baiting Republicans with the suggestion that a number of them are threatening Medicare and Social Security — which they are.
Delivering the Republican response, Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed that the United States is divided between two parties, one of which is mainly focused on bread-and-butter issues that matter to regular people, while the other is obsessed with waging culture war. This is also true. But she got her parties mixed up — Republicans, not Democrats, are the culture warriors who've lost touch with ordinary Americans' concerns.
First, about Medicare and Social Security. When Biden said that "some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset," he was greeted with shouts of "Liar!" But last year Senator Rick Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, released a "plan to rescue America" that explicitly included as one of its reforms "All federal legislation sunsets in five years."
Yes, a program that sunsets can be renewed. But what Biden said was true — and how sure are you that the modern G.O.P. would, in fact, vote to maintain Social Security and Medicare as they currently exist?
There's also the matter of arithmetic. Republicans have pledged to eliminate the budget deficit within 10 years, and unless we raise taxes — which they vehemently oppose — that's essentially impossible without drastic cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
And let's not forget that these are programs for seniors — programs that are central to Americans' long-term financial planning, the bedrock on which most people's hopes for a decent, dignified retirement rest. Putting them on the chopping block every five years, even potentially, would create immense anxiety.
Hence the hysterical G.O.P. response to Biden's claims. But those claims were entirely true.
But let's talk about the Sanders response to Biden, which was even more revealing.
Sanders's speech was a diatribe against wokeness. This is standard G.O.P. fare these days and exactly what you'd expect in, say, an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference. But this wasn't a CPAC speech; it was meant to address the nation as a whole and rebut the president of the United States.
So as Greg Sargent of The Washington Post points out, it was remarkable that Sanders spoke largely in right-wing insider jargon. She boasted of eliminating C.R.T. in her state, without even explaining the abbreviation; how many Americans know that it stands for "critical race theory," let alone why that's supposed to be such a bad thing?
For that matter, focus groups suggest that most people don't know what "wokeness" means, or why they should fear it.
But wait, it gets worse. Sanders seemed to say (although her syntax was a bit garbled) that woke policy was responsible for "high gas prices" and "empty grocery shelves."
So first of all, how does that work? How did critical race theory cause a global spike in crude oil prices, which raised prices at the pump all around the world? How did it snarl supply chains and cause a worldwide shortage of shipping containers?
Second, a politician who was actually in touch with real people's concerns would know that the examples she used to illustrate Biden's policy failures are well past their sell-by date. Gas prices did indeed surge for a while, hitting around $5 a gallon last summer. But they've fallen drastically since then.
Currently, my preferred indicator of fuel affordability — the price of a gallon of gas as a percentage of the average worker's weekly earnings — is roughly the same as the average for 2018-2019. I don't remember Republicans howling about gas prices at the time.
And the complaint about empty shelves is even more out of date. Supply chains were very messed up a year ago, but the pressure has greatly eased since then, and while there are always a few scarce items — avian flu helped cause an egg shortage, although prices are probably heading down — complaints about empty shelves are very stale at this point.
Put it this way: Sanders's version of the problems facing ordinary Americans seems to be based, not on any direct sense of people's lives, but on Fox News reporting that hypes bad things under Biden and never mentions when things get better again.
Just to be clear, there are culture warriors on the left, and some of them can be annoying even to social liberals. But few have significant power, and they certainly don't rule the Democratic Party, which isn't locked into a closed mental universe, impervious to inconvenient facts, whose denizens communicate in buzzwords nobody else recognizes.
Republicans, however, do live in such a universe — and what Sarah Huckabee Sanders showed us was that they can't step outside that universe even when they should have strong political incentives to sound like normal people and pretend to care about regular Americans' concerns.
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There's a vague possibility that American voters are beginning to realize just how dishonest the
RepublicanAmerican Fascist Party actually is. They seem to be voting for honesty.Astonishing, no?
Honesty from Democrats/liberals/progressives, et al?
Surely you jest!
[Deleted] That’s the point of progressivism, radical change. The “fundamental transformation of America” was the stated goal just a few years ago, by a guy who we are constantly told was much more moderate than the current crop of radicals.
It’s almost funny, but actually more alarming, to see how easily some progressives can take diametrically opposing views in different threads. When it suits their purposes, they’ll go through the usual juvenile hysterics of calling republicans radicals, fascists etc.. We all know the drill, they’ve been in a constant state of hysteria for literally decades. Remember when democracy ended in 2014, bob?
but when they aren’t screaming fascist, they turn around and say republicans don’t want to “do” anything. They have no ideas, no policies, etc. So depending on the needs of the particular argument, republicans either radicals intent on changing America beyond recognition, or as inert as rocks, refusing to to anything. Radicals who don’t want to change anything. Orwellian nonsense from the left.
Krugman is a dishonest hack. If people still fall for his schtick, there’s not much more to be said. Taking the most partisan pundit in the country seriously at least serves as warning signal to the rest of us.
[If inflammatory comment is going to be flagged for deletion in the seeder's content, it is fair game for removal in comments, as well.]
The Republican Party is destroying itself by allowing MAGA conspiracy nuts to call the tune. Period.
Damn, it's a MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't you remember calling the GOP dead years ago--that Trump destroyed it? Must have been one HELL of a comeback!
“Must have been one HELL of a comeback!”
’HELL’ being the operative word.
Well, the dead party did take the House!
To be fair, does it take much to boggle the minds of people so dense they believe this crap about fascists?
They can't even define or describe them.
That or "NAZI" seems to be the buzzwords for liberals these days.
Sad little lemmings endlessly repeating the same worn out tropes.
Current laws are threatening these programs:
All this fearmongering about Social Security are based upon the unspoken premise that saving 15 pct of wages is not adequate for retirement. And now the fearmongering has expanded to claim that saving an additional 12 pct of wages in a 401(k) won't be enough either. if saving 27 pct of wages is inadequate then how much do workers need to save for their retirement? 50 pct of wages? 100 pct of wages?
The real problem is not how little money is being saved for retirement. The real problem is that inflation destroys the value of savings. Government deficits contribute to inflation. Gambling on stocks contributes to inflation. Federal Reserve policy to maintain 2 pct annual inflation is a direct cause of inflation.
Biden tried to pull a Clinton and was called out. House Republicans have already taken SoSec/Medicare off the table. Senators, like Rick Scott, are pounding sand in the debt limit negotiations. The Senate can only obstruct an agreement on the debt limit. Biden is negotiating with the people's representatives. And, it appears, the people's representatives are going to hold Biden's feet to the fire. 'Liar' is only a polite way of saying 'Fuck Joe Biden'.
Huckabee explicitly stated the dividing line is no longer between the two parties; the choice is between normal and crazy. Democrats are not defending cultural issues that Republicans started. Trying to make that claim is crazy. And we know which side of the divide Paul Krugman has embraced because he has told us.
Krugman's confusion is understandable since a large portion of Biden's SOTU was to claim Biden is the MAGA President. Biden boasted about building factories and not stock portfolios. Biden didn't mention Wall Street, did he? Supply chains are a threat, free trade won't meet the country's needs, and blue collar workers are the heart and soul of our democracy. MAGA is winning the political fight; neoliberals are losing. Biden placed America first and foremost on the political agenda and Krugman doesn't know what to do.
I want to congratulate all the participants for not posting anything "inflammatory".
Were these your words?
Yes! And I'm fortunate that it wasn't deleted...
Just wondering if you saying something about inflammatory posts extended to your own.
Sarah basically told me to ignore the GOP for the next few years. All I will hear is hyperbolic bullshit and no actual plans.
Then follow her advice and the rest of us won't have to hear the whining.
The problem is that we avoided a fascist dictatorship by the skin of our teeth, on Jan6. The
RepublicanAmerican Fascist Party is still trying to install a one-party system, suppressing voting in every state they control, and perverting the justice system towards a secret police.Is that paragraph too inflammatory?
No.
It is far too silly to be seriously considered inflammatory by adult standards.
Biden has been gradually appropriating Trump's MAGA politics. Are you planning to ignore Biden, too?
Which policies specifically? Name them [removed]
Supply chains are a threat, free trade won't supply the country's needs, blue collar workers are the heart and soul of American democracy. American made instead of imported. Defend the borders and national sovereignty from foreign threats. Expect NATO to do its fair share.
Those are just a few examples.
Did you hear Biden speak about American leadership of the international order during the SOTU? Biden highlighted American interests and really did speak in terms of international competitiveness. Biden is building factories and not international coalitions. Biden is creating American jobs and not alleviating poverty in developing countries.
Biden's SOTU paid little attention to foreign affairs. Biden spoke of America first and foremost. There was more Trump in Biden's SOTU than Democrats are willing to acknowledge.
Thread #6 locked for meta, and please read the CoC for guidance on how to avoid posting inflammatory content.
Thank you for the explanation. It is perfectly clear that none of the preceding Comments "arguably and unnecessarily sought to anger others".
Calling a political party "Fascist" is certainly inflammatory.
You raise a good question: is the truth sometimes inflammatory?
A "fascist" is an authoritarian and a xenophobe/racist.
[deleted]
Is the truth sometimes inflammatory?
God, what WON'T you fall for?
Fair enough.
Which do you deny? Are you saying that the "Republican" Party isn't racist? Isn't authoritarian?
Is water not wet?
So calling someone a radical is ok, but calling them a fascist is not?
[deleted inflamatory sweeping generalization]
[deleted Meta]
[Why?]
Recheck the comment you quoted.
Yes, very good, I think you see it clearly now.
Isn't it rather radical to call people nazis, racists, authoritarians, or fascists?
No. They are not. "Authoritarian" and "racist" are provable descriptors.
"Scum" is just an inflammatory insult.
What I would love to know is whether you're aware of how you twist words. Is it thought out, or just reflex?
What happened to your avatar? It used to be an ugly criminal. Now it's a cool guy...
Also inflammatory, but I can't moderate where I've commented, even if those comments were in purple "ink".
Yes they are. We've had EVERYONE in the universe called "racist' and if the deep blue state under Biden isn't authoritarian, I don't know what the fuck is.
So you see, Bob, it turns out that those words are all subjective, as in the eye of the beholder and if your slander gets to stand so should everyone elses.
[deleted]
[deleted]
You know, you're right. I made an attempt at explanation, but that attempt has not been especially fruitful. Locking this thread, too. Any further meta will result in locking of the seed.
How to destroy a seed.
Congrats!
Locking for unrelenting meta.