DUers are celebrating Cantor's loss for one reason

[NJCher]

67. you just made my day

As I read this thread and the posts of those who wish they could celebrate, I wondered if they had read the opinion columns of Paul Krugman on how big corporations cobbled together a "political party" out of the republican party. Most were written in 2012-13. His thesis was that such a creation was doomed to self-destruction.

Since the time he wrote that column, I've watched their behavior through that lens. If Krugman was right, we are seeing the high point (or would it be low point) of their destruction.

I did a search but have not yet found the best column he did, but here's an excerpt from one of them (along with a link, if you prefer context).

How did we get here? ...
First came the southern strategy, in which the Republican elite cynically exploited racial backlash to promote economic goals, mainly low taxes for rich people and deregulation. Over time, this gradually morphed into what we might call the crazy strategy, in which the elite turned to exploiting the paranoia that has always been a factor in American politics — Hillary killed Vince Foster! Obama was born in Kenya! Death panels! — to promote the same goals.
But now we’re in a third stage, where the elite has lost control of the Frankenstein-like monster it created.

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2013/09/paul-krugman-the-crazy-party.html

Finally, to those who fear the tea party will gain influence, I'd just say that as a long-time political activist, an important tactic is to appear mainstream. Voters don't vote extremist. The tea party has not yet figured out how to appeal to the broad swatch of voters across the country. They are and will continue to be seen as extremists.


Cher