Krugman: Whats the Matter With Republicans? - All Republicans in todays Congress are apparatchiks.

[kpete]

… It has become painfully clear… that Republicans have no intention of exercising any real oversight over a president who is obviously emotionally unstable, seems to have cognitive issues and is doing a very good imitation of being an agent of a hostile foreign power.

They may make a few gestures toward accountability in the face of bad poll numbers, but there is not a hint that any important figures in the party care enough about the Constitution or the national interest to take a stand…

The Democratic Party is a coalition of interest groups, with some shared views but also a lot of conflicts, and politicians get ahead through their success in striking compromises and finding acceptable solutions.

The G.O.P., by contrast, is one branch of a monolithic structure, movement conservatism, with a rigid ideology — tax cuts for the rich above all else. Other branches of the structure include a captive media that parrots the party line every step of the way. Compare the coverage of recent political developments on Fox News with almost everywhere else; we’re talking North Korea levels of alternative reality.

And this monolithic structure — lavishly supported by a small number of very, very wealthy families — rewards, indeed insists on, absolute fealty. Furthermore, the structure has been in place for a long time: It has been 36 years since Reagan was elected, 22 years since the Gingrich takeover of Congress. What this means is that nearly all Republicans in today’s Congress are apparatchiks, political creatures with no higher principle beyond party loyalty…

In a perverse way, we should count ourselves lucky that Trump is as terrible as he is. Think of what it has taken to get us to this point — his Twitter addiction, his bizarre loyalty to Flynn and affection for Putin, the raw exploitation of his office to enrich his family, the business dealings, whatever they were, he’s evidently trying to cover up by refusing to release his taxes.

The point is that given the character of the Republican Party, we’d be well on the way to autocracy if the man in the White House had even slightly more self-control. Trump may have done himself in; but it can still happen here.


https://www.balloon-juice.com/2017/05/20/saturday-morning-open-thread-light-breakfast-reading/#comments
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/opinion/whats-the-matter-with-republicans.html?mtrref=www.balloon-juice.com&gwh=DA66E04FE1C9784AF3F1DCB46A6A60B8&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion

[ginnyinWI]

1. All very true.

I like the way he puts it. The GOP is rigid and focused solely on benefits for the wealthy. Members incapable of thinking for themselves. No moral core. None needed.

They put an incompetent boob at the top because he had the ability to dupe the little people into believing he was on their side. Rich like them, but he could fool people--his one talent! I guess that wasn't enough to sail this ship very far. Maybe they are surprised at just how incompetent he is.

The Dems and the nation are very lucky that he is.

[dalton99a]

2. There is no other logical conclusion

and a very long historical pattern attests to that

[BSdetect]

3. They want a vast number of low paid workers to live in virtual poverty

so they can enjoy a wealthy life.

Their risk management is based on pure propaganda to make enough of those people support them along with gerrymandering and suppression.

Their think tanks come up with spin talking points hourly. Launching Obamacare into the vernacular was perhaps their greatest triumph. Along with convincing those who benefited from the ACA that Obamacare was ruinous for the economy. People who could probably not tell you what GDP stood for.

They must feel proud! Survival of the "fittest" - fascist distortion of Darwin.

[Amaryllis]

4. "Compare the coverage of recent political developments on Fox News with almost everywhere else;

... we’re talking North Korea levels of alternative reality. "

[countryjake]

5. K&R!

[Wounded Bear]

6. K & R ......the good Doctor knows whereof he speaks...nt

[demmiblue]

7. .

[Cha]

8. KICK!