I think we all have received the message from the GOP at this point. It's going to be party over country and job vs. country, and the constant theme of Democrats taking the House is disheartening, as opposed to engaging. That is not something Democrats should purely focus on. The idea is to continue focusing on waging a war on all fronts no matter what it is...and make no mistake, this is a war. The GOP and Trump are sowing chaos and Democrats need to start doing their own form of it. The problem lies in that Dems don't approach low life attacks this way but sometimes, in order to understand your opponent, you need to get down in the mud with them.
41
Krugman is assuming that the American people are stupid. So you ask, if they aren't then how did Trump get elected? Because Hillary was un-likeable and superior and self- entitled; Bernie Sanders came across as the crazy scientist in Back to the Future. People were and are tired of empty promises and no action. Would they have voted for someone else if they had better options? Yes- Biden would probably have cleaned Trump's clock.
But we don't have our President surrounded by jack-booted members of the military. We don't have a secret police., and after his 4 years Trump will be gone- if the Democrats can get a real candidate to run.
Everyone needs to calm down, act rationally in their personal lives and keep telling their elected representatives to get off their butts and behave as they were elected to do.....or we will vote them out too. Mr. Krugman is always about 30 seconds from hysteria.
30
The picture that accompanies this article is truly chilling: a bunch of brain-dead, hate-filled racists who support a sexual predator and traitor.
77
Between the rabid, ridiculous Facebook posts totally supporting and excusing Trump's childish, petulant treatment of Senator John McCain's passing and some of the comments I heard today from voters leaving primary polls here in Florida, "We just want someone to suppport President Trump's policies.", my fear for our country becomes deeper every day. They are so caught up in their cult of personality, they truly don't care what he does, or what the impact of state and local politics has on their lives. They simply want their candidate to say that he is a Trump believer.
Last night I heard an evangelical minister say that the only two things that could turn evangelicals against Trump would be if he began to move away from his pro life stand or if he began to appoint more moderate judges. So there you have it. Yes, we could become another Poland or Hungary, but I doubt if the people whose faces you see at Trump's "rallies" even care.
36
Baloney, it's "white nationalism gone wild". That may be part of the reason our government is able to get away with these despicable shenanigans now, but if Democrats hadn't been die-hard Corporatists the past 30 years (or more), we wouldn't have ended up in this spot where "get along" means letting one side have their way. You want to know why we're going to sink? Follow the money.
14
Big PK fan but disagree with NY Times choice of this photo of a kid to make a point.
5
The current SCOTUS would be delighted to oversee a transition to an even more strident fascism. Add Kavanaugh, the faux-jurist, and we're there.
13
I will NEVER accept the current path we are on. We must work at our Democrocy and reclaim it. This pig in wolves clothinng needs to go and we need to vote. Every last one of us.
39
Partisan hackery. One-sided, and not even interesting. The anglosphere was immunized against authoritarianism by a combination of Charles I and Cromwell.
Krugman should stick to economics, about which he is usually sensible.
18
You've got to be kidding was my immediate response. But I don't doubt that many will agree with another skewed Krugman diatribe.
17
Clearly, Paul, you’d better flee the country while you still can.
16
As it happens, I still have a great many of Paul Krugman's Chicken Little comments about the imminent seizure of the government . . . . by the Religious Right . . . in 2003-6 . .. . during the Bush Administration. They were written with the same fervent hysteria as the present.
I deplore Trump's nativism (not the same as racism) and the obnoxious narcissism of his personality. But he is no Fascist, and neither are his followers. Most of his electorate was more a REJECTION of the Democratic Party, its obsession with identity politics and victimization tropes, than any endorsement of Trump.
Idiot, Goebbel-esque polemics of this type damage the legitimate political case against Trump.
14
Mitch McConnell, Mitch McConnell, Mitch McConnell. And Gingrich before him. Trump is just a lagniappe on the truly corrupt and evil Repub Deep Politics.
31
If wealthy Fascist individuals and corporate interests are similar to a virus, then the Republicans who they buy with bribes are the hosts that carry that virus into the public square. I suppose you could call the Repubs in Congress and at the State level, Pod People. They are carriers of evil ideas meant to enrich the already wealthy and take away our rights to fight the virus.
23
As deeply alarming Professor Krugman's article is, what is even more sickening are the faces of so many women, to include the young girl, offering what appears to be their undying support for this vile, corrupt adulterer currently occupying the White House, all the while defiling everything he lays his stumps for hands on. It is beyond belief that Women, anywhere, can support this fraud who is nothing more than a full-blown misogynist, racist and bigot. So demoralizing. So despairing.
82
In deed, dear Professor Paul Krugman, the old disease — young white religious conservative males' white nationalism again runs unhinged wild and - has already effectively killed millions of people of as well as democracy in some other nations around Earth. Claiming "It can't happen here" was always the mass deceiving battle-cries of those who distrated that it was already happening here: Religious conservatives, mega corporations, big banks et-all. Alone by transparently looking at who all those are who are colluding to fund that which supposedly can't happen here, but is still ongoing right here and now:
https://www.businessinsider.com/donations-obama-romney-tech-yahoo-google...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/17/dark-money-review-nazi-o...
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/russia-funded-facebook-twit...
It Can Happen Here, because it already is happening here.
And its even been kind-of "reported"" That is the sole different here.
Best,
A.E.
Projectheureka LLC
9
Anybody who thinks Krugman has gone over the edge should read three novels that lay out exactly how it could and can happen here:
"It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis
"The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick
"The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth
Great reads, and remember that fact is stranger than fiction. Along with the scary examples Krugman notes, think about how this president whips up his crowds into nothing less than mobs, with mob psychology, where anger and hate are the sole motivations - the underpinning of Hitler's own takeover of Germany.
Hitler coined the term "The Big Lie" - he was quite open and proud about it, how mere repetition of a lie can make that lie become the truth for millions of people and thus become the basis for taking over the country. And who inhabits the White House now? The Biggest Liar ever elected president, a man who lies every time he opens his mouth. And his followers dote on his every lie.
And no, it's not too extreme to start citing Hitler and Mussolini as examples of what can happen here if this president is allowed to go too far - which it seems the Republican Party and almost half of Americans are fully prepared to allow. The similarities are simply too stark to ignore.
72
Do you suppose the Trump revolution is a reaction to insufferable elitists like Krugman? Maybe he should look in the mirror.
13
Absolutely! Trump gave the closeted racists and haters permission to hate. His ball caps and t-shirts should read, "Make America Hate Again!"
He also gave corrupt businesspeople and politicians permission to continue violating the law. And that's what his base comprises: bigots and crooks.
This is the stuff of nightmares.
22
"(...) eastern countries, can return to its true historical path — fascism.” How dare you mention Poland in such a context? In your first, opening statement? Fascist Hungary -historically yes, right wing forces in Poland - yes, but fascism as a true historical path?! Such hurtful, uninformed opinion in NYT again!
12
People refer to the slippery slope in hypothetical terms, never dreaming they'll have the opportunity to observe the entire process
7
The sad thing is that many don't know about what is happening in Poland or Hungary. So why should they care what happens here as long as their noses are buried in their cellphones.
7
Once again, Professor Krugman, really fine job. Let's see what happens in the November elections. I'll be voting, as I'm sure you will be, also.
1
Excellent opinion. I agree 90%. Here's where I part ways with brilliant minds like Krugman, the driving force behind Trump is xenophobia in general. Any "other" is "the threat": gay, immigrant, non-fundamentalist Christian, Progressive, intellectual, college-educated, etc.. Fascism needs a crisis and scapegoats. The crisis is economic and social change. The scapegoats are many. Therein lies the warning to us. It's not just white nationalists who are attracted to fascism. If you have an axe to grind, say, a poor, black, fundamentalist who sees immigrants taking away their job or wealthy white Liberals or, as we saw in North Carolina, voting to deny rights and protections for LGBTQ citizens. The appeal of fascism, as history, doesn't start as a mass movement. It picks up supporters along the way fashioned around a message of hate fueled by fear.
6
I recently came upon George Lakaoff's (former Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972) writings. I suggest that readers who have an interest in understanding why Trump so effectively mobilizes his base take a look at the following:
https://georgelakoff.com/2016/07/23/understanding-trump-2/#more-5082
In general the evocative language of the white male patriarchical model is being deployed here. (And his legions are that disreputable amalgam "mass man" that Jose Ortega Y Gasset wrote about in Revolt of the Masses.
I particularly hope that you will read the paragraph: "How Trump Uses your Brain to his Advantage." Coupling Trump's word strategies (of pressing the right lizard brain buttons) with the dissatisfaction of the voting public with their perception (key word) of the losing/diminishing of their status and relevance, is like throwing a match into dry tinder. It ignites.
I think that Krugman's column today is a clarion cry for some real leadership that puts the principles of our nation ahead of self interest and power. And perhaps our little democratic experiment is doomed to fail for all the reasons that we are witnessing now. We are all culpable if that were to happen...but we have great role models of how injustices are confronted and overturned.
10
It started with Nixon and Watergate. With Reagan, we saw the most scandal-ridden administration in history, not only with Iran-Contra, but with the various scandals in HUD, the EPA, the S & L crisis, etc.
But the GOP reached a new low in trying to remove Clinton from office over a private, consensual affair. They then relied on a Republican majority in the Supreme Court -- and mob violence in Broward County -- to steal the election in 2000.
When the GOP-stacked court revoked the Voting Rights protections, the party began to go after minority voters. And of course Putin, Julian Assange, and Glen Greenwald pitched in to help the cause...
4
Most people in the US, but especially Trumpers, have either forgotten their ancestry or never knew it. All new immigrants tend to form their own communities, even those from the White Favored Land: Northern Europe. My own ancestors came from Trumps' Most Favored Land - Norway - in the early 1800's. They formed communities in the upper mid-west and for decades, actually over 100 years, that area was populated by people who could hardly speak English. Travelers often commented that they could not find an English speaker in many towns. Even up to the mid-1960's many of my relatives in northern Minnesota still spoke Norwegian at home. Don't mistake speaking a language or following "old" or "foreign" customs with wanting the American Dream. There is NO relationship. The American Dream is being able to make your own way in the world. Nothing else. That is what everyone comes here for. Trump is just a bigot and racist, as are many of his followers. They do not know what America is, and never will.
12
I've read two very alarming stories today in the NYT. This and Thomas Friedman's "What if Trump really did shoot somone on 5th Avenue?"
It way beyond time for us to wake up from this nightmare. But the only way I see this happening is something drastic, something unimaginable to get folks to finally wake up and say "Enough!" I'm not sure we can survive until the 2020 elections. God help us all if we don't finally do something.
2
"Study after study has found that racial resentment" -- I am pretty sure those studies are simply flawed.
The study quoted in the link, for example, looks at the unemployment rate and income level of Trump and Hillary voters, and use them as a measure of economic distress. But the economic distress that pushed working-class whites to switch their party allegiance and vote for Trump (after voting twice for Obama) has little to do with being unemployed or earning less than others.
The economic distress was about losing a good-paying manufacturing job, and having to accept a job earning often half as much -- because they could not find any better!
This is from NY Times piece about Carrier plant that Trump saved from moving to Mexico:
"As fortunate as she feels to go back, Ms. Rowan is like many other blue-collar workers in that her earning power has diminished over time. Her top hourly rate at Ford, where she worked for 18 years, was $28.24 an hour, and with overtime, her annual salary peaked at $86,000. During her best year at Carrier, she earned half that."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/economy/carrier-trump-absent...
Yes, that's only one person's story, but it is typical for factory workers who used to be middle-class working, but not anymore. These are people who had their livelihood being slowly taken from them over the past 30 years, while political elites refused to even acknowledge their problem. Trump was the first one to do so.
5
Makes me think of the late great Leonard Cohen’s song Democracy, vote and remember the lines:
Democracy is coming to the USA
Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on
1
Krugman's warnings are no longer the stuff of a dystopian novel. A man like Trump, with a rubber stamp legislature, may very well undo over 200 years of American freedom.
8
Trump is a side show, a heedless ignoramus who can do anything, say anything be anything as long as it makes him feel important and like a winner.
The depravity, the treachery, the inhumane evil lies at the feet of Ryan, McConnell, Collins, and all blundering blubbery fools from Kansas to the Carolinas who just want to grab everything can before its too late.
These people must never be allowed to just fade back into private life.
On the assumption that somehow we survive this debacle and emerge somewhat similar to our recent past, these people need to be made examples of, persecuted, thrown in the stocks and run out of town on a rail.
This is serious stuff. They are seriously attempting to take down our country. If we life through this, they must not.
11
The fact that many think the Bush administration was an unqualified disaster, followed by an Obama administration whom many perceive was mediocre in restoring the main-street economy, may be one reason voters said "pox on both your houses" and went for what appeared to be the closest pick to a third party candidate. In other words, the election of Trump may not have been totally motivated by racism as the article seems to say.
5
"But why is America, the birthplace of democracy, so close to following the lead of other countries that have recently destroyed it?"
Three words: Fox Cable News.
11
Democracy only works well when voters are educated and informed. The lack of free, universal, equitable education in the US is part of the problem. The state of the American education system is a shocking mess in contrast to most Western nations. The other issue, which is a bit more global, is the lack of truly independent, publicly-funded journalism. These chickens have come home to roost: voters are confused, scared and desperate to believe that simple-minded blither can address very complex problems.
14
The Constitution was a brilliantly designed document. But, it requires the People to support it. It isn’t going keep our Democracy whole just because it exists.
The checks and balances designed into our government work only if there are enough legs to stand on. Right now, it isn’t looking that way.
If you want to restore balance and inject some medicine back into the system, one must go out and vote out the cancer that infests our Democracy. The Constitution provides the tools, but we must engage them before it is too late.
6
I agree- it can happen here. More people should read Phillip Roth's dark book, The Plot Against America to see how he predicted a similar happening.
3
America is not the "Birth place of Democracy" That was THOUSANDS of years before in Ancient Greece. If Krugman can't even get that right then why would anyone believe him with any of his other made up "facts". As Krugman should know, America is NOT a Democracy, it is a Republic. I don't know if he's on vacation and not paying attention but this article reads like it was phoned in.
6
We can thank Mitch McConnell for trashing our system of checks and balances when he denied Obama's right to nominate a Supreme Court Justice. The republican party will take Trump -illegal and treasonous conduct and all- for the promise of a new judiciary. Which they are getting with the help of those supposed "rational" and "anti-Trump" Republicans like Jeff Flake, et al...
2
Republicans can't win without Trump supporters' votes. If they say no or criticize Trump, he will smear them viciously and kill their political careers. He's like GOP Godfather, granting favors and ordering hits. Who has the loyalty to country to stop him regardless what he does? What happens with a SCOTUS willing to rubber stamps all his power grabs? Who will stop him?
9
I disagree with Mr. Krugman on one important point: We are already past the point of no return. The white nationalists have been given not only permission, but strong support for their vitriolic hate, and that genie's not going back in the bottle for generations, if ever.
I'm glad I have far more years behind me than in front. It's been a good life, and I weep for my children.
16
Racism itself can't topple a functioning democracy - it is America's consistent inability to reign in lobby's and private interests within the legislative sphere that has corrupted every level of elected offices by enacting laws that are both sheering the populace and shielding the corporations. Trump is so inept he has barely broken down America, it was already broken.
8
Krugman must not be getting his required amount of time in the NY Time's safe room these days as he is more unhinged then normal. Maybe Charles Blow took some of his time away so he can figure out how to write the same article week after week.
I'll point specifically to his comical prose here about the Axios scoop " about a spreadsheet circulating
among Republicans in Congress, listing investigations they think Democrats are likely to carry out if they take the House. The thing about the list is that every item on it — starting with Donald Trump’s tax returns — is something that obviously should be investigated, and would have been investigated under any other president. " as evidence of his extreme nuttiness.
He doesn't list out what the items are but concludes that every one of them should be investigated. I don't see him advocating an investigation of someone who directed the deletion of 30,000 emails after a subpoena to provide them and then further destroying the hard drive so they couldn't be restored.
His , and the overall Left's, visceral hatred is the real problem. We are likely to get a corrupt Democrat back in power in 8 years maybe earlier. Let's see how loud the calls for investigations are then.
6
I know this isn't the crux of the article, but... on what planet is America "the birthplace of democracy"? Planet America?
8
The relentless Krugman, like Juno in the Aeneid, always repudiating the values of the historic American nation. Clearly, our heritage is nothing but "white nationalism".
This is exactly why the progressive movement and its political home, the Democratic Party, have become radioactive to so many voters. They amount to repudiating everything that is important to ordinary people, carpet bombing all opposition as "racism", "xenophobia", "transphobia", "Islamophobia", and other -isms and -phobias. Blah, blah.
6
Of course it can happen here. In 1930's Germany laws changed overnight. The rule of law requires the will of the people to uphold it.
3
The Democratic Party helped get us here.
Obama should have jailed some bankers.
They should not have put forth H. Clinton as a candidate, but it was her "turn", planned ever since she conceded to Obama in 2008.
12
Trump is awful, but this is complete hyperbole. There is no "knife's edge," or even a faint danger of the Republican party "exploiting its current political power to lock in permanent rule." Trump won't be around in 2-1/2 years, unless the Democrats are foolish enough nominate a left-wing candidate in 2020.
2
I disagree with Mr. Krugman. It is not going to happen here. Simply because, firstly, it will be impossible to silence free speech in this country. Its everywhere and on every device. In fact, journalism, long in a slumber, has been electrified by the arrival of Trump. We invented this guy, and we can very well take him down. As well, our judicial system has been used against his excesses appropriately and has responded in kind. None of this is over yet, lets wait till all the dust settles before we make the shrill prediction that we're headed toward the fascist underpinnings of Eastern Europe. Those roots are not deep here. The United States will survive Trump, and it will survive today's Republican Party. What we are seeing really now is what I would politely call absolute opportunism. Trump is using the insecurities of his base to achieve the Presidency and now in his attempt to maintain power, and his Party is riding his coattails because they are drunk with government control. Trump has made a mess of absolutely everything both domestic and internationally, and it may take years to undo the damage, but he is merely a charlatan, he knows not what he's doing. He is stupid. There is no grand design - all he wants is adulation. So lets not go overboard to the point "where all is lost' if we don't act now. We were in a mess in '74 and we survived handily. And we survived the carnage of '67 and '68. We have the tools to do this, and we know what they are.
2
You correctly see the rise of Fascism here in the USA, but fail to connect it to the economic insecurity of a majority of the US citizenry.
You, Paul Kriegman, have been a constant apologist for Neo-Liberal economics, given praise to Wall Street, and said nothing of the Clintonian philosophy which served the rich donor class above all else. You celebrated with those Dems who joined the Republicans in securing a place for the oligarchy, whilst insulting those for whom progressive plans like Bernie Sanders’ would have brought relief to the suffering majority of American workers.
All in all, you sir, are complicit.
8
In response to Michael from Sweden:
So Michael from Sweden here is the problem with your argument. Your people, your white people, your christian people, went all over the world for 500 years, looted, pillaged, and imposed your culture at the point of a gun over a variety of different cultures. Fed opium to the Chinese. Lorded over the Indians. Murdered American Indians. Murdered the natives in Australia. Your people did all this and tried to impose your culture, your Christian values everywhere at the point of the gun. Without a visa you did this. Without learning the others language or culture you sat in the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Having done that you left with the money made and left these countries to their fate.
Today we in the west are not responsible for what was a natural state of affairs everywhere in the world.
But you ask why should you be forced to be multicultural in any civil society? What is it you object to, clothes a person wears? If a white person wears those same clothes would you object? And if a white person, eats the food that is foriegn to you, would you object, or speaks a foreign language, because they want to, would you object? What I don't get for the life of me, is who it hurts, when someone eats different food at home or in public, or speaks a different language at home, or believes in something different at home or in the street. If a white person did the same things in your country, you would not object.
9
Prior to the last election, when it seemed that Clinton's election was inevitable, I imagined that once she appointed a supreme court justice or two, the supreme court would overturn Citizens United and would outlaw gerrymandering and various methods of voter suppression. Those changes alone, I thought, would be enough to return out government to majority rule, and policies that would stabilize and improve our democracy would flow forth. Instead, we are the precipice of fascism. Now I am sitting here hoping that the house and senate will return to democratic control, despite gerrymandering and voter suppression, that a democrat will become president in 2020 and we can begin the process of rebuilding out democracy. I cannot say that I am hopeful, but it is clear that if Trumpism is not defeated, America's future is bleak.
6
We can't defeat it by declaring it. We learned that at Antietam. What we can do, we must do. Strip any Party bare, which harbors it.
1
See good response to Mr. Krugman in national review (Which by the way is not a particularly friendly of Mr. Trump’s immigration or economic policies). Krugman is using hyperbole to scare the dems base. Ironically, this is the exact same tactic trump uses for his base (think immigration).
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/president-trump-fairest-...
2
Human aggregations (tribes, cities, nations,etc.) have always had a "dark side." They come together for safety, prosperity, and a hopeful pursuit of happiness, the "bright side." The dark side of human nature has always represented the selfish dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest, concept of human existence. America, with all of its faults was and still is the nearest promise to show mankind that first there is a bright side and second, that it is possible to use our collective ingenuity to benefit the whole of a human aggregation, if there is mutual respect and a willingness to care and share. Such a road is hard and those who chose it will always have to fight to stay bright. Today, America's dark side, led by a clever, gangster, is on the march. Krugman is right. We can lose it all to the dark side if we are not careful.
2
I can uderstand the argument for Athens and the classical form of democracy (bar the slaves), France for the principles if not the reality and Great Britain for a more modern version, but Since when is America the birthplace of Democracy?
5
From The Economist , current issue
"THE fear of immigration is poisoning Western politics. Donald Trump owes his job to it. Brexit would not be happening without it. Strident nationalists wield power in Italy, Hungary, Poland and Austria, and have gained influence elsewhere."
So it is not racism
"The stakes could not be higher. Yet advocates of liberal immigration, such as this newspaper, are losing the debate. They need to find better arguments and policies. That demands more honesty about the trade-offs immigration involves."
"Assuaging these concerns (about immigration) requires toughness and imagination. "
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/08/25/the-way-forward-on-immigrat...
Mr. Krugman has a long record is being an advocate of liberal immigration.
To win the debate, he needs to acknowledge : Trump, Hungary and Poland are foremost about unchecked immigration. He needs to present imaginative solutions. Blaming racism is not one.
==
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/08/25/the-way-forward-on-immigrat...
4
@Woof ‘So it is not racism.’ Sure thing, boss. Other than the fact the demonized immigrants just happen to be brown and black people arriving from Africa and the Middle East, in the case of Europe; as well as from Latin America, in the case of the United States.
Pure councidence, no doubt. Not racism at all, oh no, not a bit. Ditto when our ‘President’ repeatedly rebroadcasts and lends the authority of the White House to white supremacist propaganda, as in his recent comments on South Sfrica’s efforts at land reform. Nope, no racism there.
Tell you what, if it makes you more comfortable, we can just call it irrational tribalism and xenophobia.
Whatever your label, it’s reprehensible, self-destructive, mean-spirited and just plain stupid.
4
The struggle between the forces of democracy and totalitarianism is a profoundly asymmetrical contest. Democracy has to subject itself to periodic tests by all comers ; Enemies of democracy need to wrest power only once -- it was perhaps just a statistical fluctuation -- and that is it, no more tests and contests. The power gained once will be used first and foremost to keep the rulers in power.
2
Ordinary citizens in our country have few, if any, civic responsibilities, so it's easy to just sit on the sideline and just cheer, or boo, or criticize. We can not and should not leave everything to the three branches of government while we sit in our armchairs. We "ordinary" men and women must have a role to play. But, as things are set up now, there is nothing that we have to do (except pay our taxes), and Trump and his ilk are happy with this because we ordinary people don't force him and his to listen to us.
However, they would have to listen to us carefully if we spoke in unison. This could happen if we followed the lead of counties such as Australia, and required ALL citizens to vote in ALL federal elections, as immigrants living in this country are told is mandatory when they study the "Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Naturalization Test" by the "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services".
However, EVERY citizen should be required to vote in all federal (national) elections. It's the only way the three branches of government will ever stop thinking that they are invincible on their own.
5
I agree, it could happen here. That said, it won't, because Trump is not that smart - and because of New York, California, and Texas: three diverse states that run this economy.
3
Remember, Bernie won the Michigan primary, despite his comment that he did not know the experience of living in a ghetto. Bernie was soundly derided for making the comment, from all sides as I recall. Yet, many voters got the message that he spoke from the heart, without any veneer. I voted for Hillary in the general election but with figurative fingers on my nose. For Hillary not able to win cannot just be blamed on lack of enthusiasm among minorities, her genuine-ness was always under question. I know many of my friends who voted for Trump (even in IL) did so because they viewed their other choice as bad. Some of them regret it, some don't.
That we are on a knife's edge is how I feel too. My only hope is that Anti-Trump wave would have no excuse to not show up in this mid-term. What I am afraid of is that even after Manafort-Cohen evening, 86-87% of his supporters remain undeterred.
10
I would be more worried if the US had not already survived far worse. Indeed, we were founded as a nation that arrogated nearly the entire country from Native Americans, then winked at slavery, and wrote a 3/5’s solution to keep slaves from voting while keep southern states in the nation. In Dred Scott, our Supreme Court told us black slaves or former slaves could not be citizens, and could not sue in court. We abandoned freed black people after 1876 to Terror, Black Codes, limits on personal mobility, disenfranchisement in voting, effective exclusion from property ownership, debt slavery aka share cropping, exclusion from jury service, and redlining of neighborhoods.
Yes, Donald Trump and the Republican enablers are a threat to democracy. But we have survived and overcome and changes from things much more serious, much more systemically worse. So, don’t be complacent, but also don’t ignore our country’s history, because knowing that history affords us all critical perspective.
96
@voltairesmistress
I find it interesting that you forgot to mention that part of our survival required a bloody civil war. And given how things are going, might need another one.
4
I can already hear the right calling Dr. Krugman an alarmist. I don't think he's an alarmist, I think he's alarmed. I am, too.
14
Why the future tense?
And, by the way, America is not the birthplace of democracy. That distinction goes to Ancient Greece, and more recently, before America became America in the 18th century, the French Revolution turfed the aristocracy in favor of fraternite, liberte and egalite.
The U.S. is now viewed internationally as a fascist republic - the majority no longer rules, the rigging of the voting system has been outsourced to Russia, protectionism has thrown free trade out the window and America no longer wields any moral authority. Its already done. Poland and Hungary are just following your lead.
15
The French Revolution occurred 13 years AFTER the American Revolution, and 1 year after our Constitution was ratified, and it took much longer before resulting in anything resembling a democracy.
3
Unfortunately, you are correct Dr. Krugman! I am praying you are wrong, but it’s clear we are in trouble.
5
Days before Nixon resigned Goldwater had 15 senators who would have voted NOT to impeach. Blind loyalty is nothing new. Here in San Diego we have Duncan Hunter who claims his indictment is the work of a Justice Dept. that he claims is a political wing of the Democratic Party (that must be news to the GOP’ers who run it). A new poll shows him at the same percentage he did before the indictment with 64% of GOP’ers in his district believing his political wing nonsense. It’s as if the No Nothing Party of the mid 1800’s has come back into existence.
10
It was the “Know-Nothing” party, not “No Nothing.” Just saying . . .
At this point, we're already at that breaking point Krugman is describing. This administration has kids in cages! The wealthy are filling up government and their pockets.
Hopefully people will vote in the mid-terms, but I fear Trump may try to stay president for the rest of his life.
3
These arguments only matter if the Republican-Russian coalition does not hack the elections.
4
Frightening.
We have a November deadline to save our democracy.
9
"Racial resentment' comes FROM economic anxiety. When inequality is at these extreme levels, people get angry and look for solutions on the left and on the right. We are already in a state of governmental authoritarianism- with Trump governing the way he does. It could not happen in the Scandinavian countries because their robust safety-nets prevent or modify inequality. But not only can it happen here, it aready HAS happened here.
7
Racial resentment comes from an uneducated and ignorant public. Add the internet and white nationalism and you get 2016.
Obama, a Harvard educated lawyer who taught constitutional law at the U. Chicago Law school broke his oath to uphold The Constitution when he ignored the separation of powers that states that the President enforces laws passed by Congress by legislating DACA. When DACA went in front of an 8 member Supreme Court the results were 4-4 with swing Justice Kennedy voted that Obama did the job of Congress. When going in front of a 9 member court, DACA will be turned down.
Trump acted correctly when he left it up to Congress to pass DACA or not.
Candidate Clinton, a Yale educated lawyer, when subpoenaed by The House for the 30,000 emails that were on a server that she had placed in her home as Secretary of State (making them easily hackable Russia, China, etc.) hired a firm to use special BleachBlt software so that FBI forensic experts could not recover the emails.
Despite the deliberate actions to obstruct the House subpoena there the Obama administration did not appoint a special prosecutor.
Sadly, Krugman did not question lawyer Obama's attempts to circumvent The Constitution nor question the lack of a special prosecutor for Clinton.
I wish Krugman would address why he ignored these egregious actions by both Obama and Clinton.
7
Why do the conservatives continue to roll out the Clinton emails? Get over it. Obama did nothing wrong and clearly you don’t seem to think that all the presidential orders Trump has issued are that bad. If all you can do to defend your president is to say that others did worse then you have a problem.
2
Possibly because a Nobel laureate economist with classes to teach, committees to chair, and stuff to write has better things to do than respond to every gussied-up version of conspiracy theories circulated on Newsmax, Hannity, Drudge and the rest of the dreary far Right.
But yes indeedy, such demands are very much a part of what makes our current fix hard to fix.
3
Thank you Carl, Julie, memo laiceps and Rima Regas
for replying to my last post. Heartened by the response -- usually it's just my indulgent family that reads what they tactfully call my retirement rage.
I'm Chinese. I'm not expected to have political opinions, much less share them. An Asian friend who teaches at UC Berkeley says we're like children, best seen and not heard. Just take care of your family and keep your head down. We're passive and conforming and endanger ourselves and other Asians if we "act out." Because we're small and don't fight back, we have a bullseye on our backs. And we all look alike.
I say unconvincingly this is America and it's my duty to stand up for the values so many others fought and died for. America as an idea is sacred and deserves our courage and conviction.
I attended high school in Alabama and Oklahoma as the only non-white. I lived briefly in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. I watched the family I was staying with in Biloxi jump up and cheer when the news reported MLK had been murdered. A Caucasian friend says I probably know more about Americans than most. What I know is that most ordinary Americans are good-hearted when they don't feel threatened or despised.
But I don't have illusions either. My Trump neighbor drove by as I was walking my dog. He rolled down his window, and asked if I was a citizen. He has ways of checking he said and drove off as I yelled "Yeah that's why I'm against Trump," not that he heard me.
22
Let's push for a Red Flush in November. A Blue Wave, unless it's a tsunami, is too mild a response to the antics of ethically bankrupt Republicans supporting a corrupt Trumpocracy.
8
This would sound much more legitimate if the Democrats ever investigated themselves, and not solely their political opponents.
The Clintons, for example, have spent their entire careers in public service.
How did they acquire a family fortune of more than $100 million dollars?
7
@drunicusrex
Do you have evidence that the Clintons broke laws to acquire their personal wealth? Bill Clinton has been a private citizen for almost two decades. Plenty of time to amass a fortune if one has the means. You defend Trump by claiming Democrats don't investigate themselves? The Clintons have been investigated and accused of everything under the sun. I'm willing to wait until Mueller finishes his investigation and will accept the conclusions. Will you?
1
@drunicusrex HRC was a successful lawyer while Bill was governor. After WH book deals and very highly paid speaking engagements.
While I tended to think such outcomes are unlikely in the US, I am no longer so hopeful. What you cite - and what is so much in evidence in the US - are the similarities to the small, incremental, and inexorable steps taken (planned and deliberate) during the descent to fascism in Europe in the period between the wars . . . scary isn't the word.
2
Im Polish and for me this article is a joke. Democracy is doing very well here. People have voted for this government not because of race issues or because of Eu issues but because the previous government has done nearly nothing in its 8 years of power. According to some if an European country doesn’t accept migrants from Africa or the Muslim sphere they are fascists, but if China, Japan or S Korea doesn’t accept them it’s absolutely fine. Some are obviously big supporters of the destruction of European cultures. For us it’s preserving our cultures, history and identity. The country is currently going through a massive economic shift and is turning a corner from being an migrant producing country to a migrant accepting accepting country and we don’t want to make the same mistakes Western Europe made where there is a breakdown of society.
12
I wouldn't compare USA to China, Japan or South Korea. Not all nation's are equal. If they were, there would be no reason for America to be called a super power.
1
You mean the mistake that the Western Europe accepted Poland in the EU when Polish immigrants flooded the Western European countries?
2
@Chris, what makes you think African or Muslim immigrants WANT to go to China, Japan, S. Korea or even Saudi Arabia?
1
Everything is about the upcoming struggle for the House and Senate. Without a check Trump will be defacto dictator as he will be solidly in control with a Supreme Court that will allow any atrocity and defiance of norms. The House is our best shot, vote like your life depends on it, it does.
8
Vote — Trump lost the popular vote by a whopping 6 million votes and he has stayed below 40% approval in polls with a great economy. The majority think he is a joke. If they vote that way in November we are all good.
7
A dictatorial-minded Trump and a desperate political party that wants to stay in power at any cost make an explosive combination. A people who lust for power and who have tasted a near absolute power aren't going to be easy to dislodge.
The Republican leadership is fully aware of the Russian influence in deciding our 2016 elections. Since it worked to their advantage, they see no reason to investigate or oppose it.
The Russians are back at our door. Now they come as our fraternal brothers, offering an emotional and cultural bond. A racist link, if you will, that proclaims that white nations of Europe and the Americas are not to be the hunting grounds for the colored populations of Asia and Africa.
This shout out carries a strong appeal for the white supremacists. It has nothing to do with arguments relating to employment, jobs, and wages. The opponents have to come up with equally forceful arguments. It has to be done on the double. The coming midterm elections may be our last best chance to peacefully prevent our nation's slide into a one-party authoritarian rule. If Democrats lose this election, we will be standing at the edge of disaster. Republicans are fully aware of the stakes involved. They will pull all stops, such as monkeying with voting rolls, tinkering with voting machines, and manipulating final vote tallies to swing the elections in their favor.
This then is our challenge. We have to win it - to survive as an independent people in the Good, Old USA.
4
This kind of "opinion" represents the kind of over-the-top bias and negativity that permeates much of the national media. People are gullible. They read this nonsense, believe it to have validity, and it then informs them in voting decisions and how to treat folks who disagree with them. Neither Poland nor Hungary share our system of government, checks and balances. But the author makes no effort to compare and contrast the respective systems of government and then explain how, in reality, "it can happen here." The alleged "It" can't happen here. Do better.
5
The fact that this is a very real and serious concern should scare people in this country to death.
Can you imagine if someone said a few years ago that Paul Krugman would write an article suggesting that this country may be on the edge of a Fascist takeover? And that it wasn't hyperbole, but, in fact, a very real possibility?
You could make a strong argument that, technically, "it happened here" the day Trump was elected. We just didn't know it.
That said, I do think there are still 2 things that stand in the way of a complete Fascist/GOP takeover. One is Robert Mueller, i.e. The Law. And the other is the midterm elections, i.e. The People. However, if both of these fronts fail, I'd say that a Fascist/Supremacist takeover of this country is pretty much inevitable.
The first order of business for the newly empowered Trump/GOP would be to get rid of term limits under the guise of "voter freedom". Fox News will proclaim that, "In a Democracy, it's the right of the people to declare someone President for Life!". And with that, our 242 year experiment in Democracy will come to an end. And our country will most likely end up looking like Germany did in 1945.
I can tell you this, if Mueller is stopped, and the midterms are lost, or rigged by Russians to effectively hand the entire government over to the GOP, then I will not waste any time planning my departure from this country, to insure that I am out of here BEFORE Trump orders the boarders closed.
We are on the very edge.
6
Trump's new trade deal with Mexico includes a mandatory increase in Mexican autoworkers wages to $16/hour. That is not only beneficial to Mexicans but also to American workers.
Neoliberal Democrats seem to want US workers to compete with low wage workers in poor countries. If Clinton had demanded a $16 minimum wage for Mexican autoworkers, maybe the US wouldn't have lost as many automotive jobs.
If the Democratic Party wants to become relevant again, they need to start implementing pro-worker policies. Their centrist, "Third Way" ideology has been a miserable failure: they've lost most of their power at the state and local level, and all three branches of the federal government.
Then they lost to most ridiculous presidential candidate in history. The party bosses should be falling on their swords - instead they're recommending more centrism.
That's called insanity.
8
I like it that a leftish guy blames a woman for lost auto jobs rather than the corporate heads who lost them in the first place, or her hubby who negotiated NAFTA, or Obama who supported it. The ither gibberish I can take or leave, but I sure lked that part.
Krugs is so tedious and darkly foreboding...oh my goodness. Comparing the Polish/Hungarian political evolution to what "could happen here" is such a stretch.
The difference, and yes, it's a really big difference, are the people who make this top spin without the help and guidance of their government ... the action class, the producers, the marketeers, and entrepreneurs -- the people that make America exceptional.
And guess what? The action class is colorblind, agnostic and genderless...they only see opportunity, invite risk and celebrate victory. They don't need rulers, they only need the shores protected, the interstates and airports in good shape, and existing laws consistently enforced.
Just turn down the noise on both sides of the aisle and Twitter, and get out of the way.
They'll get it done. They always have, because they want to. It's not life and death, it's more important than that.
2
@rick
Imagine in 10 years how the various media archives concerning the Trump administration will read with the benefit of hindsight? The wide-ranging and persistant four-alarm predictions of gloom-and-doom may very well make some question whether Russians were doing far more than unleashing social media bots, hacking and taking out fake ads — perhaps it was something in the air or water, too, that made us vulnerable to a collective madness of a sort? That, of course, is itself a stretch. And yet when the dust settles on the Trump administration and we Americans look back on checks and balances that worked despite fears to the contrary, there will be little face saving to be had — particularly among journalists and pundits.
Not to downplay the reality, however! It's not necessary to like this president. And it's entirely reasonable for Americans who don't respect this president to wonder why his supporters seem to give him so many free passes despite daily displays of less-than-presidential behavior? Still, to claim we are on the verge of a white fascist/nationalist takeover — when the white population in this country is well on the way to minority status and at best can only throw a tantrum — is itself a stretch.
Only with a great deal of hindsight will we someday appreciate that catastrophizing is a genuine psychological malady — which has been at play in equal parts to Trump's highly controversial presidency.
Trump, too, shall pass.
Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the foundations of democracy. The Fox fed anti government crowd thinks it is terrific, not aware of what really might be in store for them. Trump has zero respect for checks and balances and Dr. Krugman is 100% correct - we are quickly approaching a dangerous crossroads. We need more people sounding the alarm - loudly.
10
Before the turn of the 20th century, my relatives were leaving Russia as fast as they could and moving to the United States. Pogrom after pogrom and rampant anti-Semitism chased most of them halfway around the world.
As a 2nd generation American, I fear we are moving toward the same hatred and authoritarianism that my forebears faced. I also fear for my grandsons, whose mother is a naturalized American citizen. On her side of the family, they are 1st generation Americans. They are beautiful young men but their skin is much darker than mine. What will happen to them?
We must protect them and all children. We must vote in November and kick the Republicans out of office so that we can reclaim our democracy and our republic.
3
And now Trump is tweeting about regulating Google so he gets more favorable coverage.
5
It's amusing that this is the way it seems to you. The problem with democrats and republicans is that there is too little difference. For decades it has not mattered who was in office whether local, state, or federal. Nothing ever changes. We are still in an unwinnable war in the middle east. We are overpopulating the planet. We are destroying the environment. The government is in a unsustainable path to economic disaster with trillions in debt. The 0.001% control everything. The middle class in being eliminated. There is a war on western civilization and we are standing by like Nero......
2
Mr. Krugman says, "Don’t tell me about “economic anxiety.” That’s not what happened in Poland, which grew steadily through the financial crisis and its aftermath. " But I found information that the unemployment figure for Poland in 2013 was 11%.
2
"...destroyed the independence of the judiciary, suppressed freedom of the press, institutionalized large-scale corruption and effectively delegitimized dissent".
Of all of these fascist developments in Poland and Hungry, the one I fear the most is loss of a free press: The ability and right of journalists to report, unmask and confront the the corrupt leadership for what it is. The other developments follow quickly once the press is silenced. Trump has threatened this in his many tweets about "fake news" i.e., reports that describe his corrupt dealings. He has gone no further then tweets and indirect threats to journalists, publications and certain network news programs, but we must stay on-guard against all efforts to undermine the free press.
4
The Donald said in a recent interview if he was impeached the country would likely suffer a financial crash. Reminds me of organized crime years ago when a mobster would tell a store owner "You got a nice store here, be a shame if something happened to it". People want, above all else, security. Both physical and financial. Create a threat to either of these and people will accept any form of government they perceive as protecting them. Yes, it could happen here.
7
I just wondered what everyone here thought. When they show up to take me to the train should I resist, get shot, and get it over with? Or, should I go voluntarily to the camp hoping I can escape or ride it out until rescue comes (this time around I’m not sure from where exactly)?
Oh, most definitely, a Blue Wave, think tsunami, in November is a must in order oust this thug presidency. Otherwise, with McConnell, Graham, Nunes, McCarthy, Ryan and a right wing Supreme Court throwing their political weight behind Trump, the United States of America will no longer be recognizable as it once was. Even now the Faustian bargain that 35-40% of our country is willing to make is nothing less than deplorable. The electorate which chooses to stay home or, worse, vote Red, preferring to swallow whole mendacious sound bites prepared and served up by Trump and echoed by the likes of Hannity, Pirro and Ingraham - Fox is the US Pravda - rather than read and fact check will reap what they've sown, an oligarchy a la Putin.
7
Krugman suggests an angle I never considered. I have been waiting for the GOP to slap Trump down and if Krugman is correct, that will not happen. The GOP has bigger plans based on Trump. The caveat is that apparently there are a lot of the Republican party officialdom that doesn't like Trump. So, it comes down to the midterms again and how the Democrats come through it.
2
Great headline calling to mind the Sinclair Lewis novel of a similar title.
It would be a good idea for all Americans of every stripe to read some of his novels.
The time is ripe for some good old muckraking.
3
"..(Feeling) no allegiance to democratic ideals; (doing) whatever it thinks it can get away with to entrench its power." Mr Krugman correctly pegs "the modern G.O.P." and its modern mandate "there are no limits."
When Oathbreaker McConnell usurped the power of the President, we knew that all Republican Senators crossed a line. And by their silence, all Republican Congressmen, party leaders, members, and especially the evangellical beneficiaries also crossed a line.
Our fellow Americans who ultimately voted for Trump - got a 'reward' that they didn't expect - daily validation of Trump tweets.
They are not innocuous campaign chants nor mystically powerful Word Salads. Most importantly, EVERY conduit for these MULTI-DAY Trumpian doses serves HIS purpose.
The members of "The Base" are confronted with THIS MOMENT'S revelation / denouncement / infringement. Every member continuously faces CHOICE: Do I cross over to HIS side of THIS MOMENT'S dividing line?
Exhausted, consigned to live a "siege mentality", The Base exists for the purposes of acquiring and retaining power. The Base's modern mission INCLUDES cheering these ABSURD transfers of power from The People (several highlighted here by Mr Krugman).
Enthusiastic cheering IS REQUIRED to cross over to his side of this moment's dividing line.
1
We are about 60% toward becoming a dictatorship. Whether or not we can stop the landslide is questionable, but there is no evidence that sufficient money, education, and smart people are being devoted to stop our path to dictatorship.
Right wingers have a trusted news source owned by super wealthy powerful Australians (Murdochs) and super wealthy Americans (Kochs) Fox News. They actually believe what they see and hear on Fox News. That is their reality and it took 30 years to imprint it on the minds of people who identify as conservative Republican voters. Republicans have gerrymandered voting districts throughout the country for the past 30 years so that it is virtually impossible to elect Democrats in a MAJORITY of States. Trump has further secured this dominance by appointing a vast arsenal of conservative Republican judges at all levels of government - positions which were vacant because Republicans refused to vote on Barck Obama's appointments. So the deck is stacked a lot against Democrats each election. The Republicans are run by a super wealthy cartel originally organized by the elder Koch, father of the two current Kochs. Each member contributees a minimum of $100,000/year to the organization and a specified amount of money to approved conservative candidates. Republicans have a plan, financing, staying power. Democrats have enthusiasm and speeches and inability to define their goals clearly.
9
@San Francisco Voter
Mostly I agree. However, the problem I have with claims that we are on the way to an authoritarian State is that generally the slide down the slippery slope is an incremental one that doesn't begin or end with a single administration.
In the name of fighting terror we forever changed the legal landscape (harmed the 4th Amendment) via the Patriot Act. We began jailing record numbers of whistleblowers. The NSA/Snowden revelations resulted in no change to how the FISA courts operate (to spy on Americans without sufficient proof required that the requests are valid — never mind Carter Paige and the current fiasco!)
Losses of liberty are more successful when public scrutiny is not dogging a president (in the way it's dogging this one).
Authoritarianism, should it come to pass, is more likely to link to technology "creep" — not an unchecked slew of broken laws on the part of a single president to suppress our rights (as is more typically feared).
The Trump presidency has done a disservice to the conversation because we are still framing our concern from a strictly partisan vantage point — and not with respect to erosive trends that transcend multiple administrations. The real slide toward dictatorship may occur because we tend to fixate on a single administration when, in fact, the encroachments have been made on any number of fronts for many years be it the Surveillance State or presidential over-use of executive orders to bypass oversight of Congress
1
One interest group Mr. Krugman does not mention is Really Big Money. Obviously there are plenty of mega-billionaires who either are happy to see their fortunes tied to Trump, think they will be the puppet-masters, or rank support for Greater Israel above all other issues. But others may not relish the role of obsequious oligarch or the idea that their fortune depends on the whims of a Capo in Chief atop a corrupt justice system. And not all the super-rich, believe it or not, are willing to sell their souls for a tax cut. It's a depressing state of affairs, to be sure, but if the GOP holds on to the House and Senate, the 2020 election will be at serious risk, and we may be in the position of looking to Really Big Money to shield us from the absolute worst.
2
Today's GOP has been built on the foundations laid by Ronald Reagan (dishonest economic promises about cutting taxes and sewing a distrust of government institutions) and Newt Gingrich (incivility and hatred of anyone who disagrees or does not look the same). I am not sure what to call it, but Donald Trump is certainly doing a good job of implementing it.
3
"Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a friend of mine — an expert on international relations — made a joke: 'Now that Eastern Europe is free from the alien ideology of Communism, it can return to its true historical path — fascism.' Even at the time, his quip had a real edge."
I wonder how many people read this anecdote in the opening paragraph and nodded or chuckled -- and failed to appreciate how profoundly bigoted it is.
My parents were from Eastern Europe and it is a rare delight to meet an American free of racism and fascism, as my parents were. Moreover, they never thought there was anything remarkable about feeling a visceral revulsion toward those beliefs.
In fact, this reminds me of another anecdote. When my father came to the U.S. as a refugee, shortly after WWII, he was offered the chance to change his name. For a moment he was baffled, and then said, "Change our name? Why? We were in the Resistance!"
To say that "it can happen here" implies it hasn't already.
2
Citizens United was a ruling that was, effectively, a dagger in the heart of American Democracy. Money is speech? That is such a wealthy man's argument. It makes no sense. Yet, the wealthiest can change the outcome of elections by outspending opponents in media buys and exposure for their candidate. Their candidates are merely vessels used to carry out their nefarious deeds to fleece the American public and enrich themselves.
14
@Bubba Lew,
Exactly! This might be a good time to remind people that it was Hilary Clinton who initially sued Citizens United – and lost the case when out got to the Supreme Court.
She was right, and you are right.
2
I'm going to disagree and go with 'the darkest hour is just before the dawn'. Racism is a pervasive and damaging problem in our country. But Unlike Poland we already are racially pluralist. Whites will be a minority in the coming decade.
Further, more and more people, and especially young people of all ethnicities, are recognizing that this kind of issue is used as a tool by the financial elite to get the public to take their eye Off the ball of the fundamental injustice, Big Money corruption and domination of our politics and laws.
When real representative democracy is restored, and it will be peacefully or otherwise, economic injustice will be ameliorated, racism will shrink, and in the long run completely fade away as we become a more happily brown nation with a whole spectrum of wonderful colors.
48
@Trebor
Would you care to elaborate on "Poland's race problem?" Your preoccupation with race is a parochial American attitude.
4
If the US ever becomes a toleration state it will come through the liberal progressives in the pursuit of social justice.
2
The lead picture is scary enough. It evokes fervent, clean cut Nazi youth.
2
Maybe if Democrats hadn't adopted the Socialist Party of America's platform in 1990, you wouldn't feel so left out!
Nothing but terrible ideas coming from the left. MAGA! #redwave
@cjhsa Did anyone vote that year? There wasn't a presidential election.
2
Trump is so incompetent - as are many of his henchmen - that his power to destroy democracy is limited. His personal negatives may cause him to be ousted in 2020, but that would not be the end of the danger. He was not elected because of any perceived good qualities he possesses - his ratings have always been negative - it was out of a mood of general frustration with establishment politicians of both parties. Trump has obviously exploited racism, but Republicans have been doing this for fifty years. There is unquestionable frustration on economic grounds, as wages have been stagnant and the dream of advancement has receded. How can this be ignored? At any rate economics is probably the only hope of uniting the majority - that is the 99%. Republicans have been winning for a long time on "social" issues, which they use to divide the country - why fight the battle on their chosen ground?
If Democrats do not step up to represent the interests of the 99% instead of big business and finance there is a danger that another, smarter Trump will do so - or pretend to do so - in the future. An economic downturn, which is essentially inevitable by 2024, might cause a change of power, but it is not inevitable that the current Democratic party would be the ones who benefit.
1
@skeptonomist, The Federalist Society grooms lawyers to prove that sincerely held beliefs are truer than establishment of science.
1
It's ultimately all about white nationalism. The GOP has long had this inclination, but it was always able to couch its policies and behaviors in terms of economic or "freedom". Now Trump has driven the issue to the extreme, and with their backs up against the wall, the GOP are forced to choose their core white nationalism over concern for democracy or the well being of the country.
5
The Republicans WILL retain the House. The path needs to discovered now on how they plan to do it and be ready for it. It won't be through winning the majority vote. Gerrymandering, poll closures, last minute rule changes, (intimidation?) etc. will be their weapons of choice. Trump does not seem to be sweating any concept of losing his grip in November. He blissfully tweets his agenda day by day undeterred by this threat. Perhaps because he knows there is no threat. What does he know that we don't?
5
In order to win the long game, those who still believe in democracy need to come up with a way to fight the FOX propaganda machine. How many of the people pictured at the Trump rallies watch nothing else? While the State does not yet control the media, for those who watch FOX it might as well.
When half the country listens only to distorted "news" that presents only what the extreme right wing wants them to see, how do we expect them to vote differently? When many are products of schools (and families) that have failed to teach them even the rudiments of critical thinking, so that emotion rules and the thrill of "winning" is all that matters, it is easy for a demagogue to manipulate a large enough swath of the country to drown out other voices. Unless we shut down the FOX echo chamber, eking out a narrow victory in the House will change nothing.
4
@Nikki You are absolutely correct that we need a way to fight the Fox propaganda machine. The people who watch, watch this exclusively. The other side is never presented and a lot of news is not covered at all. Only when these watchers inadvertently find out that hey, my health care premiums went up and maybe it is not after 2 Trump years Obamacare to blame, or hey my Social Security co-payments are more and can we really blame Obama for that 2 years later, and hey that tax "cut" and "reform" are not really cuts and reforms, and maybe the Democrats are not to blame for that since Republicans were in the majority, then MAYBE they will consider voting Democrat. But it is an highly unlikely probability that these people will change short of a catastrophe. These people do not watch Presidential debates and if they do they are probably watching on Fox who will grossly distort what they have seen and heard with their own eyes and ears. So we either have to find a way to reach these voters or come up with more voters to go around them, very difficult with gerrymandering and the electoral college. If the Democrats ever do regain power of legislative and executive branches, they will need to pass lots of measures very quickly since due to rule changes for court approval, the judiciary is for all practical purposes lost for at least a generation. The prospects for a liberal democracy are grim but with a Vietnam War type of protest, liberal democracy may eventually prevail.
2
The judiciary in California and New Jersey is no more independent of the Democratic Party than the judiciary of Hungary or Poland is from their dominant political parties.
It invariably turns the policy preferences of the Democratic Party into constitutional mandates. Trump was elected because Republicans, even those deeply repelled by him, knew that a fifth Democratic justice on the Supreme Court would take the same phenomenon nationally.
1
@Amanda
Judiciary in Poland is definitely independent of the governing party (and it is still partly composed of communist judges), but what is more troubling, the Polish judiciary appears to be independent of reason and good argument. This is why the present government wants to reform it, but its opponents portray the reform as an attack on independence. Please, inform yourself.
3
A house (or country) divided against itself cannot stand! It seems to me that President Lincoln said something like that.
2
Paull Krugman. In my view your article has an alarmist sound that is not justified.
Hungary and Poland are located in the center of Europe; both countries were part of the Austrian Monarchie, were occupied and completely destroyed during WW I and II and later occupied by Soviet repressive troops. As countries and people they were until recently surrounded by much stronger enemies, they are real survivors. Only after 1989 they started to live under the Democratic political system and the rule of law. Yes they are unused to leave under democratic rules, they are nationalists, patriots, proud people with more than thousand years of experience, but neophit in terms of Democracy. You cannot compare the actual results in this countries with what is happening in America, one of the oldest and more organized and respected democracies in world, with more then 200 years experience under the rule of law. I would say that exploring the line of fear,is not in my view, helpful and the best way to fight and oppose the Trump administration. You are one of the most respected jornalist on Earth, and have all the knowledge to use your professional skills to select the best rational, political and motivacional arguments to fight the actual president with better results. Your line of thinking should concetrate argumenst in the best part of the american way of life, in the democratic system, be at the same time smart, hopefull and positive about the resilience of the americans and their values.
8
Professor, it already has happened here.
The only remaining hope for American democracy is that so many loyal Americans for Democrats in November that Trump and his Russian-Republican apparatchiks cannot get away with rigging another round of elections.
If Democrats regain at least one house of Congress, it may be possible to begin to restore democratic processes in America, but it still will be a long-shot battle against the Russian Republicans in the executive, judiciary and other house of Congress.
6
Liberals like Krugman see Trump as an "attack" on institutions of liberal democracy, but it is hard to see how any of the things he is supposedly dismantling really existed before him anyway.
Take democracy: Studies have shown that, for decades, in America there was no meaningful correlation between the policy preferences of the majority and actual policy outcomes (there was, by contrast, a significant correlation between the policy preferences of the wealthy and policy outcomes). So where was this "democracy" that Trump is endangering?
Or take impunity for elites: That is nothing new. Dozens of high-ranking administration officials in the 80s conspired to violate the law in the Iran-Contra scandal. Most received sentences of probation, and were subsequently pardoned. Numerous high-ranking Bush officials carried out an international torture program. One of them is now Director of the CIA, and none went to jail. President Obama refused to prosecute them, because he said we should "look forward rather than backward." So--aside from being pettier and cruder--what is substantively different about Trump?
Maybe...just maybe...the reason why our "democratic institutions" seems so vulnerable to Trump's assault is that they were never very strong to begin with, and elites barely even pretended to believe in them.
11
@RC You make an interesting argument. I would say that since Reagan's Neo-Con coup of our government, the idea of financial democracy has flown out the window. But, we still had people in office that cared about the country and its citizens, on both sides of the aisle. Today, I can't think of one Repub that cares an iota about US Citizens. They only care about fleecing the rest of us for personal gain.
4
@Bubba Lew
You have characterized one side of the aisle as all black.
They aren't.
By implication you paint the other as all, or at least primarily, white.
They aren't.
What is further so bothersome is I think they are more than willing to "fix" elections at the ballot box. For example, Russ Feingold was running far ahead for the Senate in 2016 yet lost, Wisconsin being a seat of Koch Brothers and Mercer corruption.
Beyond that, our Constitutional setup for Senate seats and the Electoral College always favored rural state, but now it vastly favors the rural communities. Millions more people vote for a Democratic Senate which leaves -- Mitch McConnell in charge. Russia understands this problem better than 95% of our people.
7
@laurenlee3
Do you actually believe that the Wisconsin Senate election was fixed? Really? And that it somehow has been covered up so well that it still hasn't been exposed? Really?
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury ...I rest my case re liberal paranoia.
The claim that Trump's election was based on racism and "white nationalism" is wrong, and further, obscures the real issues. It is not racist or "white nationalism" to:
-be born into the majority race or majority culture, whatever the color
-be proud of the culture into which you were born and want to preserve it and have newcomers respect it
-insist immigrants get permission to enter the country
-prefer that Congress debates and decides immigration quotas and asylum definitions
-be concerned that too rapid immigration will change our culture too fast
-suspect that when voting ID’s are not required and there are seven million illegal immigrants in the country, significant numbers of them may be voting
-want immigrants to show some respect for our country and culture
-want to restore our manufacturing industries
-care about people who don't live on the Coasts
-believe that trade agreements should be examined and recast at least every 25 years or so
-worry about the balkanization of our society caused by identity politics, race and gender
-fed up with the impotence of the GOP to oppose or even moderate this rush to a drastically-different future and see Trump as an imperfect vessel who may stop it.
As for the GOP in Congress, I suspect the overriding impetus for them is same as mine and most people I know-to the stop collectivism and post-modernism, so evident in Krugman's columns and universities, which are an existential threat to our republic and individual rights.
11
@SonomaEastSide...."The claim that Trump's election was based on racism and "white nationalism" is wrong,"......Really? Muslims should be barred from entering the country. I can't get a fair trial because the judge has Mexican ancestry. Obama was born in Kenya. Why do we always get immigrants from s___hole countries. Illegal immigrants are rapists and murderers. Mocking the mother of a Muslim U.S Marine killed in Iraq Equating white avowed supremacists with protestors in Charlottesville. How much evidence do you need? One thing for sure, Trump never would have been elected if his supporters were put off by racism.
4
@SonomaEastSide
"Collectivism?" Really? I suppose that Social Security is a form of collectivism. But, so is any insurance. Is that what you're complaining about?
Or is just easy to fling around that and other residual terms or the long ago defeated Sovietism that you and your fellow Trump-excuse-makers have striven to turn into newly created pejoratives as a cover for your anger at people like us in economically successful Massachusetts.
You don't have to be angry at those of us who've invested in public education and created a dynamic globally exporting economy that had little of the pain of the last recession because it makes great use of the diversity of those well-educated kids to make our state as a great place to have a family
Just vote out the folks, sadly mostly Republicans, who're deceiving you by flinging around those sorts of pejoratives. And, of course, come visit Massachusetts to see how it works. Take a look at and read about the battlefields of the American Revolution that created this working democracy allows for this disagreement between you and me.
3
@SonomaEastSide – sorry, but the overriding impetus for the Rs is to get and keep as much money and power as they possibly can, for themselves nd their 1% buddies, before the gravy-train is overturned – which it will be sooner or later.
As for your concern "that too rapid immigration will change our culture too fast," who gets to say exactly what that rate of change should be? Shouldn't the majority of citizens be involved in such decisions?
Also, do you consider something like .0001% or less to be a significant number of illegal votes (most of which were in error)?
Etc!
One party rule has already been acheived on a national level and I'm afraid thinking that having faith in the rule of law is akin to France's faith in the Maginot Line.
On 2/13/16 Antion Scalia died and, hours later, Mitch McConnell announced he was going to flagrantly defy his constitutional duty to put a judicial nominee from the president up for a confirmation vote. Having already stacked the court with legal means to achieve a court that would rule for Bush in Bush v. Gore, and for Citizens United in Citizens United, 2/13/16 was the day the GOPhascists announced they were willing to turn their back on the Constitution entirely in order to ensure a partisan judiciary.
Trump's inauguration on 1/20/17 was just a happy, and perhaps surprising to even them, turn of events which has enabled them to fast-track their oligarchic fascist agenda. At this point they will not cede power peacefully, let alone quietly. If their voter suppression efforts and gerrymandered safeguards fail to affirm their majorities in both houses this November, I would not be surprised to see martial law imposed.
6
It's already over. When the free press waits for over a year to mount a concerted response to a presidential statement proclaiming the critical press "the enemy" -- it has been too late since the day he did.
The newspapers, despite the fact he has declared his social media lies, slander, threats, false accusations to be "[residential statements", refused to treat them with the seriousness they have treated past statements from other admistrations.
They let themselves be bamboozled by superficial differences like electronic issuance rather than paper and standing and speaking aloud, and they flattered themselves, as have other influential entities, that his hate and disgust for freedom was aimed at them because ( pat on the back) they are powerful -- but the ultimate enemy is the people, as in any dictatorship.
It is too late. And the free press let it happen without much resistance -- much less resistance than the uninfluential true targets have put up in its defense.
3
Dems refuse - to this very moment - to fight for anything. They will not fight for their constituents, their nation, or their own skins. If it weren't laughable (?) one might think they lose on purpose.
I do not believe the dems will take the house. Between the GOP taking full advantage of the death of the voting rights act and "foreign involvement" the GOP will gain strength.
Dems will sit and do nothing. Some will whine and flap in effectually in the streets. They will tell each other that their moral superiority will see them thru.
They will be wrong
3
Some might call you alarmist for this column, Mr. Krugman. I think you haven't gone far enough in your analysis.
How do we confront these proto-fascists? I know from a study of history that fascists only understand violence, because they do not care about social institutions, including the courts. Their errors only sink in when they are trounced and humiliated. The least form of violence that can be visited upon them is imprisonment. It's hard to give any one of Trump's henchmen jail-time when the Pardoner-in-Chief has no remorse and eschews any responsibility for his utter dereliction of duty.
I truly believe we have a constitutional crisis looming in America, that could lead to violence. I hold the Republican Party mostly responsible, and I think the Democrats are incapable of governing given their relative intransigence. We need new leadership, and new parties. These two 'dinosaurs' should be made to go extinct.
3
The article is not all that clear on what "it" is. Jingoism and political skullduggery are hardly new phenomenon on the American scene. Gerrymandering goes back to the first decade of the Republic. One hardly needs to look abroad for models of America's long standing tradition of suppressing votes. Krugman also might want to read the Times' editorials on FDR's "court packing scheme." As for nationalism, listen to De Tocqueville:
" If I say to an American that the country he lives in is a fine one, "Ay," he replies, "there is not its equal in the world. It is impossible to conceive a more troublesome or more garrulous patriotism; it wearies even those who are disposed to respect it." Democracy in America vol II §3 ch. 16.
And no... America is not the birthplace of democracy. A wearied de Tocqueville might have pointed to Montesquieu's tri-partite division of powers. An amused Englishman (which "the Founders" were btw) might take wry note of the Settlement of 1688.
6
Thank you Mr. Krugman. I think you are right on the money with this column. If Republicans stay in power and Trump is reelected in 2020 I fear my young grandchildren will be living in a fascist country by the time they are old enough to vote!
2
You forgot to mention Austria's far-right Freedom party that currently holds power.... a party started in the 1950's by former members of the SS.... whose party bosses, recently ordered police to raid its own intelligence service offices and they carted off some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets in open crates and plastic bags. Top spy service officials working from home that day were greeted by officers threatening to break down their doors. cart off boxes and boxes.... Putin got a treasure trove of secrets!
1
I hope Mr. Krugman follows up this column on what efforts are being made to counter this move to fascism, because there has never been more of an energized opposition that is organizing and acting to restore the balance of power in our country. Groups like Indivisible who are organizing communities across the country, media outlets like Crooked Media and their excellent Podcasts (crookedmedia.com), authors like Malcolm Nance, Michael Isikoff, David Corn, Jane Mayer and regular citizens that are informing themselves on the issues, attending town halls, and registering voters. Trump has done wonders in motivating people to get involved. He has also been a boon to newspapers like the NY Times, and organizations like the ACLU, NOW and Planned Parenthood. Rather than this being a slide into fascism, it is a rebirth of spirit and a desire to take on substantive issues like economic disparity, climate change, healthcare, infrastructure, eduction, immigration and human rights. We shouldn't forget that Trump lost the popular election by two million, and two other candidates, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein received nearly 7 million votes. The GOP is becoming increasingly shameless and brazen in their power grabs. But as is being born out in North Carolina, we still have courts that side with the Constitution. There is a growing blue tide that is attracting former Republicans, Independents, Democrats and even some Trump voters that realize this election really matters. Please vote.
2
“In both countries the ruling parties ... have established regimes ...”
As far as I know there was no coup d’état in neither one of those countries.
Funny, how when the liberals do not like the results of an election, the complain about their being corrupt and ‘illiberal’.
You are mistaken, Professor Krugman. Both Poland and Hungary have duly elected governments. The people of those countries have spoken and ‘vox populi vox dei’.
10
@Rose Hitler was duly elected too. The fraudulent election was hard enough to take but we dealt with that with Bush II. The problem is the disastrous things Trump is doing.
@Rose: Hitler was democratically elected, too.
This new "American spirit and reality" helped me to understand what happen to apparently educated people supporting a racist and war monger in Germany in the 30's.
Even the bible refers to nations doing crazy things, which I did not believe for a long while. I see some crazy individuals, but in cases of racism, and fear of becoming, what they already are, a minority, it becomes an epidemy.
It seems, like any other infectious disease, you can fight it and reduce it, like with Nazism in Germany, but never extinguish it, like the lack death.
1
Now, that's quite a punch in the gut. It stinks of
prejudice to accuse "Eastern Europe" of "historcal fascism" in the first sentence,
and give Poland as an example.
I won't even comment on farther paragraphs; it is all so ignorant and aggravating.
That's what happens when someone writes outside his field of expertize.
10
This is probably the most over the top article Krugman has ever written and he has written alot of them. White nationalism will be something to worry about when they hold a rally and they are not vastly out numbered by Antifa. 40 or 50 of these folks hardly qualifies as an imminent threat.
7
@Abbott Hall For now! They still managed to kill someone.
The panic that arose among liberals out of their disastrous showing in 2016 appears from this article and many of the comments to have now developed into full blown paranoia. How else can one explain a view that sees a return to the Constitutional principles of government upon which our country was founded and grew as being akin to Nazism? WOW.
5
"America, the birthplace of democracy..." ???!!!
Seriously?? Am I really reading this sentence in the New York Times? Anyone remember Ancient Greece?
Maybe reinventing world history is partly responsible for the disgraceful state of the politics today.
8
A friend says he likes Trump because he “stands up for the white race.”
Enough said.
76
I came here because I found information of these artical in one of polish media channel on YouTube "Telewizja wPolsce" in program revieving foregin press. Not only for that saing that in Poland there is no freedom of press is just not true, you can find here as strong attacks on Law and Justice party as you want. "Law and Justy take milions when all prices go up" says bilbords in major polish towns. I see it every day. Law and Justice can have fascism elements and they want to changes court system, I still don't understand that, but making plainly untruth statments you don't help. You at least give president Trump more reasons for telling you are "fake news newspaper".
6
And the worst part is that some of us are marching to the gallows willingly, with a smile on our faces.
During II World War, Germans Fascist killed 3 milion Polish citizens, including my Grandmother brother, and you are saying that Polish historical Path is Fascism?
Go back to school, you are Not well educated.
10
@Aleksander
I would guess you are not Jewish. I am of Polish extraction. My grandparents and mother were beaten and abused during pogroms carried out by brave Poles - long before Germany invaded Poland.
It's not 'nationalism' run wild.
It's white racism.
3
Someone who supported the Mueller investigation in 2016 but not 2 years (and tens of millions of dollars) later is not necessarily flip-flopping. The absence of evidence of collusion, at this point, is an obvious factor that Krugman chooses to ignore. (Krugman's bias has now even got me defending Lindsey Graham.)
3
@carl bumba…."The absence of evidence of collusion, at this point, is an obvious factor that Krugman chooses to ignore.".... Kushner and Trump Junior met with a Russian operative specifically because they were told she had dirt on Clinton. Manafort, who was just convicted, was Trumps campaign manager, and was paid millions by the former president of Ukraine, a buddy of Putin. Manafort was responsible for a last minute change to the Republican Platform. Flynn, Trump's choice for National Security Director, has pled guilty to lying about his contact with the Russian Ambassador. Somebody is choosing to ignore things, and it isn't Krugman.
4
@carl bumba aside from what is already public knowledge (at least the Trump's latest version of it of the truth) what are you expecting? Do you expect Mueller to make an announcement on Twitter?
1
Today on NPR's Morning Edition there was a report from a Young Republicans Conference in DC. The shouts and chants and quotes were immediately reminiscent of the Nazi Youth.
4
@Chris
The morning I woke up and turned on the radio and the first thing I heard was chants of "ANIMALS! ANIMALS! ANIMALS! his submissives doing his bidding,
-- I fell to my knees and wept.
It's too late.
No one dares call for impeachment unless he commits and is formally accused of a crime like anyone could commit.
No one powerful has been yelling about what High Crimes for presidents are -- whether such things as using High Office to call the members of the free that criticisehim "the enemy" -- he does call his social media fatrs "presidential statements" , issues them as president from High Office under color of authority --are High Crimes, or to constantly use High Office to issue lies, slander, threats, false accusations, recommend loss of livelihood, prison, claim powers he does not have to punish and harass his critics and anyone who fails to praise him when he wants praise and gratitude, like a pregnant war widow whose was dead soldier's Commander-in-Chief he was, with no loyalty at all to the troops or the "fallen" are High Crimes.
It will show him his power even more when he knows the praise is forced by his power, completely insincere -- THAT's Power!!!
It is too late now, unless we all demand that impeachment for these High Crimes be publicly raised to discuss and impeachment demanded -- even if it seems quixotic.
Or we will get the tyrant we got through our desire not to talk of such things.
Never Sit Down.
Never Shut Up.
Impeach.
Unfit. Remove.
The photo that accompanies this article is obviously an allusion to the famous photo of the league of German girls in their white shirts , trim skirts, lined up creating a phalanx of cheering wide eyed delirious at the sight and idea of Adolph Hitler . I guess the lesson that history teaches us over and over again, is put no trust in any one person or any one idea, think for yourself and demand that your leaders at the very least, believe in decency and have high moral values. Trust a leader without reservation, put all your trust in any human being without the capacity to see him warts and all, and you turn yourself into an unthinking, slavering, and very dangerous human beast.
2
You cannot love America when you hate so many Americans to include Blacks, immigrants, gays, and other than Christians, all of who are Americans. Therefore it should be no surprise that people who hate Americans want to change America from the nation it is.
Others have written about how the overwhelming support by Evangelicals for Donald Trump proves beyond all doubt that "VALUES" in front of the word voter is and has always been code for RACE. I just want to add my own experience to the above fact that has in fact been known to everyone paying attention for the last 30 years.
1984 I was living in New Orleans. Too a person every White, man and woman, thought Ronald Reagan was screwing them. But to a person they loved Ronald Reagan. The reason the White people loved Reagan is that, "he was screwing Black people worse". That is not a direct quote as none of them ever used the term "Black people".
The problem is that the media refuses to acknowledge this. Instead it denies the link caused by racism between class and race. By the media denying this link and its cause, Republicans are able denounce "those people" as being less than equal.
Until the media makes those who exploit hate and fear for power pay a political price instead of equating it with careless use of emails, I do not see a way out. That is the media instead of being the arbiter of truth, through bothsideism not calling out racists, has left many good Americans with no idea what is truth.
2
So very true about most Americans wanting controlled immigration and not open borders. And -- important -- people who wants to join our culture (customs, dress, values) rather than a safer place to re-create their old one. I took the above words word-for-word from the writer as they are bear repeating. This isn't Mexico, Hungary, Russia, or Morocco. We are all Americans. Most people who want to come here do embrace that -- being American.
Those who cannot, who would live here for 20 years but not learn a word of English, might want to re-evaluate what they really want and where they really want to live.
3
While Mr Krugman may overstate his case and evidence a bit, I'm with his implication that the modern Republican party is irredeemably and morally corrupt. There may not be historical precedent for the way this "party of Lincoln" has spiraled beyond the pale of redemption without some kind of total remake.
The dynamic is perhaps historical: drive the party base morally downward, as per all non-Republican parties prior to the Civil War/War Between the States. Encourage the base to follow its "basest" instincts (pun intended) in the interest of short-term gains and disregard any long-term consequences.
In the case of the modern so-called GOP, its leaders have been discouraging faith in government--the people's government, gummint "by, of, and for" the people--and then living up to established expectations by doing nothing to dissuade this lack of confidence. It's a vicious spiral (and a chicken-or-egg conundrum) involving lacking faith in democratic processes and passive blame-throwing observation of their decline.
Whatever the precedents, causes, or frame of the results, the solutions may be clear to wise patriots--attack the ideological base of the Republican party, seek to marginalize its pols and worst followers, and do the best to lovingly persuade its mis-led, salvagable base to support democratic--or at least republican (small "r")--norms.
1
Haunting powerful words. Paul Krugman is a seer. What now shall we do?
@Scott Thompson
I'm afraid that there is not much that we can do. Racial resentment is out in the open. Trump, despite his tweets about DOJ and the intelligent agencies, has effectively co-opted the local law enforcement.
My family on mom's side escaped Nazi Austria with their lives to find refuge at last in America. I am glad mom and her parents did not live to see this horror bearing down upon us.
Most Americans are very naive about the world. They have no idea what it would actually be like to live under a fascist regime where you are afraid even to think your own thoughts for fear you will by a slip of the tongue reveal yourself and a neighbor will turn you in to the police, and you might end up in a camp. Too many Americans today think they can have their racist cake and eat it, too. Don't happen that way folks. Wake up now, because the slope is slippery and gravity is real.
Thank you, as always, Dr. Krugman, for pointing out the dangers that lie ahead.
4
The Republicans are a power hungry monster. Trump is their boss and if you fight back against the boss you're a loser and off the varsity squad.
That is fascism American style. The President is not quite the King but the boss, and I doubt McCain was a truly reliable veto on bossism in his party as the peans praise the man.
You must obey the boss or you're fired and out on the street without a job.
If the Republicans loathe freedom there are plenty of immigrants, illegal too, who know how nourishing the taste of freedom is to the hungry huddled masses, and the Republicans should feel the echoes of history's fiery breath down their necks
2
Yes, I too believe we are headed daily toward a fascist government, and as one who grew up in Germany, I do believe no country is immune to its pernicious influences. None of the intellectuals took Hitler seriously. He was the dark horse, and yet he won, as did Trump in the U.S.
But I am not sure why Mr. Krugman refers to America as the birthplace of democracy. What happened to the Greeks?
1
Fascism is the endgame of capitalism. Buckle up, people, a whole lot of suffering is coming...
5
Luckily we have the Second Amendment as the final bulwark against tyranny.
Oh wait....
4
For five years I lived under a fascist dictatorship. From where we are now to the lives we lived then under fascism seems a long way apart...but it's a journey that can be completed in a heartbeat.
I was shocked, and I remain shocked when I contemplate our nation's president in front of crowds of his followers, goading those people to violence.
You hit him, I'll pay your legal expenses. Maybe that person should be beaten up. I'd like to punch him in the face.
There was, of course, resulting violence, but not at that time the kind of uncontrolled crowd rampage that Trump encouraged. I'd always thought that it was against the law to incite a crowd to violence, and yet there it was, over and over again.
I sincerely wonder what is going on in the minds of Americans who seem to idolize Trump. Is there anything he could do that would cause you to see him in a different way? He says that he could shoot someone down on 5th Ave without losing your loyalty. Is he right?
Do you fully understand that though fascists leaders like Mussolini, Franco, Hitler, etc. may look like clowns, that there was blood, human blood, all over their hands? Do you really think that as individual human beings we're so different from the people in Italy or Spain or Germany?
As an opponent of most of what Trump stands for, I have trouble believing that the majority of his followers have much in common with the man. They don't grab women's privates, they don't trail behind them a backwash o
3
What a very unbalanced article. No mention whatever of the numerous highly visible crimes of Clinton. No mention either of the great danger posed by a politicized & partisan FBI & DOJ which colluded with the Dems to try and subvert the election. And no mention of the fraudulent obtention of a FISA warrant, using phony info from Russia. What is the point, really, of an article so biased? The writer makes no attempt at all to consider both sides of the question.
3
@Cath Boylan
These assertions are right out of Fox News and other right wing media outlets. There is zero truth to them which is why Krugman didn’t mention them.
Anyone/everyone concerned with politics now ought
read The Burglary by Betty Medsger.
In May of 2016, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott tweeted about a lawsuit against the Obama administration's transgender directive to school's filed by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It reads:
“So despite the will of Congress, the president is assuming the role of a king, of an emperor, of a dictator trying to dictate what the laws for the United States of America are — that violates the Constitution."
Not a word about the current "President" these days from Gov. Abbott.
Looking at the photograph of smiling white women at Trump's Ohio dinner holding a MAGA hat I remember the photos of German crowds smiling and saluting Hitler. They are in love.
But, I fear they are not in love with Trump as much as they are in love with his twisted worldview. Trump will be gone one day. But, the racism, xenophobia, greed, and disregard for the most vulnerable in our society will continue. The list of things that Trump mocks (education, science, facts, freedom of the press, the rule of law, ethics, military service, ...) is also their list. How can any country survive with leaders - and followers - who are willfully ignorant? How can this country survive if we give up our ability to think of the common good, our desire to help the less fortunate, and our willingness to sacrifice for the defense of this country?
I don't believe we can.
3
In retrospect, historians will yield to an underlying transformation of U.S. politics in the Age of Trump.
The President's voters form two divergent but politically motivated classes. Core GOP stalwarts relied on a fable, aka noblesse oblige, a covered-up of self-interest.
Trump Loyalists are American Dream 'wannabees': victims of a Freudian psychoanalysis experiment leveraging 'transference' - a blame game personified by coastal liberals and immigrants and their 'socialist' Democratic Party and activist SCOTUS.
President Trump engaged the Wannabees to follow a false narrative against his primary opponents and HRC.
The Mexican Wall was devised as a focal point to keep out wild and criminal elements crossing the border to rape America's daughters. Mixed signals of fear and deception were manifested by Dog Whistle racism that made the Grand Wizard of the KKK proud to be white again.
The President answered a reporter's question, if he lost, 'would he accept the verdict of voters and concede?' His answer was that he would not. The serial defendant would litigate until he exhausted all avenues to keep HRC from the oval office including asking the Russians to hack HRC emails.
President Trump, as Bill Clinton agreed, ran specular campaigns. He engaged in fear-mongering, racism, false narratives; lies and illicit pay-offs to suppress his indiscretions.
How can we understand the irrational exuberance of MAGA voters? They were victims of a master framer of false beliefs.
3
By the way, the picture that accompanies the op-ed piece reminds me of Leni Riefenstahl stills. And, the girl in the front is another version of the blond and blue-eyed Teutonic youth in Fosse's Cabaret. The one singing in some beer garden with his beautiful face and voice charming the movie-goers until the camera goes lower and shows his Nazi-youth uniform.
2
“racial resentment, not economic distress, drove Trump voters.” We are past the “tipping point” into racist fascism. Republicans have devolved into a jumble of the Ku Klux Klan, John Birch Society, and The Know Nothing Party with RACISM as the fundamental motivator. Racism is how the Republicans get working class whites to vote against their own self-interest, that of their families and communities so Republicans can provide massive tax cuts for rich 1% whites. Sinclair Lewis was prescient when he said “Fascism will come to America wrapped in the Flag and carrying a Cross!” It has arrived, a perverted mutated Orwellian 1984!
3
Donald Trump is an acquired taste. More than any other politician he skates right up to the edge of chaos. That frightens people like you, and you are not alone. But that's what you need to do if you want progress. Stability is stasis, meaning no change. No change means no improvement.
Barack Obama was a nice president. Polite, well-spoken, telegenic, sociable, thin, tall, good looking, a laugher and a grinner, a family man. He gave a good speech. But he got little done. He promised change (and hope) and didn't deliver.
Steve Jobs pegged why: Barack Obama is "having trouble leading because he’s reluctant to offend people or [tick] them off." He added, "Yes, that’s not a problem I ever had.” And neither does Donald Trump.
6
@John Smithson
President Obama had many accomplishments. Google them.
Or...1930s Italy
It is essential for the GOP to stack the courts while they can. On all major issues - taxes, health care, environmental protections, economy, national security, immigration - the policies of the GOP are only supported by a minority of citizens. That is even the case among Republican voters if they are polled for policy details. Thus the GOP follows a 3-pronged strategy.
1) They run campaigns not based on policy but on emotions, as nicely laid out by the former Republican election strategist Cambridge Analytical in this video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbeOCKZFfQ (6:50 going forward). It’s all about fear, hate, envy.
2) They manipulate the electoral system through voter intimidation, gerrymandering, and purging of voter rolls.
3) They stack the courts with judges that will uphold these manipulations. Citizens United, Ohio voter purges, anti-union decisions, those were only the first steps. If you think overturning Roe v Vade is their primary goal, think again. That is only a side-show. The only majority the GOP represents is the amount of territory. Regarding voters, they are in the minority in the House, in the Senate, and for the Presidency. Only judicial manipulations will help them stay in power.
4
Paul, although you sub-title your otherwise excellent column, "We’re very close to becoming another Poland or Hungary" --- America is not going to become another Poland or Hungary, for the simple reason that Poland and Hungary are not, and can never be in danger of becoming a Disguised Global Capitalist Empire.
America is a global power, in fact the most powerful global power --- and thus 'we the American people' have an obligation not only to ourselves, our children, and grand children, but to the entire world of all 'citizens of the world', that:
"We can't be an Empire"
Reading McCain's last words, I was moved:
“Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.
“Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.”
Yes, America is the only country that can, as McCain said in his ending:
"We make history."
We made it first in the first American "Revolution Against Empire"
And, IMHO, on "both sides of the otherwise divisive aisle" all of us, who honestly say what John said as his last words, "God Bless America" --- would also all agree that "We can't be an EMPIRE"
2
There are just two ways for government to relate to the people. Either government serves the people, or the people serve the government. The former situation is liberty, the latter one is fascism.
2
Nice try! Blaming the current state of our country on the GOP is dishonest and simplistic. This descent into crony capitalism/fascism has truly been a bipartisan effort over the last 30 years. Clinton’s era of deregulation set the stage for the deterioration of the mainstream media and the financial crisis of 2007. This is all about the ‘Benjamins’ dressed up in racist rhetoric. Also, the white majority in America can see the end of their demographic predominance. That alone would trigger totalitarian and genocidal motives against nonwhites and brown immigrants. Obama was elected on a mandate of “change” but governed complicity with the expansion of income inequality. Further, a consequence of endless imperial war making is the influx of immigrants fleeing American militarism and plunder worldwide. Lest we forget that HRC voted for the Iraq war and never met a no-fly zone she didn’t want to enforce. The Dems are as corporate as the GOP, so who really wants a representative democracy? If the American spirit is what is is purported to be, the ruling elites will tip the scales too far and We the People will become fully awake. Who says it can’t happen here?
1
We've been here before. Now it's the GOP, but for the 100 years before the end of Jim Crow is was the democratic party in the south (I'm a democrat, btw)
Packing courts? Yup. Voter suppression? sure thing, and makes today's version of it look like childs play. Delegitimizing dissent? The real threat of being lynched or having your house bombed or burnt down will tend to keep people quiet.
I guess the difference is that then the democratic party was content to have their own little Apartheid-esque corner of the country, whereas today's GOP wants to set the agenda for the whole country.
2
@Mikeweb False equivalence. We started to evolve. The Southern Democrats became Republicans.
The birthplace of democracy was Greece, not America.
4
To paraphrase a famous quote by W.E.B. Du Bois: Either America will destroy white supremacy, or white supremacy will destroy the United States.
9
Forget the real Trump diehards; in 2018, alone they're a small group. If America goes down, look no further than "good Republicans/Independents" combined with "progressives"- you know, the nice people who "just don't see race/gender!"
It seems like everyone - media & otherwise - doesn't want to face what's right there: there are some (not all) "good Republicans" & some "progressives" who have just as much racial resentment built up as the diehard Trump voters they so easily denigrate. The diehards in these two groups will never join a Democratic Party that is not controlled - controlled - by white male leadership (and only the white male leadership who says "I don't see race.")
These nice people are the gunpowder for the downfall of the United States of America. The much smaller number of actual white nationalists will merely be the match.
https://www.npr.org/2017/08/24/545812242/1-in-10-sanders-primary-voters-...
"Fully 12 percent of people who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries voted for President Trump in the general election. ...Nearly half of Sanders-Trump voters disagree with the idea that 'white people have advantages.'"
"...Donald Trump's movement, whether Kellyanne Conway wants to admit it or not, was fundamentally about identity for white people." - White supremacist Richard Spencer, January 2017
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/richard-spencer-trump-identity-politics-1....
5
I keep thinking, what could happen if the next Trump & co are more clever, better at covering their tracks, making phone calls instead of emails, not blurting out the truth in the middle of the lies? Trump is an unusual person, but someday we will have someone relatively similar again.
2
@S
That would be the Ryan’s, McConnells, Rubio’s, Bushs and all the rest of the Republican schemers.
Republicans are not rioting, burning and assaulting in the streets like the Anarchists of the Dems. Republicans are not setting rules limiting free speech like the leftist in the news, entertainment and political arenas. Republicans are not limiting free speech on the internet like leftist heads of internet organizations. Republicans have not disrupted assemblies and organizations of Dems, but Dems have disrupted. The sex life of candidate Trump has been exposed and in some ways fabricated by Dems, whose Presidents have set the standard for sex in the Whitehouse and stain removal.
Anyone who grew up in NY knows (or should have known) that Trump's comment about asking Russians for help finding documents was not a sign of collusion, but the brash NY way of pushing back on the attacking Dem crowd.
It will be interesting to see who actually colluded with the Russians. It is known and admitted to the FBI by the DNC that it hired a cutout law firm to hire a political dirt finder to hire an ex-foreign spy to get dirt on Trump from sources in or close to the Putin govt. Ok Krugman, you've got an acknowledged case for violation of federal election law by the Democrats. Let us walk jointly into the sun and admit to your dirty little secret. It's OK. Maybe they did not know about election law. Oh, but that was not what was blasted across your paper when the ball and chain was being sized for Trump's ankle.
Yes, the Republicans and especially Trump are a threat to our democracy.
2
For those of you who doubt what Krugman has written here - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/28/trump-wake...
3
I can't believe people are still urging their countrymen to empathize with the supposedly innocent fears and concerns of their Trumpist neighbors, because to do otherwise might intensify their support for Trump. Have they taken us all hostage?
"If you liberals won't talk nice, I'll have no choice but to continue my blind support for the law-breaking election cheat in the White House, no matter his transgressions!"
It's insane that a literal majority of the country should have to temper its criticism of the president to avoid the possibility that such criticism might deepen support for a would-be dictator.
9
Once upon a time in the USA the Democratic Party controlled the federal government using tactics very much like that of the current Republican Party. That control defended the South from federal limits on slavery and undemocratic state governments from reform. That control continued for the first 70 years of the republic until a civil war reversed it. That is a more useful analogy than the one Mr. Krugman is using to compare Poland and Hungary with the current regime in power in Washington, and Krugman's analogy completely misunderstands what fascism is. Fascism is a racist, nationalist, anti-communist regime bent on world conquest by military means. Blood and soil nationalism on the road to fascism first crushes the radical left and then requires massive national military buildups to implement "lebensraum", something not happening in Poland, Hungary, or any other country in Europe. The ruling classes of Poland and Hungary don't need fascism to protect them against the threat of a domestic revolutionary left threatening to take power and expropriate them since the left is dead in those countries and a more traditional right-wing populist government will do to protect them from "foreigners". The time to worry about the immanence of fascism, there or here, is when there is a strong, radical, organized independent left in Europe and the US posing immanent limits on the unlimited exploitation of working class people by their own capitalist classes, not before.
1
You're late to the party, Dr. Krugman.
I came to this conclusion months ago.
We are on the precipice. I'm not sure whether a Democratic victory in November will mean anything.
I absolutely agree that the principal driver here is race. A secondary driver is greed.
The only question I have is how far the Republican Party will descend to protect its racist and greedy agenda. It is not encouraging that, thus far, it has shown no ability to limit Trump's depravity or illegal behavior.
1
'"Study after study has found that racial resentment ,not economic distress ,drove Trump voters" How do you determine if someone voted because they hate blacks or women. What questions were asked. If it is social science, they ,like economics don't discover anything. They just correlate. The assumption is that Trump voters all 61 million of them must be racist or misogynist or both. It is the old canard , if they disagree with me they must be evil not just wrong and we have academic studies to prove it. Actually a gallup Poll taken after the election shows many of the Trump voters suffered from economic anxiety which makes a lot of sense considering all of the good paying factory jobs that have have been lost. https://news.gallup.com/poll/196220/financial-insecurity-higher-favor-tr... It is much easier to demonize a white blue color workers as facist then try to understand thier problems
1
It's the class war stupid. The hard pressed masses have little use for formal freedoms that as you said the other day, leave them unfree.
They know that it's a war, that is they've finally woken to it fully and being for the most part ignorant and backward they instinctively cling to those that pander to their tribal prejudices.
In the past, a beset Capitalism was aligned with their class interest and promoted them. Today they are basically in the way of the progress of those that can thrive in the existing order.
Until this truth can be addressed, and in a very direct way the current trend can only accelerate, agree it will be largely over here if the GOP can retain control thru '20 but a win by Pelosi and Schumer is hardly going to effect any more change than a reversion to Clinton/Obama or whatever form that takes next.
2
So now we know why the Republicans are so complacent about Trump and his lack of any behavior remotely presidential. They want to be the only ones who have any power...they want to be the only party, the only ones who have wealth, the only ones who make the policies that fatten their wallets at the expense of the welfare of the American people. They could care less if our Democracy goes down the tubes. As long as they support Trump, they can assure that his deluded base will support him, that Putin will continue to meddle in the election in favor of the Republican party, and that any organization or institution that tries to hold Trump accountable will be first stifled then eliminated. Just look at the incompetent and corrupt people he has put in cabinet positions - DeVoss, Carson, Pruitt, Mnuchin, and the list goes on and on. None of these people are bastions of morality and credibility. There have been so many references to "frogs being boiled slowly" or "chickens plucked one feather at a time" until they do not know they are being served up as someone's meal. Hopefully, there are enough people left who don't want to end up like Poland or Hungary and who can get out and vote to keep our Democracy in November.
5
The United States has been a White WASP-supremisist society since the constitution institutionalized the “3/5 rule” giving states 3/5 credit for their African slaves for census purposes.
White nationalism has been just beneath the surface for our entire history. Periodically it surfaces in anti-Ethnic and religious suppression, , anti-immigrant fervor, and all the gerrymandering, election frauds and states rights constitutionalism that seek to keep a white majority in power.
Trump and the current Republican party are just the current iteration of a shameful partof the American character that has been present since the creation.
4
@Thomas
Census purposes were not the main reason for the 3/5 rule, the Electoral College was. The rule appropriated the slave states with more political power than they deserved based on their number of free citizens. The Electoral College should have been scrapped after the Civil War. It is a continuing stain and the most awful remnant of our slave holder history.
It's time to start talking about Partition.
What would happen if journalists who believe in love, truth, and justice joined forces and countered Fox Fake News, Right Wing talk shows, and the Republican disinformation and fear-mongering strategies with a powerful campaign of reporting only the good things that are happening on the planet and writing opinion pieces full of hope? Would humanity eventually be swayed to overcome its dark side and truly manifest its full positive potential? Such journalists might be accused of being in denial and disseminating fake news (even though good things can be true), but such positive brain-washing just might save the world. Perhaps bad stuff might peter out if nobody paid any attention to it?
Oops. I forgot. It's all about money. Media companies have to make money. Even "progressive” journalists like Paul Krugman have to focus on everything bad, imagine worse-case scenarios, and promulgate fear to get people to read or listen to the news at all.
1
In my opinion you are 100% spot on. So much so, that I recommended my friends in Poland read it.
1
America 2018 could end up to be Germany of 1932. Remember, Never Again should we lose our freedom..
2
Chill. This too shall pass.
You can not take Trump's gross disgusting character and magically transfer it across the entire nation or even those who may have voted for him (remember the other choice? ugh!) in the presidential election. It doesn't matter how many words or columns you write in this regard because we are just not as bad as you describe. Maybe instead of visiting Denmark and wherever else you went this summer you should come out here to Hawaii. You will see the most ethnically and racially diverse population in the country where the color white barely exists and certainly holds no special sway. People who are helping their neighbors through another natural disaster this summer. Honestly I don't think we're that special because, at the ground level, if you could ever find yourself there, people are much better than you describe. You just need to get out of NY more.
2
Maybe this country deserves Civil War v2.0. In contrast to Lincoln, Donald would be the leader of the Segregationist and Confederacy. But I have faith in Mr. Mueller who will straighten it out this bad situation and avert the above.
@Uly There's not going to be a civil war. The South gave in after Kennedy sent in the national guard in Mississippi. Despite its red colors, many southerners (and others) have certainly progressed since then. This progression will accelerate as people over 50 die off.
I often agree Mr Krugman’s astute observations but not entirely here
Though cheeze doodle may skate on Federal charges here’s what we can look forward to:
1 ny state tax and criminal charges
Tax evasion and money laundering
NO MATTER WHO CONTROLS CONGRESS
Nothing says that NYState cannot indict a sitting president
2 the business failures that will inevitably follow this indictment
He’s not terribly successful now so perhaps a 7th bankruptcy filing?
3 the trump family grifters getting outfitted for 2 sets of jump suits federal and state
4 singing of a massive choir...call them the flip birds leading to more charges
5 disbarments for cooperating members of Congress by the state bar associations they belong to
6 the unveiling of the famous wuss tax returns and the international embarrassment it will cause.
7 the end of the GOP as we know it
That’s an awfully good start
3
I think we should blame the current state of affairs not just on racist, white supremacist attitudes, but also on a complete disregard for justice, particularly when that justice is meted out (or not, as the case may be) against people of means.
What I'm getting at is this: had more bankers gone to jail in the aftermath of the 2008 crash, and had more banks been broken up as punishment for their considerable criminal behavior, the GOP would not have become as brazen in their consolidation of power as they currently are. The choice of Trump as POTUS aside, power at all costs has allowed the Republicans to deny Obama a Supreme Court nominee with nary a regret. They have willfully looked the other way on gun control despite horrific mass shootings on nearly a daily basis. They, as Mr. Krugman points out, have zero problems with making it harder, if not impossible, for people of color to vote. All of this has intensified since the crash when they saw these very powerful men get away with what was, for all intents and purposes, a slap on the wrist.
We cannot, as citizens, allow misdeeds to go unpunished, particularly ones that harmed so many ordinary Americans. We cannot allow back room deals and settlements take the place of sending a real message to others who believe the law does not apply to them.
Perhaps a general strike of workers of all types across the nation might send a message our lawmakers refuse to receive.
2
No way white Nationalist rule this country. His fans are just more vocal. Need I remind you it was said a black man could not win? Not only did he win, he did it again. But he received less votes second time around. Trump cannot afford to get less votes. He can not afford the people who did not vote who would have voted against him voting next time. And they will come in droves. I am naive enough and have a strong faith that good wins over evil. That there are enough good people left who will stop this man. People who want more and should have it of their country. I saw an article that said that American patriotism was down to ONLY 52%. People are lamenting about it. In Great Britain they are at 8%, France and Germany are both at 5%. No country in the world comes close to us. And we were higher than that! That is something to be proud of. But on the other hand it means we only think of ourselves. Question to the Trump fans: In Trump's America if something catastrophic happens and we have to run to another country for help or evacuation, where are we going to run to? Canada? Mexico? Who is going to help us? Trump and the GOP are burning so many bridges we will be the ones who fall. We are a great country huh? The most powerful in the world? Ask Rome, Greece, Great Britain, Egypt about how long "GREAT" countries with "GREAT" leaders who oppress others last. I did not see anyone come to help them. No one will help us.
1
To be a parlor socialist in the old days (thirty years ago) meant having to listen in those parlors to what became the tired debate over whether it was racism or class warfare that had poisoned our democracy. The "true" left would never concede that here in the U.S. racism trumped class conflict, a view seen as a heresy. I was always one such heretic. For me, the greatest freedom fought for by the colonists was the freedom to keep their slaves and with their slaves--at least for the richest among them--the romance of believing that they were the heirs to the legacy of Athens and Rome. (Thus, in the capital of the old confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, a mini-Parthenon was erected on a hill top for all to look up to.) With the exception of the wage slavery that came to be imposed on Northern workers of all colors with the dawn of industrialization, every significant event in the nation bore the hallmarks of a new breed that was the New World's contribution to history, a breed who believed that the vast oceans protected them from the disapproving eyes of their ancestors as they kept in bondage millions of those who were eventually--at the cost of incredible bloodshed--made citizens because of their skin color or physiognomy.
1
The most pervasive force in the universe will destroy America. Entropy.
2
I already know where this is all going. As soon as I retire (less than 8 years left), I'm leaving.
Assuming I'm still alive to leave, that is.
1
@Alexandra You're leaving S Korea? Where are you going to go?
It seems clear that a decisive majority of the American electorate, from both the left and the right of the ideological spectrum, are certain that our political & social order are absolutely immune from the instability that has devastated other advanced societies.
Even a cursory reading of history would quickly disabuse our citizenry of the illusions they are relying on to avoid taking action to preserve democracy in the United States. Apparently pretending "it can't happen here" is far more important than spending a few minutes to reconsider their lazy political prejudices. Consider the violence, the economic devastation and the loss of life that inevitably accompany the loss of political stability when the level of latent hostility is not constrained by timely democratic intervention.
The events that we are witnessing all around us lead us down that path. We are wasting the time & energy that we need to address our political problems and to reverse that trajectory.
4
We find ourselves in an apparent inextricable mess. The consolidation and abuse of political power on the part of Republicans is just a slice of the problem, albeit a big portion. We find ourselves is a situation where the American people, regardless of political ideologies, are no longer being represented by their government, and we can't just blame Republicans for the moribund state of our cherished democratic principles. We've allowed our government to be bought off by organizations, corporations, wealthy individuals, and other financially powerful entities, all driven by their own self interests. It's the way we fund our campaigns, and this allows money to dictate the policy decisions that are shaping this country, policies that are too often designed by lobbyists and special interests, and contrary to the best interests of the general American population.
Unless this problem is addressed, if we manage to survive the current Republican fueled crises, the triumph will be short lived. Moneyed interests we continue controlling our government, regardless of which Party is in control, and the American people will continue to suffer.
7
The history of racial struggle in America has shifted into a new era. For most of American history, white people claimed a monopoly on American society. American society was white society, it was very hard for a non-white to enter this society because they would be indelibly marked as an outsider, never really fitting in even if they were eventually "allowed" inside it. This monopoly has finally started to crumble. The demographics shift, and the gradual, painfully slow rebalancing of political power away from white men (who still own the vast majority of it), and also the continued efforts of anti-racism groups to raise awareness of the plight of oppressed people, has finally had an effect on the white majority. It's just not the one that was hoped for.
Previously, white Americans took it for granted that American society and culture reflected their values, now they are aware that this is not a natural phenomenon, it is a result of a racial hegemony maintained by coercive forces. Rather than making a majority of white people sympathetic to those who have been subjected to the tyranny of white hegemony for generations, it has made them anxious of losing their dominant position.
This is the ultimate result of identity politics: whites now see themselves as part of the racial landscape rather than apart from it. Racial equality is no longer just a "black issue", it's a white issue now, too, but not in the way that anti-racism groups have pushed it. They see it as a threat.
1
The juggernaut has been gaining momentum for decades now. It is not going to stop until...well...something drastic happens. By then it won't matter.
3
Krugman observes that Collins and Graham and the rest of the once thought reasonable Republicans became . . . well, just Republicans who "Faced with undeniable evidence of Trump’s thuggishness . . . closed ranks around him more tightly than ever." And, in response, too many have almost childishly hidden from the reality based on the belief, as Krugman observes, that "it can't happen here," the response often has been some sort of hope in a deus ex machina in the the Mueller investigations.
But, we already know that the Republicans, with their Russian allies and Fox News state propaganda machine will be hard at work in making voting function as well as it did in 2016. Sadly we're in one more of those junctures in our democracy that preserving it requires the sorts of hard edged out in front, sometimes bloody battles that preserved the union under Lincoln, led to women's suffrage, saved us from fascism and led to workers' rights under Roosevelt, created civil and voting rights under Johnson and a list of other "on-the-street" sacrifices.
Perhaps in our favor, the forces of reactionary resistance are often being led by the descendants of the forces of past reaction. So, the battle tactics are known. Of course each new generation needs to be prepared to, yes vote, but, more importantly take to whatever the streets are today to defend our diversity of the world's best ideas in opposition to the disabling bigotries that have become the heart of a decayed Republicanism.
6
The most powerful nation in the world never seems to hold that title very long. The United States has the most successful economy, by far the most powerful military, and a political and legal system that has stood the test time. So what is going wrong? Thomas Friedman summed it up today with 2 words- "MORAL VACUUM". History informs us that is what starts a nation #1 down the path to failure. It is happening before our eyes. It did not start with this president, but he has quickened the pace. It is now deep seated in our Republican Congress, and is spreading among many statehouses. It is soon to infect the Supreme Court. So here we are, the best of the best, on the way down - unless the mid-terms come to the rescue, stop the bloodshed, and set the start of an upward movement.
3
Contrary to protests by President Obama that "This is not who we are," this IS who we are. Voters who will influence our forthcoming elections inform themselves at check-out counters. The Trump administration and his fellow cons understand who we are and exploit who we are.
3
I thoroughly enjoy Prof. Krugman's insights and opinions. But stating that the US is the birthplace of democracy is disingenuous at best.
5
I don't see any solutions here, just hysteria, which makes sense when the whole situation is chalked up to racism and white nationalism--a gross, yet calculated, oversimplification.
Sadly, I see four more years and a Trump re-election, and it isn't because we are becoming Poland or Hungary, which were poor comparisons for starters. There is a need to protect American interests.
Income inequality and the shrinking middle class are not myths. They impact whites, who have enjoyed greater economic prosperity, more severely, so of course they are going to complain, but their loss is also a loss to minorities and immigrants who aspire to their standard of living. I don't think this is Trump's true goal, but he is speaking to concerns while Dems remain silent or say dumb things like, "America was never all that great."
5
Dr. Krugman; you are wrong. It has already happened here. The Confederacy has finally won the Civil War and the United States we knew is dead, (and it was rarely united). Racial and religious hatred is barely disguised, and since the opponents of such policies are highly concentrated in very few districts, the coming elections are not likely to change anything. I was born when Coolidge was president and I have never been as afraid as I am now.
10
Why are these republicans not true statesmen? Do they consistently have to cheat ? Are they all that unethical? Since we came to this state each year they have been stopped by the courts from gerrymandering. They will not stop. They don’t understand “No Means No!” They can’t stand on their own, they depend on donors, and trying to rig the system. Everything but the honest, patriotic way. Shame comes to those who don’t serve this country but themselves.
1
As always, Paul Krugman, you've described it perfectly. It's likely that these Republican supporters will lead to interracial war in this country. I disagree with Max below. Having been reared in the South, I can tell you that 'most ordinary whites' want to deport all Black people; I don't know their ideas about other races; but their hate is NOT just related to immigration. They would, all of them who come from immigrants, deport North American Indians as well. And isn't that ironic and the height of hypocrisy? Every one of their ancestors, in the beginning, wanted to re-create their homelands but, over time, assimilation prevailed. And so called 'white Americans' enjoy many aspect of those immigrant cultures - food, music, loyalty to family, etc.
What I cannot fathom is their reactions based on skin color or eye shape or texture of hair - all attributes that not a single one of us can choose.
4
Paul,
You missed the growing, unchecked, power of the executive. This has been an issue since TR, and we should have nipped it off with Nixon, but it has been a problem regardless of which party sits in the White House. Obama, if you will recall, let the FBI bug Senator's computers, let them investigate reporters --- including Times reporters, and persecute deemed troublemakers --- like Anonymous and the Occupy Movement. When you give elected officials, even timid ones like Obama, godlike powers they become corrupted. Obama actually allowed parents of ISIS kidnap victims be threatened if they interfered with his foreign policy.
No, this problem is owned by both the establishment Democrats and the fascists who now run the Republican party.
2
It's really amazing, watching "leftists," hurl insults and make stuff up with all the happy ignorance of the Trumpists they claim to despise. I figure it's all by way of coming up with yet another alibi for not voting yet again, but I really think you folks should just get a room.
@Robert,
Proud leftist --- I earned it honestly. I started out as a Nixon supporter. As a part-time journalist, in addition to a practicing engineer, I am scrupulous about my information. I research this information, and as much as it is possible, I deal strictly in facts or best information, when it comes to science and math.
As for voting, I have voted in every election and campaigned for many Democrats. I stopped supporting Republicans after Reagan. You see, my military career was ruined by the politics of Reagan's administration.
If you are indeed a Trump supporter, I find it amazing that you cling to him despite unbridled corruption and pandering to the oligarchs. Do you really understand the contempt that he, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Devin Nunes, and other conservatives really have for the working class and the middle class?
You need some time to think about what I've written. Remember the words of a great patriot, Mark Felt, AKA, "Deep Throat:"
"Follow the money."
"How did one of the most industrially and culturally advanced nations in the world embark on and continue along the path leading to one of the most enormous criminal enterprises in history?"
Refer to "Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1933-1945", the formidable sum by Saul Friedländer (HarperCollins). It shows how "white nationalism" could drive ANY country - its population and its institutions, public and private - crazy or complacent or criminal, or all of it, well beyond it's too late.
And it's terrifying because you see no reason why it couldn't happen again and many signs that we, globally, are not prepared to face the facts and do what's needed to prevent it.
1
2/3 of the country didn’t see it coming: the bared fangs of White Makes Right rule. We still stumble to name it on a daily basis. But that vicious predator was so easy for the oligarchs to sic upon us. It’s diabolically clever: even if we ever come to terms with the racism, that is still only the veneer over the real goal of the political opportunists who prop up Republicans in Congress — money and power unsurpassed since the Gilded Age. The MAGA dupes can’t even comprehend the corruption disguised as naked racism.
1
A very observant Polish friend who emigrated here in 1989 after a life stifled by Communism, including imprisonment following the “roundup” in 1981, predicted the end of democracy in America when Trump was elected.
Paul Krugman a month later, ended a talk at the New York Public Library with: “We may be doomed. Resist.”
Trump and climate change: a deadly combination with greedy, cowardly Republican support.
1
By the way, the picture that accompanies the piece reminds me of stills from Leni Riefenstahl. And, the girl in the front is another version of the blond and blue eyed Teutonic youth in Fosse's Cabaret. The one singing in some beer garden with his beautiful face and voice charming the movie-goers until the camera goes lower and shows his Nazi-youth uniform.
Good work by the photography editor. Thank you.
2
I have come to think of you as “Casandra” Krugman after reading you pieces over the past two years. Maybe you should get out and spend some time with everyday Americans and you will find the country is in excellent shape. Sure, Trump is a blowhard but so have been many other leaders. We have a great, resilient country that has some problems, it’s just that our problems are not so great we cannot overcome them.
8
Paul Krugman’s editorial is not as far-fetched as some people may think. There are elements of a neofascist modus operendi that have already taken hold of the country courtesy of Donald Trump and his cronies in the House and the Senate. In the 1930s when Hitler and Mussolini came into power ,the first thing they did was to discredit and delegitimize the media . The second thing that they did was to persecute immigrants and to limit the flow of immigration into their countries. Sound familiar? Joseph Goebbels believed that if a lie was told enough times people would begin to believe it is the truth. Remember Rudy Giuliani’s comment of
“truth isn’t truth” ? Or how about the countless lies that President Trump has told in the first 20 months of his presidency ?
There is ample reason to believe that respectable individuals who have served the government like John McCain and John Brennan were speaking out not for political reasons but for humanitarian reasons. They are voices who are yearning to be heard in the name of preserving what remains of the integrity of our country.
And when the walls do finally close in , those senators like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell may be considered the equivalent of accomplices after the fact who aided and abetted an attempt by the President to undermine the foundations of our democracy.
2
Ah, how we fought to restore independence from demonic Soviet control over such bastions of freedom as Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic states. Now, in a rare moment of candor, one of the most mild mannered of the Times correspondents lets loose the suggestion that all the USSR could accomplish after the end of the war against Nazi Germany was the equivalent of herding cats, the backwater states of the old empires thirsty to reacquire the freedom to indulge their ancient prejudices.
Generally I don't read Paul Krugman. The American spy who did it in Russia (he bragged to me) for 17 years overlooked the fact that Krugman is likely a plant and he goes to too many parties on Long Island. Regardless of that this particular opinion piece is neat. When the old white (and I'm both) people die out (that will happen to me since I'm nearly 70 and a male who has cancer...) things might change. It's NOT about "landed class" or anything like that and democracy is NOT the be-all and end-all of what's available. Certainly fascism, totalitarianism, and laissez-faire capitalism aren't it either (what? did we really think that putting thousands of tons of lead into the atmosphere in the last century was going to have no effect?) Finally, institue birth control (is there any lack of camera-phone toting people anywhere?) and balance things out. Or is it really an infinite planet? I've got mine. Sorry about you and your family... Just kidding.
I look at these faces in horror.
2
"But why is America, the birthplace of democracy ..."
No, it isn't. Athens has the honor.
And, more melodrama from Mr. Krugman. It's not the end of the world. The two parties, neither a commune of virtuous individuals, have been at each others throats long before Trump became President and will remain so long after he has departed the scene.
The rise of the right in Europe is a reaction primarily to unfettered immigration. As it is in the US. To decry one without recognizing the other is disingenuous.
5
@ExpatSam: Both these parties are shams funded by people who thrive on their paralysis of each other.
1
Mr Krugman, the comment about European countries reverting to their natural inclination, fascism, is very relevant to what is happening in the US. Trump did not invent white supremacy, or the racism that fuels it, or xenophobia, or isolationism. The US fought a Civil War about the first two, and two US presidents had to finesse their way around the other two to fight two World wars. The US is theonly major country I know of in which creationism is considered a viable educational option, the only other countries I've heard of in which that happens are Islamic countries. Religious fanaticism is another aspect of the mindset that detests liberalism, love of freedom, and all other requirements of true democracy.
In the XIXth century the US was divided between 2 visions of itself and the world. They remain as alive and opposed now as they were then. What you fear may happen in the US will not be because of Trump, but because of America's own history, unless heavily edited.
3
This is funny, because I've been worrying that our (Polish that is) society is becoming more and more like the American one with its sharp divisions and political triblalism. But certainly Mr. Krugman is right that the disruption to the still forming, imperfect and fragile institutional order in Poland is very alarming. It would just add much more to his own credibility as a commentator and scholar if he didn't claim that freedom of press has been supressed here. It hasn't been a bit. (I don't know about Hungary). I also think that restraining from "jokes" which display some amount of condescending ignorance would make his commentary better off too.
7
I think we put too much faith in "democracy" and too little concern about values and ideals. Democracy is similar to freedom of religion. Everyone can pick the party of their choice regardless of the values and ideals of their choice (except for "outlawed" parties). Democracy picks winners and loosers, And not necessarily a set of values and and ideals that will be of benefit to the nation, state, city etc.
The Republican Party is much more concerned with metastasizing it's corrupt notions of governing than the quality of life for the the population as a whole. The party is particularly good at using democracy to accomplish this. Today's column lays it out perfectly. (Also raises the thought that the Party may be acting more as a religion, morally based on the divine rectitude of racism.)
2
The danger of our country sliding into fascism is very real. We have people who want the president to have the power to close down news outlets if they're "bad". Bad amounts to being critical of the current administration. It would take a constitutional amendment to give him this power since freedom of the press is enshrined in the first amendment. Wannabe dictators seem to have a formula; demonize some group as being subhuman, check; muzzle the press, see above: begin to whittle away the rights of the people; get the wealthy on your side, check and begin to open prisons or camps for those who are considered subhuman, children being separated from parents and put into buildings that were as good as prison, ring any bells? Grant the executive of the country more power than they've ever had before. It happened in Germany and Italy and it's happening in Poland and Hungary. We are not immune, especially with the amount of hatred in the country. If we don't do something to stop the trajectory of our country it will happen here.
2
What kind of person does Trump appeal to ? I recently learned within my own family. She's white, late 40s, affluent and lives in Texas. This woman is pleasant, attractive and personable. She's also apparently lives in fear of what Dr. Krugman calls The Other. My relative recently posted a genuinely terrified social media plea for what to do about her daughter who is going back to college. She'd read and heard about human trafficking in the Texas college town where her kid will be living. She is afraid for her daughter to go to Wal Mart. The daughter is a perfectly capable adult who fits none of the recognized profiles for being a victim of human traffickers. The GOP has used fear for generations to win votes and Trump is a master of hate and fear.
149
@Doug Hillmmy
my guess is that your friend:
has no black neighbors or good friends; doesn't work with peers who speak a different first language or who are a different color; doesn't think she knows any gay people; has rarely if ever traveled abroad (american cruise lines don't count); firmly believes in a white male god; gets her "news" from Fox.
2
For all his obvious faults, Jefferson foresaw and wrote clearly about the required costs of maintaining a democratic republic (his "tree of liberty") and that the cost would involve the expenditure of "...the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
4
To those that say the Dems are a bunch of spoiled whining sore losers...
There is a lot more than coincidence in the thread connecting Krugman’s warning about fascism and Rudy Giuliani’s threat of retaliation against Democrat’s should they try to impeach Trump for his criminality.
1
Mister Krugman, you are criticizing these countries because they refuse economical migrants to enter their territory.
A vast majority of European citizen categorically refuse immigration. Only a few minority of journalists and lobbies support it.
Yet in these two countries, journalists do not belong to a globalized establishment and therefor do not lie about "refugees".
This is the reason why you hate these contries. moreover, Israel also refuse "refugees" and even colonise another country, yet you do not criticize them.
8
@Baptiste...."Mister Krugman, you are criticizing these countries because they refuse economical migrants to enter their territory."...….Do you understand the art of being a demagogue? You tell people something that contains an unassailable element of truth; and then you sell them a distorted version of that truth that feeds their darker angels. In the end you convince them that you alone are their savior. And you build a wall, block Muslim immigration, trash the press, create division, under cut the justice system, and eliminate anyone who is disloyal and especially if they are educated. Some people never wake up until it is too late.
2
Mr. Krugman, you ended your op ed with a blatant lie, and this is why more and more people call the MSM for what it is, fake news. You wrote that *-white nationalisms run wild — that has already effectively killed democracy in some other Western nations.*
All Western nations are eurocentric and white at origin, the white nationalism is what has created them from the on set. In each of these countries, immigration from nonEuropean countries has not been brought by democratic process, hence bringing nonEuropeans in white Western countries is what effectively killed democracies in those countries.
Everyone who has studied an ounce of history and geography and political science knows this!
6
Every photo from every Trump-cult revival meeting shows the exact same sea of pasty white, well-fed faces with the exact same adoring puppy-dog eyes, staring with absolute devotion at their leader. No rationality, no doubts, no iota of self-awareness in any of those bland faces at any of those rallies. They are openly & blindly worshipping a criminal real-estate cheat & wanna-be Putin. They would gladly commit any crime for him, or allow him to commit any crime.
Since all these photos are basically identical, the media might as well save itself some trouble & print a single stock photo from any Trump rally since 2016. Choose just one, keep it on file, & use as needed. No need to waste the time or effort to snap any more photos; the face of stupidity & passive adulation never changes.
6
I have always viewed the transition of the US to a white minority country as a triumph for our democratic values, rarely if ever equaled in history. I now fear that those values may not survive the event. I pray that the Devine Luck which has guided the nation through past existential crisis holds firm.
Register!
Vote!
Resist!
3
Why it “can” happen? More like why it IS happening.
“We are going to fulfill the promises of donald trump,” said the former leader of the KKK. and the president of the United States smiled and nodded and called them fine people. And Mitch McConnell and Jeff sessions smiled and nodded. And the rest of the “party of Lincoln” stayed functionally mute. If Dems lose this fall, we already know where this is headed.
3
Professor Krugman ... allow a suggestion. Take a couple of deep breaths, and go out and see a humorous, upbeat movie. Maybe something like " Rich Crazy Asians "
4
"Racial resentment" seemed to me like what drove Germans to vote for Hitlers. Now, it's our turn.
2
I am 71 yrs old and it is quite possible my lifespan is also the lifespan of America's golden age. We had just won the big war and when Ike got to the White House he was determined to build the interstate highway system. The U.S. also wanted its returning veterans to get a college education on the government's tab. To get the money to pay for it they taxed the people who had the money, a 90%+ top rate, which sounds awful high, yet somehow people were still able to become. The average worker was also doing well, thanks in great part to the rise in unions. Auto workers were able to buy new cars themselves to drive to their new homes in the suburbs. We were also finally making some progress in civil rights starting with Brown leading to LBJ's civil rights bills. It was a tough road for civil rights, but we were at least heading in the right direction. What happened? Apparently some people can't stand it if people they feel should be below them do as well or better than they are doing. Mix in out and out greed, for money of course but even more for power, and here we are. Sad. Now it is up to the American voters. Sad.
11
The Constitution will not save our country. "Institutions" and "norms" will not save our country. Congress will not save our country. Not even Bob Mueller will save our country. The only ones who can save our country are voters. Take some time out of your busy life to learn about the issues and candidates and VOTE (make sure you're registered!). Get out there and talk to your friends and family, or better yet, knock on some doors for candidates you're excited about. Phone bank, text bank, march in parades, donate to campaigns. Democracy is hard work.
7
I would not have believed what appears to be happening in the United States could happen here but now realize that that belief was my naivety.
4
The fact that the Republican Party has all.owed itself, in the name of expediency and racism, to be co-opted by anti-democratic forces willing, and even eager to trash democracy in order to return America to a white dominated ethnocratic plutocracy is no secret. Like all authoritarian movements, they understand one language only, force. As long as they think they can get away with breaking the rules, they will. It is therefore up to us, the dedicated democrats, irrespective of whether we are liberal, moderate or conservative to disabuse them of this notion. If this means we have to resort to appropriate measured violence, so be it, better a democracy preserved by force and bloodshed than a peaceful tranquil autocracy where all dissent and resistance has been crushed, by lawful government force of course.
We need to start preparing for the day where secession is the only option to ensure we continue to live in a democracy. Clinton and Obama should start using their access to other like minded Western leaders to ensure we will have the support we need the day we secede. The deep Blue areas can successfully secede, if it has been well planned in advance. We have a very friendly neighbor to the north, who is a NATO member.
In states where it seems voter suppression will be successful, robbing us of rightful victories, we should, ahead of the 2020 elections and census initiate mass relocations of minorities to Blue states, where their vote will count.
2
There is the possibility that American voters can somehow overcome Republican money, gerrymandering and other tactics, and begin moving the ball back to the center. Who could be happy about living in a giant version of what South Africa was some years ago?
1
It’s understandable that this essay focuses on the Republicans, but it overlooks the criminal passivity exhibited by the Obama administration, which laid the foundation for the assault on democracy.
Obama gave immunity to CIA torturers, he prosecuted more journalists for purported leaks than all other administrations put together, he failed to close Guantanamo and was lackluster in his duty to strengthen the Democratic Party.
Brennan’s tenure as CIA Director was recently called impeccable. Was Libya impeccable? How about Syria? Crimea? When our allies warned us in 2015 that Russia planned to interfere in our elections, we were too busy kowtowing to do anything about it. The interference caught us by surprise and the results can be laid at the feet of the former CIA Director.
Both parties conduct themselves like gangs warring over turf. The needs of Americans and our global leadership are lost in the crossfire. Strong language, true, but why fear strong language if it’s accurate? Where will we get with moral squeamishness? I heard one commentator justly lambast Trump for his dishonor of Senator McCain then apologize for strong language.
It is strong language, girded by impartiality, that might compel the changes necessary to confront bipartisan corruption and restore integrity to public service.
67
@Cecelie Berry
Ms Berry, please. Kowtowing to the Russians? And Trump isn’t?
Most people wonder exactly what leverage the Russians have on the president to explain his kid glove treatment of the Putin criminal state.
Obama was in a tough spot with his party’s presidential nominee leading in most polls and the Republicans incessantly talking about a rigged election. He was in a no win situation.
I have lost all respect for the Republican leadership given their complicity in taking our country to the bottom. They seem only interested in serving the needs of their monied owners.
Truly dark days for our republic.
2
Just so's ya know, a Republican Congress--you know, the one you helped vote in--attached legislation barring emptying Guantanamo to a large Bill that Obama pretty much had to sign.
I really dislike willful ignorance, not to mention the self-righteousness that justifies the passivity of not voting.
3
@Cecelie Berry...."he failed to close Guantanamo"....Only because he failed to have the Congressional support required to do so.
2
Nobody writes better than Paul Krugman. Still, what Mr. Krugman is claiming is bit extreme and far fetched. I still scratch my head that Americans voted for Trump in 2016 but to say that US is going turn into Fascist state like Italy in 1930's and 40's is too much. I like to give Americans a little bit of credit and they will vote for candidate based on merit. My take on Americans voting for Trump in 2016 has more to do with their dislike for Hillary Clinton and her beltway insider mindset. Trump was elected due to the fact that he was more of Washington outsider than HRC was. I'm happy Hillary lost but now quite concerned that Trump is the president. But to say that US can be fascist state isn't giving the Americans proper credit. I don't think we are there yet.
27
But yet here we are! If, as Krugman says, the GOP becomes the mainstream, it’s all over because the fat lady would have finished her song her last song. Democracy dies, not in the darkness, but at the voting booth on November 6, 2018.
1
@Luckycharms
I like your optimism. I really, really like it. I need to believe you will be right.
1
@Luckycharms
"I'm happy Hillary lost but now quite concerned that Trump is the president."
File this right alongside brilliant opinions such as:
"I vote Republican because they are opposed to and intend to dismantle the welfare state."
- Food stamp/ACA/Medicare beneficiaries from Red States
"The economy is better under Republican presidents."
- Everyone who believes the economy responds immediately to the change in the Executive and discounts the notion that economic policies take years to have a real effect on the overall economy.
This sort of thinking (and consequent voting) is why we are in this mess in the first place. People need to think! Alas, our Department of Education will ensure that our populace remains incapable of doing so. Just as Republicans (and many Democrats) would like.
3
The appropriate comparison is with Italy's Berlusconi. How can the Italian people support this man? What does he represent to them as a figure? And what buttons does he push to mobilize support? To me Berlusconi was incomprehensible. Trump is even more. I just cannot understand how this incompetent buffoon has been able to consolidate so much power. I thought he would not have lasted a year in the White House. That is what academics in different fields should be analyzing. It is the figure (and what he and his family "symbolize" for the public), the party dynamics and how they have helped him, the agenda and the public, the media, the opposition (and its failures to stop this). All needs deep study from political scientists, cultural studies analysts, social scientists (including social psychologists), and media analysts. And all this proto-fascism has a "domino effects" (remember that theory?). Perhaps we need good civics education classes back in high schools too.
4
The disease is white nationalism on a 1/3 of the population and mental illness on the part of the Great Leader .
We should not be ashamed about the first part of the equation . There is not reason to think that we would be inmune to the siren songs of a demagogue . Trump will say whatever it takes to win . He doesn`t have any empathy for the working class white male or the owner of a small business . People vote for those that say they are going to help them and not necessarily for those that actually help them . Remember those that expended thousands of dollars to attend courses at Trump University . Add to that that it is easier to blame others for your own shortcomings and that social change causes anxiety . There are other elections coming , and people , after realizing they were conned, will vote following their self interest . Democracy is self correcting . The second part of the equation , the one about mental illness , actually gives me hope . To be a successful autocrat you need to have a certain amount of self control and cunning . That is lacking in this clown . If he was a mafia boss he would be in hot water with the other bosses . He is self destructing in front of the TV cameras . Eventually it will be too much even for the GOP politicians and any citizen with an ounce of sanity .
3
A tsunami of votes will sweep out these criminals in November.
If Trump refuses to go peacefully he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
2
Not everyone who supports Trump is White Supremacist. Don't overlook the religious fundamentalists and Male Supremacists (which includes a significant number of women). Some combination of these three factors is at work wherever democracy is under threat, and overlooking the other two legs of the tripod is a huge mistake.
2
Think of is this way. If you advocate for democracy and freely express your views and think the current republican administration is a travesty you may someday wind up in jail if you don't vote in November.
1
Fear and racism are the name of the game. What do you suppose Trump thinks when he watches the film Mississippi Burning?
No doubt he thinks that exploiting fear and loathing is a super-sweet spot for him. Sadly, he seems to be, lo and behold, correct.
2
It's astonishing that facts mean nothing to Trump supporters. I've met seemingly intelligent people who believe the most ridiculous conspiracy theories about Obama and Hillary Clinton but totally dismiss provable lies by Trump.
191
@Kathleen Kourian it is sad and disappointing on a variety of levels. It is hard not to conclude that destroying objective truth has been one of their goals for a long time.
If someone accepts this, they are helpless to determine what is correct or false, but at the mercy of manipulative emotional appeals to the 'feeling' of truth. I suppose that is how they wanted it, but it is hard not to draw a line from that to a broader concerted effort to undermine democracy itself.
3
Dr. Krugman,
If you are going to cite examples to prove your thesis, it helps to pick instances which support your case. Despite what you might have heard from others, citing Poland to illustrate your claims only shows that you and your advisers know very little about the country. My advice would be that you go to Poland and see for yourself what the political situation there is like.
Before you go, here are some helpful tips: 1. regarding suppressed freedom of the press: have someone list for you news outlets which support the opposition vs those which favor the government; 2. find one single example where dissent was suppressed or made illegal; 3. re fascism-this was what Stalin called all those who opposed communism in 1940s; post communists do it now; 4. on institutionalized corruption: check out the ABER GOLD scandal and the scale of the VAT cheating (in this connection, look at the Global Financial Integrity Repost for 2004-2013, Helsinki), all under your "liberal" PO government; 5. on one party rule and democracy is dead under the Law and Justice rule: you are in luck, the election season for local governments and, after that, national parliament has just begun. Visit Poland, Dr. Krugman, and observe first hand how the Polish "illiberal," "fascist" democracy really works.
You know economics, I spent my entire career teaching international politics, and we both know that on site case study is the source of the most dependable evidence. Have a good trip, Paul
3
“ … Study after study has found that racial resentment, not economic distress, drove Trump voters.”
Has anyone looked at the biases of the social scientists who designed these studies? Isn’t it possible to design a social science study that will find a correlation between almost any 2 items, no matter what the items are? And, we are told over and over again, that finding a correlation between 2 items does not prove causation or even show that they are related.
If we accept Krugman’s assertion that racial resentment is what drove Trump voters, then we won’t bother to look any deeper to see what the motivators might be. We will not have to recognize that taxpayers are spending a whole lot of money on those who have come her illegally while spending little to help our own needy citizens … the ones who have trouble making a living in today’s economy, the ones who are addicted to drugs, the ones who, in increasing numbers, are committing suicide, and so on.
In pretending that it is racial prejudice that drives Trump’s supporters, we shield ourselves from having to look beyond this dubious assertion. (And we ignore the fact that many Trump supporters had previously voted for Obama.)
5
The number of constituents that is represented by gop members
of House and Senate is a shockingly low percentage of the total population.It is the outcome of a completely outdated political infrastructure that is falling appart more, every day with Trump at the helm.
Gop politicians cling to a bridge that is so totally undermined by the rust of hubris that none of them dare to cross it without fear of losing their political lives.
More than anything we need a major overhaul of our political infrastructure, so that voters once again get a sense that their votes mean something.
Abolishing the Electoral College should be a priority.
3
@Pieter Want to start with CA moving to a proportional system?
2
The Republican party has to be reined in and punished. The current GOP politicians have put party power in front of everything: country, Constitution, people. The only way this gets checked is for the party to lose at the ballot box at a significant scale. No one, including this registered Democrat, would say that Democrats are the perfect solution and have great answers. I'm exasperated with Democratic leadership myself. But, if you are a disgruntled, disturbed, patriotic Republican, you have to hold your nose and vote against the party this election cycle. It's not enough to just say it and feel better. The party itself needs to be checked for the long term health of this country.
4
I agree that white racist feeling is much more responsible for Trump's support than economic factors all by themselves, but I don't believe that it's possible entirely to disambiguate the relationships between those things. Millions of white people continue to associate black people with the poverty and social degradation they fear for themselves and their families. Some very smart black mayors and local politicians comprehend this and do their best to soothe white feeling and accordingly to sift out economic fears from strictly racial fears, which most white people don't have in the virulent form we associate with the Klan and the White Supremacists. Moreover, the effort of some liberals to associate "sexism" and "racism" as though are both thoroughly identical things is a blind alley, intellectually and morally. Even so, there is no question that Trump has deliberately tried to turn white people into a howling mob, and he and the Republican Party will bear the stigma of this fact for generations to come.
3
More unassailable wisdom from the man who told us on election night that the American stock markets were going to crater and "NEVER" recover.
So I have three questions for the oracle, on this day when the American markets are at historic highs:
1. Believing in your credentials, and that you'd be you would be too wise and mature to let an election loss of your favorite candidate drive you wanton stupidity, I pulled all my money out of the market as you advised. Where do I go to get my retirement back?
2. Did you take all your investments out of the American markets on election night, or have you, personally, profited from the Trump economy?
3. Why should anyone take anything seriously from someone so prone to panic and hysteria hat he'd predict a permanent collapse of the U.S. markets when they were on the verge of historic advances?
6
I implore everyone to heed Mr. Krugman. If you need an historical and dispassionate view as to why we are on the "Road to Unfreedom" read Timothy Snyder's book "The Road to Unfreedom". Mr. Snyder, a well known historian from Yale provides the critical historical context that has set us up for fascist rule
The speed of change will be interesting. Republicans are enjoying success in rolling back to not so distant chapters in American history, to shrewdly soothe emotions of frazzled Republican loyalists. Some say Trump is a cancer on the presidency. If that is true, the voter is the syrupy sugar that feeds that cancer virus. It takes two to tango, and the alt right Republican dance is far from over. If the stock market run is really now a death rattle for impending collapse lasting at least ten years, then setting up soup kitchens to feed the soon-to-be hungry masses could really bring back memories of the 1930’s.. Riots in the streets, and cries for socialist candidates will be the lasting walk down memory lane. Throw in nuclear terrorism with evacuation of entire radioactive cities, and you really get a mass migration stampede that dwarfs the Syrian refugee crisis of today. Everyone in this country thinks capitalism has to stay up and functioning, and it doesn’t. It could collapse tomorrow in the perfect storm. At this point, voters like to be manipulated by people they vote for. The question is, how long will that one last?
1
from Smoke'em If U Got'em
"Lackluster turnout by African Americans and Hispanic displayed the apathy that the Democratic party care at all about them. White suburban and rural voters, long since abandon by the party of Roosevelt threw Trump a lifeline."
Drivel, justifying the apparent outcome of 2016 elections. I believe, more and more, that no such thing happened. These are Republican party talking points, think-tanked by Putin and his cronies.
Why do any of you think Putin and the GRU--and now, we know, the Republican Party--would stop at psychographics, Cambridge Analytica, and countless bots trolling and planting fake news stories on social media, to engineer election results? Of course they did not. They have been directly tampering with election data, for years I would posit. Does anyone remember irregularities in 2004 in Ohio? Data published online shows that precincts with 400 or so registered voters went for Bush by 10,000. The same criminal election "engineering" is happening in places like Poland, Hungary, Venezuela, Great Britain, Italy, the USA... but Russia, Putin-era Russia to be exact, was the test market and where it was all invented.
THIS is the kompromat Putin holds over Trump. He is the only one throwing Trump a lifeline.
4
Vote; vote as if America depends on it. Vote Republicans out to secure Health Care; living wages and jobs. Ray Sipe
3
When I was a young mother, my mom called me up in a very agitated state to talk about what was happening in our home country of Venezuela. She was beside herself and she explained why. She said:
1. That Chavez was dismantling democracy from the inside out.
2. That Chavez had stacked the court and had just announced plans to remake the assembly and extreme his own term limit. (Previously a 6 year thing)
3. That the Cubans had infiltrated Venezuela and were spreading Russian influence via arms, tactics and gangs.
4. That there was talk about 10,000 Uzis being shipped from Russia to Venezuela to sow discontent and crime.
5. That Chavez was musing about building a Russian military base in La Orchilla Island
6. That Russia was using Cuba to get to the US in a myriad of ways--by using the Venezuelan oil industry, disrupting the democracy, causing mass exodus, and setting a foot in our hemisphere.
7. That they were hacking the elections so that there would be no more free elections.
You know what I told my mom? That she was paranoid. That there would be new elections soon and he would be voted out, and that I did not have the time to be fighting this from the US.
Biggest regret of my life.
I will never set foot in my country of origin--a country that now has been all but ceded to the narcos and the Russians. Google Rossnet/Venezuela to understand what has happened to our oil industry. Google crime and diaspora, too,
Mom was right.
I took it for granted then, but won't now.
6
I'm certain that Krugman is right (correct) and I'm certain that McCain hated that he had to leave at such a dangerous time in our history. It appears that there is no other Republican that has the backbone to confront Trump and his supporters. Where do we go from here?
3
By definition when one group controls most of the wealth and power it will lose some of it when other groups start to rise. Even if that group gained it's power historically by using slavery and then laws to prevent said slaves from being equal members of society. Put simply, some whites believe that by virtue of being white they are somehow better. This of course is ridiculous, you are only better by virtue of actually being better, not your skin color. You want to be better at school, study hard, want to be better at work, work hard and smart, want to be a better human being, admit when you are wrong, learn from it and yes make amends.
1
Racial differences are real. Go visit a physics department at a university, then check out the track team.
A picture really is worth a thousand words.
What a powerful image it is to see someone’s child, hatred in hand, beaming with adoration towards a “strong man” who sows seeds of xenophobia because it’s easier for him than governing.
Yeah, no doubt about it. It can happen here.
2
This is the most depressing piece I've read (maybe) ever.
1
Trump and his followers talk a lot about the deep state and its pernicious influence on our country and government, but it is the GOP itself which has been performing the function of the deep state for the past decades. The GOP through its series of tax cuts and stepping on every tax needed to support our government functions has systematically weakened our government to the point that it can no longer perform needed services. The military is the only exception as the GOP sees it as supporting their power grab. Trump is an outcome of the GOP's undermining of our government to the point that even our system of justice is threatened. If you want to see the deep state in action look no further than the GOP that relishes the tyranny of one party rule and the very destruction of our democracy.
We traveled in Eastern Europe in the late 90's.
Although we're American Jews our surname is not an obvious tip off. In Poland and Hungary, particularly, we were aware of something which I paraphrase this way.
"Yes, the Jews are gone and only realHungarians or Poles remain. So sad. Now, would you like to see a Death Camp or mass execution site?"
We were also that people were still confused about democratic government after German and Soviet influence. I am not surprised to see Fascism and it's necessary companion, SCAPEGOATING. back in Europe. Thank you Paul Krugman
2
Mr. Krugman, you're lauded for speaking out, and you do it frequently, however you have a penchant, you rarely listen. Indeed, you are the left wingers dream boy. The president is not racist at all, he just believes that illegal immigration is just that, illegal. Is the president anti-black? No, not really. There's no animus towards the black family living across the street from you. You know the family, well kept home, hard working. The animus is towards that part of the community, black or white, that through welfare bleeds their communities white. There's no question Mr. Krugman that you support immigration, open the flood gates and let anyone in.
4
Baloney. We are nowhere near to becoming a fascist state. You are looking at molehills and seeing mountains. There is no "unindicted co-conspirator", for example. Donald Trump has not been accused of any crime.
We are no closer to fascism than we were before the election of Donald Trump. Republicans and Democrats disagree fundamentally on a lot of things. But neither party departs from the basic principles of our nation. Fascism plays no part here.
7
@ Yuri Asian
You are correct if Trump permits the 2020 election to take place.
1
As usual the Doc, like virtually everyone from the progressive camp, paints his hysterical image from the identity politics palette, mistaking an aversion to the left's vision for America for an aversion to non-white America. Conflating and mischaracterizing a desire for reasonable, consistent enforcement of immigration law with xenophobia.. Conflating and mischaracterizing a desire for the liberty to succeed or fail on one's own merits, regardless of race, culture or gender, with racism and sexism.. You get the idea.
Articles like this are quite simply the next chapter in the progressive, activist left's playbook or, more accurately, Saul Alinsky's Rule #9.. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
The sky isn't falling, doctor, and America isn't remotely near becoming Hungary or Poland.
And by the way, there's a fine, constitutionally built-in way for you of the left to put a halt to the (non-existent) American march toward becoming another Eastern European white nationalist outpost: A Democratic Party with ideas and a platform that resonates sufficiently with the electorate and Democratic candidates capable of articulating that message in a statesmanly, electable manner.
Given the seemingly limitless anti-GOP sentiment on display here and across the full spectrum of media organs of the left one can only assume that those ideas and candidates remain elusive.
2
@MinnRick......"The sky isn't falling, doctor, and America isn't remotely near becoming Hungary or Poland.".....Then how do you explain that 40% of the public still support Trump. Seems to me we are at least 40% of the way there.
2
There are still small glimmers of hope such as the gerrymandered map of North Carolina being thrown out.
Sugarcoat it all you want. Those who aren't for Trump because they believe (wrongly, I'm afraid, unless they're part of the 1%) that he looks after their economic interests, are for him because they hear the dog-whistle of his racist appeals --- and favor them. All this "but they're not really racists" justification is a failure to accept the reality that the Republican party, and its enablers, are seeking to entrench themselves by putting their boots on the throats of racial minorities and the "other." And they have a willing and enthusiastic audience in the voters (gerrymandered) who put Trump in office.
2
Just look at the picture of Krugman and you can just see delsuion.
The guy continues to become more delusional as each year goes by. Every concern he has predicted has not come true.
Things are great but to the delusional Democrats, they are blind to what is in front of their eyes. Tragic - for them.
3
Sinclair Lewis didn’t know his book was non-fiction.
2
Daresay if either of author's sinecures--I understand he has more than one-- was threatened by illegal immigration, he would be first to protest, and to cultivate a sympathy for voters in Hungary and Poland who have made it clear they prefer closed borders. We have legal immigration, and spouse from Iburri waited 2 years before being taking flight from Accra to join me in US, but she waited her turn in line.Thus, to be against open borders, which Professor Krugman seems to advocate, does not make 1 a rabid nationalist, racist. Governments of some countries r following their voters, who have seen how other societies in EU have been disrupted by massive intakes of immigrants, accepted w/o a referendum, and responded negatively at the ballot box!What is wrong with that?Those in glass houses should not cast stones If 1 lives in a self segregated enclave, gated community not characterized by economic or ethnic diversity,1 does not have the right to criticize others who say no to having large numbers of unassimilated newcomers let in, immediately eligible for full card of welfare benefits. People r looking out for themselves,realizing that a country does not become wealthy by accepting the poor and unskilled from elsewhere. Author should read Enoch Powell's speech, "Rivers of Blood," and ghastly future for GB if policy of letting 50,000 immigrants yearly were sustained!His worst fears were fulfilled!
6
I am a first generation American. My parents came to the US having experienced and suffered through the rise of the democratically elected Hitler, the subsequent nationalisation of Yugoslavia by the Communist Dictator Tito and on the other side of the family, the ascent of Mao led communism. I agree with Krugman wholeheartedly. However, we often believe our system is protected because of Constitutional design. I would argue that law and structure flex easily when norms change. We have had generations of small negotiations on matters of governance and principles because we have had Presidents, Congress and the Courts that have lead with reverence to a set of ideals and values. It's the reason that whatever one might think of George Bush, his post-911 clarity on the enemies of the state being terrorists and not Muslims was so very important and consistent with the America that I know. It is however, fragile and a leader like Trump that casts aside the system, flagrantly targets his enemies, creates enemies of the system, uses Goebell like propaganda through Twitter and Fox, and is supported by a cowardly Vichy inspired Republican leadership can change the very nature of our system. Remember that South African and England share an almost identical Constitution. With one leader, Aparteid, torture and a contemporary version of slavery blossomed. In the other, Churchill ultimately carried the day over Chamberlain. We must be vigilant
397
@Chris Bravo! It will require more than mere vigilance, although in theory it should not. The constitutional design presumed reasonable people, acting rationally for their own self-interest, and that of the community. The checks and balances are all well and good, given those presumptions, but it all falls flat if these precepts prove inaccurate.
In systems engineering we have a concept of the ‘use case,’ whereby expected uses of a system are carefully planned. An important aspect of this planning is to consider ‘off-nominal’ scenarios, such as human error or system failures, and to provide response as ‘alternate flows’ to the normal, ‘happy path’ of the basic design. This too, is well and good, but more often than should be, a third case is never considered: not normal usage, not error conditions, but malicious attack. It has become evident, after the events of the past couple of years, that technology is frequently and painfully vulnerable to unanticipated attack – the best-laid plans go out the window, when the assailant violates all the rules.
I contend our democracy is suffering from the same sort of assault, which was never anticipated, despite the best ‘constitutional design’ considered then or since. The checks and balances provide a wonderful concept, but the malicious attack ‘use case’ was unthinkable; not just because of the obvious lack of integrity it entails, but the lack of reason among those who should be guarding against it as well.
We have been hacked.
1
America the birthplace of democracy? Why is this myth still being peddled, certainly by someone that tends to pride himself on being something of an iconoclast? Forget the ancient and universal history of democracy (e.g. Athens), America itself took its democratic norms and institutions (bicameral legislature, for example) from England (see Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights; the latter being a quite specific template for the Declaration of Independence). Indeed, how can we so easily forget "No taxation without representation" in which colonial America simply wanted to be part of English democracy?
No, no, no, America was not and should never be regarded as the birthplace of democracy but simply one more step along a continuing path.
2
One can see acute nationalism and racism used to mobilize voters. NATO is no longer a defense treaty its a way for the West to project power east. The former Warsaw Pact countries are ruled by nationalists that hate their neighbors and are afraid of Russia. Internationalism is the work of status quo out of touch leaderships and international finance. Greed is good for the rich and demonizing gov't spending for repairing and maintaining infrastructure, health care and education which rightfully should be in rich peoples pockets. Resentment abounds. The Democrats have gone so far as to say negotiations with Russia are treason. Yeats's famous line that center cannot hold and the extremes are full of passionate intensity seems to be the world we live in.
1
Since when is America the birthplace of democracy? Ever heard of Greece, Switzerland, and Iceland. They all had democracy long before the US.
1
Today, there are close to 330 million Americans. When the Constitution was written, there were roughly two and a half million Americans, most of whom weren’t allowed to vote, because they were slaves, because of their sex, or because were not white males over the age of 21 who OWNED LAND.
All of that has changed, and none of it has changed. Trump’s base is comprised mostly of the equivalent of white people who couldn’t have voted in 1787, because they didn’t own land (but now do, and can vote), plantation owners — i.e., today’s 1%— and the businessmen in New York and around the world that tacitly supported slavery, as it drove their economy — also the 1%.
America is larger, and stronger because of its great diversity, though, and a majority of Americans do not sit around pining for a return to the late 18th Century. But that majority is not yet overwhelming, and so I find myself looking to the decades preceding the Civil War in order to find a way of avoiding another Civil War.
1
We wake up to the news
this morning that Trump
wants to regulate Google.
We should all be wary.
The perpetrators are
emboldened, the bystanders
are passive, and democracy
could be a victim.
2
Sadly, I agree with Mr. Krugman.
Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to double the U.S. population since the 1960s with mostly 3rd world immigrants...just when the economy shifted from manufacturing to tech and as America was struggling to address a roster of civil rights that then got skewed into the suffocating blanket of PC identity welfare masked as "growth". The last 60 years saw massive harm inflicted on the lower and middle classes that ought have risen up the ladder instead of the 100 million 3rd world immigrants that taxpayers have funded in every city and town of all 50 states. Imagine how much better off the U.S. would be economically, culturally and politically with a more homogenous population of 150 - 200 million, instead of the 330+ million bloat. The excess comprised of an endless United Nations of households that do not speak English; that lower public school achievement; that cost local, state and federal taxpayers a fortune in more than 80 forms of welfare; that caused middle to low end wages to stagnate for 50 years; that injected more not less ancient religious superstitions affecting secular rule of law, especially with regard to the rights of girls and women; that continue to take jobs of 3 generations of Americans; that have divided the nation as never before, creating an unnecessary disequilibrium from which the U.S. likely will never recover. Finally, that has done nothing to fix those 2nd/3rd world deteriorated, overpopulated native countries from whence they came - and still come.
2
@Margot Thank you for so clearly exemplifying exactly what Prof. Krugman is talking about.
2
If Trump is found guilty of conspiring against our democracy the he must to go prison. This would both help the nation heal and send a strong message...both to foreign and domestic audiences that wrongdoing will be found and punished.
despite occasional press coverage of so-called "liberal activists" protesting radical right wing extremism, the reality is that most "normal" democracy-loving people are very reluctant to confront trump/republican supporters in their daily lives--especially at work.
we've had occasion to interact with neighbors in an upper middle class neighborhood and noticed a governing ethic of "going along to get along"--aka avoiding controversy.
the thing is, being confrontational is "not nice". labeling indecency and fox news-imposed ignorance for what it is cannot be done by most "reasonable" people.
we no longer can communicate or interact with trump supporters.
they are as "foreign" to us as immigrants are to trump people.
if all politics is "local", i suspect, more people like us will need to, peacefully, announce our mutual hatred of indecency and ignorance.
Mr. Krugman - didn't you predict a stock market and economic collapse would happen in the 1st year of a Trump Presidency?
There are many criticisms to make but hysterical ones that don't ever come close to being true, just hurt your credibility.
4
Our country's population has grown too rapidly and is getting harder to control. So the remedy has to be some extreme measures in order to keep control of the impoverished masses.
Imposing old feudalistic tactics with a combination of Fascism and Racism seems to be the path we are currently on. Only time will tell the outcome of our formally Democratic experiment. And if you've studied history, you know how well that always turns out.
This is indeed a scary time and I am scared!
1
@Pat Boice you are supposed to be scared - that is how both major parties try and get your support and remain in power.
Trump is not really the problem. Republicanism-since-Reagan's-inauguration is the problem. It gave us Trump, and it is, in effect, a kleptocracy.
5
Vote. For. Democrats. Even if some of their candidates are not your ideal ones. It is the only way to put brakes on this foul, monstrous president and his nation-destroying enablers, aka the entire GOP.
1
Mr. Krugman, it's neoliberals like you and your policies of throwing average working Americans under the bus that has given rise to this anger. When 95% of the recovery from the Great Depression went to the 1%, and where not one banker was indicted or sent to prison, you should expect a little push back. And all this happened under the milquetoast no-change Obama. If you are so worried about fascism, stop making excuses for your establishment buddies and help fix our corrupt system where both political parties are bought and paid for by the same donors.
6
Krugman has an alarming history of being right. Facism has always been hiding under the petticoats of American and Western democracies. Some of us have known it since we cast our first votes for Adlai Stevenson, and lost. So much loss on that fateful day when America turned against the New Deal and elected a General who trusted the Dulles brothers and let McCarthy run rampant. Except for McClellen, it was probably the most important election that was ever lost. Now here we are, "you see"?
The situation is dire, but it's worth remembering that 60-ish% of the population is still liberal, progressive, welcoming and open-minded. My fear is that as much as social media was supposed to democratize discussion, it seems to have pacified us or shoved discussion off as an electronic aside. In short, we don't get out in numbers and let the world know that we are against what's happening.
Meanwhile, fascist/racist/fundamentalist forces appear to have learned how to weaponize social media. Whether it's being led in a coherent way by someone like Putin or whether like-minded individuals with a subversive goal have arrived at the same solution, these forces (for Evil, I would say) are moving the world in the direction they want. So how far are we going to let it go before the forces of Enlightenment push back?
1
- The US has gone almost 250 years with only peaceful transitions of power
- Secularism is apparently a difficult (or unwanted) concept
- Congress is still a bunch of old dudes
- 2-party system has gotten worse as parties polarize
- still, fundamental mechanisms of democratic republic are still "fair" -- GOP is just way more effective with pernicious propaganda strategy
My comment on the comments. I haven't read them all but those I have read seem rational, thoughtful, and compassionate. Maybe there is hope yet.
Ah, finally people are waking up.
A fascist regime is no joke, and it's tough to fight in a democracy due to its populist appeal.
However, the economy is apparently doing so well, that the only way to explain the disappointment and distrust of the masses in the institutions of democracy is massive social fracture and propaganda.
The US took the road to fascism a long time ago, I remember when the Homeland Security became a thing, I rolled my eyes and said to myself here's the call to protect the Vaterland! Protecting the bloodline will be next, and shedding that blood 'for God and country' is just around the corner. Read Madeleine Albright's book for a lot more details, and A Warning!
The Producers are firmly in control, little will change other than a reduction in safety-net programs. To project the future, read Sumner (What Social Classes Owe to Each Other).
Yep. Thank you for telling it like it is. But this piece also makes me think of my anger toward so much of the celebrity world, who have largely chosen not to get involved using their voice or their platform, be it public comments, op eds, taking to the streets, etc. These people have a platform that millions of voiceless do not. But I can still count off the top of my head the ones I've seen participating, like Rob Reiner. and I've been looking for them. People like Taylor Swift? Who could pose a major influence getting young people to register and vote? Not a peep that I know of. And now that America is facing the threat of full-blown authoritarianism, any nestled in their rich nests off in the shadows I hope will come forward and consider that maybe, just maybe, the days of political activism and Bob Dylan ought to be re-considered.
The most fundamental reason democracy is being eroded is the US is that political tribalism has resulted in politicians no longer being held to account by their constituents. As long as they’re on their side of the political spectrum, anything goes. Add to this that political loyalty is increasingly being seen in terms of loyalty to one person, namely, the President (depending on party), and the threat of autocracy becomes ever greater.
There are, of course, flaws in the US Constitution itself, and in anticipation of claims, in the eventuality of Trump’s demise, that it has once again proved its robustness, it’s worth noting that it is not the Constitution that has prevented things being a lot worse. Indeed, given how supine Republican have decided to be, Sessions could have failed to recuse himself and got away with it, Trump could have appointed a loyalist instead of Rosenstein and had him approved, or given the economy he has inherited and the electoral advantages of the Republican party he could have much higher levels of support if not so cartoonishly, obtrusively, odious.
Nevertheless, against political tribalism no constitution could ever be a guarantor of democratic integrity. If the US ever slides into autocracy, it will be with the complicity of the US people. If it doesn’t, it might be due, in part, to Trump lacking the strategic sophistication to take full advantage of what Republicans have offered him.
Most depressing set of comments I have ever encountered. Everything from wannabe fascists crowing about how they've already won, to desperate liberals crying about having already lost, from some people fearing a new Civil War, to others eagerly anticipating it. The common thread? Nobody seems to see a way out or to have much hope. As I have been saying for nearly two years now, and which is frequently echoed among the comments, the November elections truly are a crossroads for our country. If power can't change hands in at least one branch of government, at this point in time, we might have reached a point of no return.
2
John, Switzerland actually USA, and top Readers' Pick (1822 at 08:10 EDT) appears to be misunderstood by a large number of readers who state that Bernie failed by not talking about "race" and that any future candidate who does not talk about "race" will also lose.
Some reply writers charge John with not being concerned about racism, apparently because John writes "Do not talk about race". John wrote not a word about racism. Racism and Race are not synonyms. If you, Times comment writer mean racism, use that word.
Here a question to all who state that candidates must talk about "race".
Do you believe that the USA would have a better public health record if the Democratic candidate for President says:
"America must create a race-based medical system in which each American is assigned to a race and is then given medical care designed for that race?"
If you believe that, I suggest you read Professor Dorothy Roberts' major work, never ever mentioned in the Times except as I do here: Fatal Invention-How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race In The Twenty-First Century.
A free summary of her book is available as pdf at: Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper collection: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2186003
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
Didn't Hitler once say that the masses are feminine and want to be seduced? Look at the faces in the photo accompanying this column. Those people are "in love" and no amount of logic or reason will change their minds. Political seduction, like its sexual counterpart, is based on appealing to a mixture of ego and insecurity. Trump and the GOP are experts in this seduction, while the Democrats and liberals have not come courting the white working class for decades.
I find this all a little hyperbolic. Having said that, the disregard for constitutional responsibility and boldness in antidemocratic actions by the Republican Party are indeed alarming and and potentially dangerous new lows.
This isn't a coup circumstance, but it is a steady erosion that already removed any deference to honesty long ago. I am convinced that the only way to prevent any further deterioration in their party or the country they so corrosively govern is to cast them out into the political wilderness long enough to necessitate a serious course correction.
To ensure this happens I believe the Democrats need to take every available legal, democratic step available to them. Any less would be to underestimate the seriousness of this growing problem; our institutions and cultural norms cannot withstand forever one party of a two party system that is determined to continually damage it.
Those steps may include statehoods for Washington DC and Puerto Rico, additions of perhaps two supreme court seats to restore ideological balance, revisiting the number of members to the House of Representatives to more proportionately reflect the populous, and pursuit of fixes to gerrymandering, campaign finance and lobbying.
Some of the above may sound drastic, but what I believe could very well happen medium to long term if we don't do so now could be far closer to what Paul Krugman outlines than bears imagining.
1
I have been saying for a few years now that the difference between the two political parties in our country has become that the Democrats want to win so that they can govern the Republic while the Republicans want to win so that they can rule the nation.
1
Thank you Dr. Krugman for reminding us, during this period when Trump and his antics hog the headlines, that each and every one of us should exhibit our patriotism and love of America by taking action to defend our Democracy. It IS under attack, and there are lesser known actions by politicians that are jeopardizing the very foundations. It is easy to carry the banner of a political party; it is comforting to be a member of a "tribe". That is why gangs are able to recruit innocents. We all need to look at what the tribe represents, and how we may be contributing to a greater evil that will destroy us all. The Russians hacking into and influencing our elections are just a part of the issue. It is easy to put the blame of our ills on the "other", no matter how we define that. But by inaction and non-involvement, we all become culpable. Please sound the clarion often and loudly. The upcoming midterms and their integrity are being challenged, and may become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back if we do not act.
2
@John (Switzerland, actually USA) : Agree totally. Unfortunately Professor Doctor Paul Krugman here opposed Bernie vigorously to the point that I thought he had a deal with Hillary to become the Treasury Secretary of Head the National Economic Council. The good news is that Hillary and her way of thinking is no longer popular with the democratic voters so there is hope. The wins of a young, democratic socialists in primaries in South Bronx and Detroit are excellent indications. The prior claimants to the seats there were Hillary-types that Krugman supported not even knowing their names.
2
these people (rebubs) are going the russia route....starve the government and bankrupt it...then sell all the assets to your friends (oligarks).......damn the people.......so long america...it was good while it lasted............
3
Eastern Europe has (as Mr. Krugman notes playfully in his opening paragraph) almost no tradition of democracy, whereas the USA does. To compare the two is ridiculous, and disingenuous. There are unsettling things going on in the USA, but we are hardly a step away from becoming Poland or Hungary.
The real problem in the USA, as I see it, is that people like Mr. Krugman, who are very able to rattle off all the ways in which the other side is destroying our democracy, cannot EVER see how that other side views the actions of his side, his elite group, and how their actions equally appear to the "other side" to be destroying our democracy.
More introspection is needed on all sides. But until types like Mr. Krugman can look in the mirror and say "I helped make Donald Trump" we will never get anywhere. The party that is in power will simply take it as an opportunity to push through whatever they can, while they can, the other side be damned. Democrats (of which I am one) do this too.
We all need to see this pattern, and break it soon. You too, Mr. Krugman.
5
@Paul H What a cogent comment; Republicans are being Republicans and Democrats are being Democrats. What a shock! That Krugman doesn't recognize that this is normal, if abhorrent, shouldn't come as a shock. But Krugman certainly makes it sound awful; perhaps, before the Republicans steal the sheep, I should move to one of those other countries that are so much better, like... Wow, this is going to be harder than I thought.
3
To prevent the US from slowly sliding toward fascism, Democrats must distinguish themselves from well-intentioned but incendiary arguments from within their ranks that appear to many Americans to favor open borders. Examples include calls for the abolition of the Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) agency and treating unlawful economic border-crossers as political or cultural refugees. In a country which has experienced a significant influx of lawful immigrants from Latin America, Asia and Africa in recent decades, extensive focusing on the plight of would-be immigrants can send the wrong message to many American voters.
2
Prf. Krugman - I am a fan, and generally agree with the content of this piece, however I think there is a bit of hyperbole here which is downright dangerous-
"We’re currently sitting on a knife edge. If we fall off it in the wrong direction — specifically, if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress in November — we will become another Poland or Hungary faster than you can imagine."
If we transition to authoritarianism, it will not be a tumble from the knife's edge, it will be a 50 year gradual decline in our once great institutions, brought on by partisan extremism. Restoring divided government is extremely important this November, but in and of itself it will not save our country. If each successive administration continues to define itself in opposition to the previous one and to attempt single party rule, every succeeding decade will bring a weaker and more corrupt America. I constantly find myself denying the integrity of elected Republicans, and but the truth is, if it were so clearly a battle between good and evil, it would not be as hard to convince my ideological opponents. We must remember that from the point of view of someone brought up conservative and following Fox et al, defeating Democrats is just as urgent. Vote for moderates, if only to restore the premise of political compromise that is the lifeblood of democracy.
2
With the demographic changes, becoming a minority party, GOP was left with two choices: Improve the message and appeal to larger crowds within the norms of democracy, or cheat the system. Unfortunately, GOP seems to have deliberately chosen the second option.
4
It wouldn't have happened here if we taught students critical thinking skills in school. We would not have an unqualified, incompetent toddler in chief if the Electoral College had done its job. We would not have the current administration in office if so many Americans didn't believe what the GOP, the Koch Brothers various organizations, and others say to poison politics in America.
We are a racist country. We like to think that electing Obama made us post racist but it didn't. We elected Republicans to the House and Senate and these representatives had an 8 year temper tantrum which left us with a crumbling infrastructure, a h/wealth care system that still doesn't work for us, and stagnating wages. This benefitted the GOP and the ultra rich but hurt the rest of us.
We support economic policies that penalize the poor. We still see, despite evidence to the contrary, poor people as minorities, single mothers, people who want to be poor, or, to put it less kindly, as worthless trash. We never think that we could be poor.
America under Donald Trump and the GOP is not a democracy or a republic. It's a kleptocracy where the rich are actively engaged in stealing from the rest of us. The real reason there aren't funds for helping out 99% of us is because that money was given away to the economic elites. We have welfare in America but it's only for those who don't need it. And that is what makes racism and every other ism possible: need that is not relieved.
12
Absolutely, positively correct. But how do we shake up the masses? The people capable of critical thinking know we have to put in a correction this November. It still amazes and confounds me that poor people think trump ( lower case my small form of protest here) will do anything for them.
We really, really need a blue wave in November. Vote
3
As someone following polish press I think that statement that the current Polish governing party has "'' destroyed independence of the press"... is grossly misleading. Expect change in the governing party soon, if not in the very next elections. I follow and agree with prof. Krugman on just about anything else, but this is way off the base, even if it fits author's premise.
3
If the United States goes the way of Poland and Hungary, there will be no United States to rescue us.
2
It has happened here. We let republican owned machines count the votes in the dark.
7
Krugman's article is chilling, and frighteningly sober. Henry Hyde Jr. spoke at my graduation from SDSU in 1992, and warned us of what he feared would be the 'Balkanization of America.' That fear was clearly prescient, but what Krugman adds to Hyde's worry about tribalism threatening our Great Experiment is horrifying. My maternal grandfather and my wife's paternal grandmother both narrowly escaped Hitler's murderous ultimate solution. Are schools no longer teaching our young people about the warning signs of history repeating itself--but right here in the Land of the Free?
3
I'm a white, suburban, heterosexual male. I'm petrified. I don't understand why a darker person is scary...I don't get why who you snuggle with at night, and/or their self image/sexuality is a threat to me or my family.
You are white in the USA. For better or worse, you are at the top of the heap. I don't get the fear. I don't see my status slipping any time soon. You are afraid of some guy with $5 in his pocket who cuts your lawn ???? I'm more afraid of Russian agents and compromised Republicans.
The only problem with the Dems is running on an illegal immigrant platform. ICE ripping families apart is ugly, but if you've moved here illegally, you are still illegal. There is a legitimate system to immigrate, and it should be followed. The horror of child separation was for two and a half audiences....first, the potential immigrant learns that they will lose their kids if they come here illegally. Second, the horrible MAGA "base" cheers because "they" are being punished, and lastly, it annoys "lib-ruls", so the base cheers again. Dems should get away from the Repub-lite centrist strategy and go left, BUT cannot be seen as facilitators of destruction of the legal immigration system, as it plays into the preconceptions and prejudice of the Base. Sadly, the Professor is correct....we CAN flip, and if we don't right the ship of state and get the bilge pumps running, the only folks who will be happy will want Mike Pence in 2024.
4
Most of us “libruls” are not for open borders. The Democratic party really needs to make sure the masses know this.
1
Why is the USA the "birthplace of democracy?" Surely its origins go back to Ancient Greece or more recently places like the UK and Magna Carta?
4
Earnest faces that look forward to the future that belongs to them? Did America turn away from this once before in the era of the Know Nothings?
3
Perhaps Collins and Graham have skeletons in their closet that they do not want to have disclosed. This is probably true of most of the Republicans and some Democrats. Who better to harass them than Trump. Trump successfully tweeted and bullied all of the Republicans who ran in the Primary election.
There is such a lack of Patriotism and common sense now with these people that I have come to the conclusion all of the Republicans in Congress must be corrupt.
But I am most disappointed in Susan Collins. She always had the appearance of working for her Maine Constituents and for our Country. The fact that she has put self-preservation and Party politics over preservation of our Country and its Democracy is unbelievable to me.
SAD!
6
Why would Republicans care about democratic principles, when democrats are the enemy?
6
I'm 70 years old, it never crossed my mind that our democracy would ever be in danger. Vote this November, remove all republicans from office.
9
There are too many people on the planet. Scarcity breeds tribalism. Tribalism breeds insulation. Insulation breeds isolation. The desire to "section off" opens the doors of authoritarianism and fascism. A great deal of the shrinking majority in America perceives the shrinkage as "anti-white." And here we are...
2
We have to start to wonder if the 2018 cycle will come off at all, not due to Russian interference, but rather GOP/Trump interference.
What have they or he done in the past 18 months that would indicate they would not attempt to vacate or dismiss the results of the '18 cycle if they so choose?
What if Mitch and the GOP House simply refuse to adjourn the 'lame duck' session?
What if they simply refuse to seat a new Democratic House majority?
Who would stop them?
Certainly not the misnamed 'House Freedom Caucus', a crypto-fascist organ if ever one existed.
5
At this point it seems the consolidation of power for Republicans is a Hail Mary to avoid being held accountable for their increasingly apparent corruption and abuse of power.
4
The Constitution requires the Senate must have a majority of its members (51) for a quorum to conduct business.
Without John McCain, the GOP only has 50.
If all 49 Democrats refuse to participate in roll call, the Senate can block Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.
It may be a mute point but it's worth a shot; McCain's final tribute and revenge.
Democratic leadership promised to go "all out" so let's see if they really do.
Missing roll call could be the gutless way for Republicans to honor John McCain.
And the three floundering quivery Democrats, could participate by saying that they must stand with their party.
2
Im not sure, but if there are only 99 Senators at the moment, a “majority” is 50.
Governor of Arizona can appoint a Republican senator tomorrow
I suspect that Republican's still enthusiastic support for Trump has more to do with conservatism than racism. I cannot see the dimensions of racism in this country, but I do think conservatives are happy about Trump's picks to lead the federal departments and other acts.
We haven't seen such thorough cynicism in picking heads of departments intent on nullifying provisions to protect the American people. The latest sees predatory lenders being unleashed to prey on students and their loans for education.
It is outrage after outrage intent on destroying liberal reforms. The results are plain injustice, but somehow conservatives do not see it that way, or don't feel compelled to look.
If Republicans do retain control of congress in November, it will be our still strong and independent judiciary and free press that gives us a fighting chance to retain the integrity of the structure of our government and society.
It is indeed a kind of war out there with Republicans expressing their extreme hatred for liberalism in any form and unwilling to concede that political power under Democrats has any legitimacy. That is the way Republicans feel apparently and Democrats do not appear to feel the same way about Republicans.
It would be the height of irony if a government structure meant to promote a free and just American civilization were weakened and destroyed by one of the two main political parties being civil and the other being savage.
There’s a tipping point vis a vis multiculturalism...and we’ve reached it. The cacophony of ideologies, cultures, and their competing interests has torn apart our nation’s unity....perhaps irreversibly.
4
The problem with Paul Krugman is that his vision and opinions are limited to the New York metro area. As he and the Democratic machine saw with the 2016 election of Donald Trump, the flyover states are full of God fearing, country loving people who want to provide for their families by working and building a strong economy. It's difficult for them to believe that they aren't as smart, or liked as much, as they think they are.
7
Dr. Krugman, way to go. Economic anxiety? Puh-leeze! it is losing one's spot top on the totem pole that has energized many White Trump voters -- not all. But it is also the fact that many of his voters buy into stock phrases and refuse to THINK (caps in response to the orange prez). The republicans are about controlling the levers of power, not about the people. But we knew that already.
2
"The modern G.O.P. feels no allegiance to democratic ideals; it will do whatever it thinks it can get away with to entrench its power."
Well, you said it, Paul. The problem is you're not listening to your own words or taking to heart your own perceptions - and neither is anyone else of your stature. "Whatever it thinks it can get away with:" Why would that NOT include exploitation of the manifestly vulnerable computerized vote counting process?? Why HAS it not included such exploitation throughout the computerized voting era (2002 - present), in which we have witnessed an organically inexplicable rightward veer in the entire infrastructure of American politics?
Paul, the same right wing that you warn will do "whatever it thinks it can get away with" for all intents and purposes owns and programs our computerized voting equipment through outfits like Dominion, ES&S, Diebold (RIP) and their various contractors, all with strong right-wing ties. The right thinks nothing of suppressing votes, and yet you persist in ignoring and denying their capacity and willingness to simply change votes in the protected pitch-dark of cyberspace. Illogical in the extreme.
Until we face this corruption of the bedrock protocol of our democracy, and restore public observable vote counting to our elections, we will continue down the path to Poland and Hungary and fascism. White nationalism is a minority position, everywhere but inside the computers that count our votes.
4
If the faction that used to be the Democratic Party had offered up a viable candidate with a clean record, we wouldn’t have Donald Trump residing in the Oval Office. From bad to worse, and with a large measure of hysteria, The Resistance now promotes a Leftist agenda (hardly progressive) that moderate liberals like ourselves will never support. Guess whom we won’t be voting for come November...
Thanks, Dems.
1
@Shenoa The Democratic Party offered up an extremely viable candidate.
2
I fear an act of terror that would allow the suspension of our liberties. And I expect much of the populace to go along with the suspension. This is the logical trend and next step. If Putin is counseling Trump, don’t you think this would be his advice?
6
@TLF Like setting fire to a crowded theater and blaming it on the (name one: North Koreans, Iranians, Mexicans, Antifascists)? Yes, that did work well for Putin.
An electoral system that allows one with a minority of votes to beome president -- one legislative body that allows only two votes per state regardless of population -- another legislative body distorted by gerrymandering --- tell me now, what exists in such a system in which to feel pride?
5
An excellent column Dr. Krugman. Thank you for stating what many have been in denial about, that "racial resentment, not economic distress" sent voters to the polls to vote for Trump. Republicans closed ranks when Obama was elected and for eight long years used not so veiled racism to rally their base. Trump came along and the veil came off. In his rallies racism was proudly on display and was boldly encouraged by a bombastic vulgar showman.
The Republicans have been shrewd by gaining control through gerrymandering and voter suppression. This past year and a half control of the Judiciary from the lowest level to the very highest is within their grasp. They have not disavowed Trump because he was the dream president who used executive power to give them what they have been after for so long. Regulations from clean air and water to banking have been stripped, and yet another tax cut for the wealthy disguised as a tax cut for the Middle Class has been enacted. While the entertainment of the Mueller investigation has been going on, conservative judges have been appointed.
I think it is too late to stop our march toward fascism. Racial resentment has a powerful hold and has won the loyalty of those seeking a white authoritarian daddy-figure savior. Racism has been sold as patriotism and as a path to making this country "great again". I will vote, but without much hope. Democrats are now impotent, and will remain so, because of conservative judges in place.
1
The "vast right-wing conspiracy" has done a masterful job of demonizing the "Democrat" Party. Decades of think tanks, hate radio and Fox TV have done their job. Let's not forget about the Russians; who have pushed right-wing politics internationally as well.
It is not just the power, but also the wealth. So much wealth that billions are available to prime the propaganda pump. The goal is a "feudal" society.
History is full of societies that joined behind leaders and reigned destruction across their lands. What was Vietnam? How many so-called Americans supported the destruction of millions of innocent people. What was the Middle East invasion by the U.S.?
We now have a number of crises to deal with. There is climate change and the growing string of disasters, the likely chance of an economic crash, the struggle of demographics as "white Americans" loses the majority and the rising dominance of China.
According to the "shock doctrine" the country will be ripe for the plucking.
The difference between now and the 1920-30s is not that
the white rural/small town nativist mindset was terribly
different from what it is at present. Senses of racial privilege, mistrust/fear of the Other, and pride in tribal ignorance are deeply embedded in large sectors of the country. People grow
up in it, internalize the ethos, and then pass it on.
There was an authoritarian movement then, just as there is one now. The difference is that a single party now represents those interests and values and has all the institutional power. It is then completely natural, and to be expected, that it would do
everything to maintain and extend such power. Unlike
the democratic party, the trumpican party is primarily
interested in exploiting its advantages to maintain its authority.
I am, unfortunately, somewhat unclear what it is that the democratic party actually wants to do with any power it can get.
It has not spent its time in exile terribly wisely to reflect upon why the catastrophe in 2016 occurred, and what can be done to change its message/messsaging to those who had turned far away in disgust.
Its urban/suburban enclaves have been quarantined from
the rest of the still white and still conservative majority. There
is no constructive dialogue across the chasm, and examples of this from commenters illustrate the inability to use language
to communicate and not merely to vent.
The response to global warming is a good example of this.
It is pathetic and tragic.
1
Being far smarter than everyone else, Mr. Krugman once again displays his complete partisanship and tells us why everything Republican is wrong. Instead he prefers an omnisicient government, run by people who think like him and implement policies which benefit a segment of society who thinks like him against those who don't. If only we would listen and be enlightened!
And if only the problem was truly confined to Republicans. But it's not. His policies reduce individual choice by empowering unelected gov't bureaucrats to implement actions that reduce freedom of opportunity and accountability, exactly the first step towards imposing what he cites.
For once I'd like Mr. Krugman to produce an article which doesn't define his policies as anti-Republican, but rather is silent on politics and argues fairly for policies, outlining the benefits, and as importantly the costs and possible unintended consequences. Who benefits, who is hurt?
In short, Mr. Krugman's ultra partisanship is a symptom of what is wrong with this country. He can't separate his hatred for Republicans, essentially calling them fascists, from the choices and benefits, and yes costs, of their proposed policy. His failure to respect people he disagrees with and try to see the merits of their positions makes him no better than those he castigates.
A true one handed partisan who occasionally includes some thoughts on economics.
7
The stars aligned for Trump and the republicans. Obama gave them a rising economy and had ISIS pretty much defeated in Syria.
It will take a huge blue wave to give the democrats the house. All the voter suppression and gerrymandering will have an effect.
Republicans stopped believing in democracy long before trump. McConnell and Ryan have done their best to undermine it.
1
Yes, white nationalism runs rampant, and violent. Gerymandering continues. And the president wants to be more and more authoritarian, tweeting nonsense about how he "may have to get involved" with the Justice Department and incredibly, with the Google search algorithm.
However - we are a CONSTITUTIONAL republic, not a PRESIDENTIAL republic. It takes quite a bit more effort - and time - to actually amend our Constitution, and Supreme Court justices have a funny way of upholding law regardless of their party allegiances. So, not quite like the Soviet bloc states of yore, or their current descent into tyrannical suppression of the the press and dissent.
The racism driving all this is nascent, and yet there is a great deal of denial of its presence.
Whether we voted for him or not, we ALLOWED this to happen, by buying into the increased two party polarization that has taken place over the past 40 years, resulting in a democracy where we are free to vote AGAINST someone, but not necessarily vote for a candidate who will serve the people and our rule of law.
Probably the most patriotic thing anyone can do is register to vote NPA and demand a greater representation.
I personally would have voted for John McCain if his running mate had been Joe Lieberman. I did not vote for him due to his choice of running mate - obvious party politics and positioning.
What's left of a sense of decency in this country spoke up yesterday and was heard. That is a sign of hope.
1
When these same ideas occurred to me during the 2016 campaign, and were reinforced following Trump's inauguration, I told myself that I was being unduly alarmist, that it couldn't happen here. I remember wondering if this was what it felt like in Germany in the 1930s, and I told myself, "Don't be ridiculous." And now . . . I think I'm glad I'm old and won't witness the end of the country I used to be proud of.
5
@PoohBah2 Yes, I never thought I'd find a blessing in being old, but that is one. We were extremely fortunate to live our lives in one of the best places and best times in world history, but all things come to an end, and I too am glad that I will probably not witness the ultimate bottoming out.
2
The idea that It Can't Happen Here is remiss for a couple of reasons. American voters are not to be trusted and Trump obviously prefers the Russian model to that of the United States.
1
Mr. Klugman,
Thank you for your article which should be required reading for
every American. We can continue to be complacent at our great peril.
Let us all not neglect to vote. Our country depends on it.
1
Let's not forget that tyranny grows out of a vacuum of no new ideas. The daily plunder of the working men and women to enrich the mightiest has grown into a self fulfilled prophecy which now self perpetuates itself as the new normal. No one is really immune.
To place party over country has been a growing cancer since the days of Reagen. Democratic ideals that we inherited from the 'Enlightenment' and later through the Civil War, The Great Depression, WW II, and the alleged, but certainly mixed Victory of the Cold War are just memories. Nothing is more forgettable than something that has already happened. We delude ourselves that all this history insulates us from evil.
But we see an infinite unraveling of the better nature of our Angels, back to the blind eyes, the deaf ears, and the numbness of purpose. This then is the Vacuum of Humanity. Once again it drives us apart with all the sensitivity of the butcher's cleaver.
Racism has and obviously remains our society's greatest enemy. That platform sirens out to the worst of our collective hate and rage. Most have no idea of how entrenched this plague of our Darkest Angels drives away all reason: away from all love on all rampart's of existence. The shame is convincing ourselves that we are invincible. Vote first with an all out belief that building a better tomorrow is something free from hate.
2
"If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy. "
David Frum
We should be very worried.
VOTE!!!
2
And so how does one democratically fight those intent upon undoing democracy while they simultaneously cloak themselves in the language of it?
1
Mr. Krugman, I am a retiree looking for extra income. Since I am already married I can’t marry money so would you please tell me how to get a job like yours. It must be wonderful to get paid to make predictions, be wrong most of the time, and still keep your job. You are an inspiration and I look forward to your reply.
3
I think you are correct, that racism is the driving force. But, if the Democrats had addressed economic inequality during the past 30 years, the energy behind the racism would have been less.
I wonder if Mr Krugman (along with the similar thinkers and writers) has a theory on the motivations of those who voted for Obama in 08 and 12 then for Trump in 16. Were they driven by racial resentment, too?
For that reason, I would suppose that any Democrat thinking of winning back these 'swung' voters would try to understand their motivations better.
...or give up, and try to rile up the base and nobody else. Like this column.
1
Krugman states "... America, the birthplace of democracy ..." Unfortunately, that's a bit of stretch. Other than that a great column warning all of us what's at stake in November.
1
If, as Professor Krugman suggests, the key to all of this is hatefulness, then that is a sword that cuts both ways. There is no doubt that Trump is a hateful person, the question yet to be answered is whether his professional and political conduct was also undeniably hateful. If that is proven beyond reasonable doubt, Trump will have no place to hide and any and all facilitators will be happy to man the life boats as long as only the Captain is allowed to go down with the ship. The evidence to that effect so far is compelling. While it does not address the underlying problem that Professor Krugman articulates, it does offer an opportunity for all of us, but particularly Trump supporters, to take stock of the how, the why, and, most importantly, the where do we go from here.
Perhaps I’m naive, but I like to think Senators Collins & Graham are holding Trump at bay until after the November election. Then they will stand up to the tyrant.
Well, lucky for us Krugman is wrong on a lot of things. Like the stock market crashing if Trump was elected.
3
Tyrants come to power for no other reason than the feebleness of their opposition.
The real danger to our democracy are "progressives" and their continual attempts to delegitimize the 2016 election. Their inability to accept that Trump won and they lost. Muller type investigations based on fake evidence produced by banana republic type national security agencies are the ultimate in anti-democratic actions.
1
@Anonymot: "It will take more than a few attractive, fresh, but inexperienced faces to have any hope. It will require new leaders with clout not the sold-out haggard ones we have"
It will take a revolution. The Democratic Party is marginally better in representing the 99 percent. Schumer and Pelosi are the 1 percent's hedge strategy. Bernie and some of the fresh faces are our hope. Krugman opposed him vigorously and put his weight behind Hillary, another hedge of the 1 percent. It was so obvious to me that she was a phony. If Krugman has changed his mind, he clearly didn't say it on this pages.
Fascism comes after periods of instability, typically economic. We are lucky that the imperialist accumulation of centuries still left a few crumbs to keep the desolate from utter destitution. Not for much longer though. As Gordon Lafer brilliantly exposes the reality in "The One Percent Solution," the game is to get the 99 percent accept lower standards. The lower the bracket the lower the standard on top of it. At some point, the lumpenized proletariat turns to drastic alternatives. Fascism is what worked in Germany and Italy of the 30s, Communism in Russia twenty years before that.
Krugman is an excellent economist. I sat in his classes in my youth (and his). History and Political Philosophy are not his fortes though.
Comments like this don't get printed by the editors. They reserve their Picks for wishy washy verbiage.
1
I don’t think Susan Collins was ever independent. She voted “to save the ACA because she thought that vote wouldn’t matter and it would give her some cover with her constituents, probably even voted with the blessing of McConnell. Then in walks MCCain who put paid to that.MCCain gets all the credit for saving the ACA as far as it has been saved. Collins gets credit by virtue of McCains vote. If he had voted first, she probably would have voted the other way.
1
The GOP is driven by ideological purity that has no patience for compromise. If Dems don't take the House in November, America very well might be done.
1
It is happening here. Trump wants to regulate Google. Read the latest Twitter feed coming from Trump. The administration, that wants to deregulate auto emissions and coal firing plants so that our air is dirtier and we choke on it, wants to regulate information technology so that we have less anti-Trump information and more pro-Trump propaganda. There is a word for that, and it isn’t freedom. Mussolini said something about plucking a chicken one feather at a time, so that people don’t realize that their freedom is being stripped away. It is happening here and we are being plucked.
3
Very good discussion on MSNBC with a very smart person, I just love the way he thinks, how clear he is always been, how insightful and focused on the issues fundamental for improving our far from perfect society.
Nothing escapes him, just listen...
His name is Anand Giridharadas, I will definitely get his latest book Winners Take All.
http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/-winners-take-all-questions-elite...
2
@faivel1: Agree completely. Brilliant person. The Stiglitz review of his book in the Book Review on Sunday is highly recommended.
2
If Democracy is on its way to being lost, it will be the dismissal and denigration of facts, of evidence, that led to it. Trump plays that card well, lying daily to the nation and the world all the while claiming other sources of information, based on evidence, are "fake news."
I agree that white nationalism is the enemy of American democracy. But, will a coalition of decent people who includes many whites come out to vote and get others to do so? This is no longer the responsibility of just politicians but every decent American who values democracy. The faith of America rests in our collective hands.
"Can happen here"???!!! It already has!
3
1. Anyone living in the post-war West probably does not have an appreciation of how strong the tribal instinct is, how anti-rational it is, and all the terrible consequences lurking just underneath the surface. We will NEVER be enlightened enough to escape it's shadow. We must always be vigilant. This goes for people on the left as well as the right.
2. The more you study Nazi Germany the easier it is to see how fragile democracy is--the easier it is to believe it can happen here. Of course it won't be the same, but the same dynamics are not the sole purview of 1930s Europe. Communists and Nazis/Fascists in the street . . .
3. Aside from the raw display of evil, the most disturbing aspect of white supremacy is how readily people will give up their individuality for something so false and shallow. Think of how pitiful and lacking in self-regard you must be to see your fate as identical with a group. You refuse to see those both inside and outside of your group—most especially yourself—as having a personal fate worthy of empathy and respect. It's so so so scary, and it is indeed happening.
1
To win elections you have to appeal to and carry the independent vote. The problem now facing the Dems is that many of their candidates are alienating the vary voters they need to prevail. Yes, Trunp is a boor and very erratic, but he is not Hitler, and the country is not going to hell in a hand basket. When they start talking about canceling elections, gunning down political opponents in the streets, and imprisoning political dissidents, give me a call. Krugman, you may think this country is filled with idiots simply because they don’t agree with your view of politics or life, but it is not so,
2
“But why is America, the birthplace of democracy, so close to following the lead of other countries that have recently destroyed it?”
Um, maybe because the Democrats are unable to accept the 2016 election results? They, and their media enablers, using Democrat funded opposition research, have touted a stolen election scenario. To date there is no evidence of collusion with Russia. No evidence that information contained in the infamous Steele Dossier is, in fact, provable. But the ‘Resistance’ slogs on. Why? Because the Democrats (and the media) remain unwilling to face reality; Donald Trump won the 2016 election fair and square. Hillary blew it. The media blew it. But they can’t accept that fact. Better to put the country through hell than admit Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.
3
The policies are a source of real concern. But as a Democrat, that’s understandable. But the real fear of Trump is created by his attempts to degrade and sow distrust of the news media and the courts. His constant attacks on anyone who might see things differently. In a democracy, it is crucial that the opposition is trusted and taken into consideration. Trump does not present opposing view points, or try to explain. He belittles opposing view points, and makes up derogatory, stupid nicknames for those who disagree with him. This is why he is dangerous. His policies I oppose. His techniques I fear. It has nothing to do with not accepting election results.
1
Just. Vote. Democrat.
3
This is the same faction of the worlds population that we fought against in WWll and the Civil War.
These are extremely scary times.
If we allow this takeover, we won't recover from the damage to the planet from climate change.
VOTE!!!!!!!
2
Hey, the US is a Democracy.
We elected those who have shown their true colors to be mobsters, Trump, McConnell, and Ryan in the White House and Congress under the guise of Republican Party conservatives. It is not against the Constitution, not against the law.
Cut the whining; if you don't like it, the founding fathers in the Constitution gave us the right to vote. Exercise your right to vote. Vote the Republican out of control in both the US Senate and House of Representatives in 2018 or suck it up with the rest us.
The control of freedoms by Citizens United/also known as
the undemocratic law that allows self-interests of billionaires
to use propaganda via the news media....and guess what
the news media....loves all their audiences...and why ...well
this is why...Media depends on its advertisers....and the big
money spenders use propaganda via print/and internet and
especially commercial news media to swell its coffers..
Yes the bonanza for the media ….boils down to the Citizens
United big bucks spending on the media advertising....so
go figure....what can the average voter do against Citizens United whose gang of billionaires have all the cards to play.
How about analyzing this Professor Krugman....the truth about this infamous law....which is the real killer of
our USA.....CITIZENS UNITED....was this ok with you...when
the KOCH brothers twisted arms ...well was it/or is it...
and other billionaires who are robbing our voters.....well is it?
1
Without meaning to sound too morbid, this isn’t the nineteenth century, and unless the United States government intends to completely annihilate its major metropolitan centers, there will be no Manson-esque ‘race wars’.
If war is hell, urban warfare is the Ninth Circle. The Department of Defense knows this. “Mad Dog” Mattis knows this.
These self-avowed white nationalists can pretend to be defending their homestead from the evil invaders all that they want. It should go without saying, though, that when the Feds decide to shut the party down, they don’t “play fair.”
1
"Poland" "suppressed freedom of the press, institutionalized large-scale corruption and effectively delegitimized dissent"
show some proof of that Mr. Krugman.
Because in my humble opinion, you are both ignorant and driven by malice.
The claim that Poland was/is fascist is straight from the Stalinist propaganda peddled during the 1939 Soviet/Nazi partition of Poland.
4
Wow...Paul’s therapy must be working. It took him until the last paragraph to blame everything on white nationalism. Almost made it through the whole column before Liberal Tourette’s Syndrome took over.
2
We stayed out of WW2 for a long time. There was a large pro-nazi 5th column in the USA at the time.
I've watched several Trump rallies. The picture that goes with this Oped is instructive. Sadly most of the WW2 veterans are dead.
2
Pual, please stick to economics. You simply don't understand the internals of Polish politics. Things there are far more complicated than you paint in your simplistic analysis.
4
When you are an elite or pretend you are an elite, you grow up feeling very entitled to everything. Jim Crow is alive and well for you. Look at corporations whites only . Minorities have had to deal with slavery, mass extinction and everything that goes with being an invisible person.
Now some white people are feeling the boot on their necks , minorities who stand up, being shot or being told they are un American when just about everyone in the NFL has had a member who served in the military, not like the Commander in Charge of Twitter.
We can stop it because we are going to vote and hold these very disturbed people accountable or run them out of office If John Kelly wants to continue to strike at minorities , we will strike back and this is our America not for the select few of rich, white elites.
We know who the traitors are and we know which states want to ensure that minorities don't live in their communities.
News Flash No one wants to live in communities with hate and small minds . Don't want to be part of America they can buy there tickets and go to white Russia. Russia would love to enhance their whiteness. Since most white people are not from America, going home should be the new slogan for people who hate America.
2
Education.
1
We're already there.
Let's figure out a way to get back the real America - it's time to take back America from racists.
2
The demons of the past have truly raised their ugly heads, when the Commander-in-Chief embraces white nationalism, fear mongering, racism, nativism, self aggrandizement to activate the resentful and economically disenfranchised in mid-America. We formerly had Presidents who were statesmanlike, usually ethical, and observed the tenets of democratic ideals of equality, humanity, and equal opportunity - but not anymore. Corruption, money, and selfish opportunism controls the political dialogue. Hitler converted 35% of the votes into a dictatorship with horrible effects when the masses were deluded by promises and the opposition was disorganized and weak.
1
Mr. Krugman blames political parties for the loss of democracy. The truth is that representative government is not democracy. Neither should a country be considered a democracy just because they allow free elections. A true democracy would guard against the forces of fascism and corruption. It would include the referendum and popular initiative. Before legislation became law it would need the approval of a common citizen committee. That committee would be made up of randomly chosen citizens who represent a cross-section of the population. The committee would hear pro and con arguments on the legislation, deliberate and approve or disapprove. The veto power would belong to the citizens, not the President. After deliberation on one piece of legislation, the committee members would go home. Another group of common citizens would be chosen to deliberate on the next piece of legislation. The common citizen does not have the skill to author legislation, but he knows a bad law when he sees one. As Rousseau said, "The Sovereign, who is no less than a collective being, cannot be represented except by himself: the power indeed may be transmitted, but not the will."
1
The United States under Donald Trump and his assimilated GOP toadies is already a failed state. The damage done so far is significant and will have incalculable long-term consequences, only some of which we can accurately guess at. He’s made the world a more dangerous place; he’s given dictators and totalitarians the upper hand, he’s thrown away whatever moral authority the U.S. on e had (and it had a lot); he’s glorified bullying, violence, iron-fisted ‘me-first, nobody else matters ‘diplomacy’ and he’s set the nation on the road to economic catastrophe by perpetuating the notion one can both cut taxes to near nil and run up debt to levels nobody can grasp well because the numbers are sso huge, and he’s proven the cicil war didn’t do much after all in terms of racial equality and the civil rights movement wasn’t quite the success we pretended it was. Guns and violence? Nearly Everyonehas a weapon, and everyone has seen the violence. The future, fascist or not, isn’t going to be a particularly positive one for many years to come.
408
@N. Cunningham
A failed state are we? Have you ever been to Somalia, the Congo? I am guessing not. When you get home at night and enter a cool house, turn on the faucet and hot and cold running water come out, dial 911 and a fire truck or police vehicle shows up in under 5 minutes, eat at restaurants and never get food poisoning, have savings for old age in a bank, etc. etc. these are all things that should remind you at every moment of every day that you are not living in a failed state. Too much hyperbole on the left is the same as too much hyperbole on the right. It digs the hole that we are all in deeper.
2
@N. Cunningham What, exactly failed? And can you tell me what damage he has caused? How has Trump's presidency changed your life for the worse?
Just curious, because every time I ask that question, no one seems to have any real answers.
1
@N. Cunningham
Your comments are apt. But you miss one critical point. "Nearly everyone" does not have a weapon. While it's easy to say something like the U.S. has more guns than people, it's the distribution that should cause alarm. Only about 30% of Americans own any firearm. Once survey suggests that fully half the guns are possessed by only 3% of the population.
So the majority of us are completely unarmed and in some Mad Max scenario, we'll be at the mercy of, mostly likely, that 3% who retain the firepower.
It has happened here. Nice warning but it's too late.
3
I think the Greeks might take issue with your statement, "America, the birthplace of democracy"
4
It's past time for Mueller to give us something...anything. By the time his report comes out, we-the people-may be denied any glimpse of it.
2
Then you haven't been paying close attention. Check-out all the indictments, guilty pleas, jail-time & convictions. Big political scandals don't turn on a dime, they require thorough investigation and provable evidence which takes time. Mueller has also had to withstand constant assault by this president and a corrupted GOP.
In the meantime, we citizens need to do our part by voting in those who will protect OUR demacracy; shore-up the walls against tyranny. It'll will ensure that all Mueller's investigators can bring the "deep truth" to light for all to see.
2
Paul Krugman is right. As an old man I don't want to lapse into "I've seen a lot but" but I never thought I would be witness - in less than two years- to a potential collapse of American democracy. I've despised and feared Trump since he rode down that escalator and, god help us, thanks to his inexplicably pliant GOP toadies and the Fox propaganda machine, he's living his dream, cockier and crazier than ever. The November election, with the Democrats taking the House, is the only thing that will thwart the Trump gangster regime in its plot against America. All I can do is vote and agitate locally but I know people of consequence, like Paul Krugman, will keep ringing the alarm - this is truly DefCon One.
3
"Why It Can Happen Here"
Sadly, I think a lot of "it" has ALREADY happened: flouting the law, attacks on truth and facts, constant Big Lies, and blatant lawlessness, corruption, and self-dealing at the highest levels of government.
3
There was an excellent article on this in the Irish Times recently. It makes disturbing reading
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism...
1
Here's a simple litmus test I ask people in order to cut through all the other smoke screens they hide behind: When you watched the 2016 political conventions and looked out at the faces in the crowd, which party's convention crowd did\do you want America to look like?
I'm a 50sh white libertarian engineer type. I'm no fan of many liberal policies, but what scares me most about conservatism is what you are talking about.
Maybe it's because we elected a black president and almost elected a female? What we mistook for open mindedness, progress, and hope was obviously obscuring something else beneath the surface.
I'm just dumbfounded and hurt in my soul by what's going on.
2
So, this is spot on. Possibly the worst thing about Donald Trump and the current Republican Party has been learning how awful many of my neighbors are. Just look at the photo, and you'll see what I mean.
1
An element of white nationalism, yes, but I think Garrison Kiellor, in a Washington Post editorial before his 'fall', may have had a more accurate take on the country. To paraphrase, he wrote that what we are experiencing is the bitterness and vengeance seeking of the 'class clowns' you knew in high school and now find making angry comments in bars (and social media)because their lives are not satisfying and they need someone to blame.
1
Kudlow wants to investigate Google. Why? Trump doesn't like what the searches say about him. More fuel for the fire.
1
This is the only statement I'm iffy about:
>>Don’t tell me about “economic anxiety.” That’s not what happened in Poland, which grew steadily through the financial crisis and its aftermath. And it’s not what happened here in 2016: Study after study has found that racial resentment, not economic distress, drove Trump voters.<<
What racial resentment was there in Poland, exactly? They didn't take in any refugees. I thought they're a pretty homogeneous lot, ethnically. Am I mistaken?
3
Dr. Krugman is right about the republicans goal of one party rule but I question if this is due to inherent racism. Racism was just the horse thay rode the gop into the barn of dominance.
Since the 1980's the gop's goal is single party rule. This started with Gingrich, Reed, DeLay and the " could not be elected to dog catcher" Grover Norquist. The single party goal has a 4 part strategy which they have adhered to very successfully - voter suppression, gerrymander, get big money into politics and destroy the opposition by propaganda and destroying democratic leaning institutions. Now that the gop is close to one party rule they will follow any leader who delivers their anarchal libertarian agenda even a corrupt figure like trump.
Never vote for a republican again until they rediscover their roots.
So basically, if the Democrats controlled the Executive and Legislative branches, as they did when Obama was elected, our 'Democratic norms' would be intact. But if the Republicans control these branches we're teetering on the precipice of fascism. Interesting.
As Obama steadily grew the power of the Presidency through his liberal (no pun intended) use of Executive Actions, thus sidestepping the democratically-elected Legislature, were you complaining? Didn't this strike you as a bit contrary to the notion of how our Republic was supposed to function, as designed by our Founders?
2
The fear mongers are out in force at The Times again today. Between, Krugman, Blow, front page reporting and the editorial page, it's a daily and constant barrage of anti-Trump bashing by Democrats, liberals and progressives. They hate the fact that Americans have more money in their pockets due to the Trump tax cuts. They hate the fact that Mexico has been forced to renegotiate the one sided NAFTA deal foisted on the U.S. by Clinton, resulting in a lot more American content for cars produced in Mexico by American manufacturers. And they really hate the fact that the economy is booming, and that minority unemployment has dropped to record low levels. That fact alone has increased minority approval of Trump's presidency to higher levels than any previous Republican president. The wailing and gnashing of teeth on the left can be heard across the land from their liberal bastions on the east and west coasts. What a shame for them that America is prospering.
1
Money money money. Pretty clear where your values begin and end
Gosh, I hadn't known I hated all that. I just figured I disliked massive lying from my President, the refusal to look at facts, and constantly being shrieked at about what a girly-man I am.
Psst...nothing's been signed yet. Your vaunted new treaty ain't even finished. And how are you sleeping? Because I hear that North Korea's nukes are no longer a problem.
Gil Scott-Heron had it wrong: the revolution is being televised.
Indeed (and awful deed), it is televised daily -- but, most confounding, it is one of regression (and not to the mean, but to the meanest and most evil).
1
And now Trump wants to censor Google, because the results its search engine displays are supposedly "unfair" and dominated by "fake news."
This country is in serious trouble.
3
The proverbial Rubicon has already been crossed. Some of the beginnings go back to Nixon's 'Silent Majority', were accelarated in the early '80's with concerted attacks on affirmative action and changes in the tax code that resulted in acclerated income and wealth inequality. A Republican House in the 90's that refused to pass any legislation that involved the opposing side, the so-called Hassert Rule. The Republican Senate majority leader in '08 that declared to do nothing except defeat the elected President, event reject their own policies. Political gerrymandering that the Republican dominated US Supreme Court will no overturn. And most recently, a President who has declared to oppose regulataion againt social media companies whom he doesn't like. Fascism is already here.
334
@Michael Arrighi. Agreed: fascism, at least its early stages, is already here. Our elected “representatives” have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities. People will put up with a lot before rebelling, but I am sure I will see blood in the streets in my lifetime.
1
@Michael Arrighi
What is your explanation for the growth of income inequality that took place under Obama? the drug companies, CEOs of charity hospitals got much richer, and working Americans got to pay more for health care and health insurance.
Warren Buffett got billions in federal and ratepayer funds to build windmills. Taxpayers got more federal debt and ratepayers got higher utility bills.
The Republican minority in the Senate confirmed six of Obama's cabinet appointees on Inauguration day and another seven within the week. The Democrat minority in the Senate, having been stripped of their ability to filibuster by Harry Reid, took a full two months of foot dragging to confirm 13 Trump cabinet members.
It is a lie that Republicans obstructed Obama from day one: only Democrats are autocrats.
And by the way, it was Obama who imposed regulation on the internet, and Trump who eliminated it.
1
Does it matter that there is a confusion between racial, ethnic and religious anxiety? I notice the press does not make the distinction. This is just a matter of curiousity.
The underlying issue is what happens after November?
Often, when one is on the outside looking in, things can be much clearer and in that respect, sadly, I must agree with Paul Krugman in his assessment of American society and where it could lead. Ultimately, it is the voter that determines what happens going forward and for the sake of no more than one or two issues, i.e a tax cut and buying into the Republican mantra that "government, taxes and regulation are evil", because they were doing OK, most Americans essentially chose not to pay attention and got the government they deserved.
The author gives many examples of how democracy is being disrupted in America, however, he neglected to point out probably what many believe are the most dangerous changes that are happening in that Trump has appointed several key people to long standing American Institutions that help protect Americans, (i.e ethics, environment, consumer protection, labor standards and laws etc. etc.) whose primary job is to destroy or, at best, significantly weaken them for the benefit of corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. To ignore this would be for America to do so at its peril.
America has a choice and one can't ignore the fact that the mid-terms will determine, once and for all, whether or not America wishes to continue the Trump/Republican "dog eat dog, winner take all" ideology that currently is unfolding or reverse that trend by just saying "no, we are better than that".
The choice is yours.
1
The Great Divide in this country is about those who can think for themselves and are still driven by integrity and those who are driven by tribal fear and whose minds have been so eroded that no amount of sense and evidence impacts on them.
I'm watching what is happening with my heart in my throat. The morality decline in the GOP has been going on for a long time, but the momentum of it is picking up as racist ideologies consolidate. It's terrifying to watch, and economic hardship has nothing to do with it.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama was right when she said the president can't save the country. Voters have to think about the conversations they're having with themselves.
468
@Jennifer Stewart. Thank you Ms. Stewart for your incisive comments. I have observed two primary responses to the madness, neither of which is justified: ad hominem attack, and dewy-eyed treacle such as “we are all Americans, want what’s best for the country, and need to work together.” Your diagnosis steers clear of these errors. We are in a battle for the soul of our country: no compromise; excercise political power; purify our hearts.
2
@Jennifer Stewart Yes, you are absolutely correct and causes me to remember:
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov: (1920 -1992)
2
@Jennifer Stewart Phew. If all that stands between us and fascism is thinking voters, we're in big trouble.
I agree with Krugman that white nationalism was the primary motive that drove voters to cast their ballots for Trump, but I think economic anxiety among white, blue collar voters, especially men, was a secondary concern. These jobs have gone over-seas not (as Republicans claim) because of over-regulation, but because venal corporations know Third World countries offer lower labor costs. Plus, while Wall Street is booming, wages remain stagnant, especially among the middle and lower classes. Of course, Trump's promise to help these Americans was a lie, since he has staffed his administration with plutocrats whose only allegiance is to their fellow billionaires.
2
With Trump’s mafia-style threats to our Canadian economy, he is doing his best to take down our Prime Minister politically, his wrath knows no bounds. Watching him in the Oval Office yesterday using intimidation tactics over NAFTA made me sick. What most Americans don't understand is there is a simmering distain brewing in democratic countries, such as Canada, against your country, (and by default being aimed at you). This is because Trump is all we see now, everything and everyone else is being blurred out, soon to be erased as a single voice speaks for all Americans.
In our hearts we know this is not who you are, but if the mid-terms don't turn the tide, we fear the worst not only for your country but for our own.
621
For those that voted for him and who now constitute an electoral majority this is EXACTLY who they are.
@Holly We are working hard to stop Trump. He didn't win by a plurality but by 77K votes in 3 states. I'm hoping that the energy on the ground with progressive voters will be enough to take the House & hopefully save the senate. Trump & republicans represent a minority of this country.
@Holly
We were all raised to know one thing: Blame Canada!
:)
(For the record, I LOVE Canada)
Paul indeed this can happen - this move from true Democracy to tyranny (etc). HOWEVER, it's not just by Republicans. It's by, our ELECTED OFFICIALS (politicians) and by power hungry political activist groups. When Democrats return to power they will bury anything "wrong" a Democrat does. Both parties are at fault, both parties for sure.
2
What did you mean by writing that democracy,' as we've known it,' is dead? Compared to Poland and Hungary, I would claim the EU is very definitely democratic.
Rather than painting everyone who doesn't agree with us by a puritanical moralistic brush, as much as it may feel good to do so, why not espouse a solution, like maybe it's time for a Parliamentary system in America? That way every special interest group can remain true to their perceived purpose, but will still have to work with others. Stranger things have happened. Right now we are in a bi-polar universe which excludes half of us at any given point in time, and our foreign policy is like a giant who lurches from one direction to another. Take the anonymous and corporate money out of politics and it could happen. The country is more diverse now, why not have parties that reflect it? I'd be happy to join the Responsible Education, Healthcare Party, and Living Wage Party.
3
Both Democrats and Republicans want to hold on to power once they get it. The major difference is that Republicans reward big business rather than the common man when any policy is enacted.
4
@Southern Ed
Both parties are not the same. Republicans seem to be willing to do anything to consolidate and hold on to power, destroying our democracy simply isn't a concern. Trump has suggested that the government investigate why Google returns so many negative results, with the end result being government control of Google's algorithms. When have you ever heard a Democrat suggest something like that? Never. Fox News has basically become state-run television. McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat from a sitting president, refusing to hold interviews. The GOP is rushing Kavanaugh through, blocking release of negative information. We know that Kavanaugh thinks presidents should be above the law. What do you think should happen if Trump were to shoot someone on 5th Avenue? Should he be immediately arrested and charged, or would he need to be impeached and removed from office first? This is a serious question. I'm not suggesting that he would actually do something like that, but he's been accused in open court of participating in 2 felonies. Were he not the president, he'd already have been indicted on those. Do you believe the president is above the law? That anything is acceptable to advance one's political agenda?
3
Dr. Krugman makes the same mistake as many other writers recently. He is confusing liberalism with democracy.
Democracy is a political system where the majority rules. While a case can be made that Mr. Trump exploited a quirk in the rules to become President with less popular votes than his opponent, the same cannot be said in Hungary or Poland.
When the majority of the people want things to tighten up and get it, it may be a failure of liberalism but it is a success for democracy.
4
@mikecody, The US Constitution limits the powers of the majority to protect minorities.
@Steve Bolger - Very true, which is a limitation on democracy by liberalism. Again, these are not, despite recent confusion, the same thing.
What’s fascinating about America’s current crisis (I think it’s a kind of crisis; I’m sure trump supporters don’t) is that it’s almost entirely self-inflicted. Countries like Poland and Hungary are buffeted by external forces—for example, the EU—and some of its citizens chafe under what they perceive to be the union’s restrictive rules and regulations. That dissatisfaction serves as a focal point to rally people to nationalist causes, along with intolerance and older grievances.
The US, in contrast, has shaped world policy, economics, and finance for decades. It has done a lot of buffeting itself, while remaining relatively resilient against destabilizing external forces.
But the republican party, in its thirst for power, has been sowing internal discord and division for decades. And the bulk of trump’s effort is directed inwards—against the press, the judiciary, immigrants, and others.
Yes, trump mouths off to trading partners and pretends to be carrying out diplomacy with North Korea, but other than declaring victory at every step, he’s not actually accomplishing much. What’s happening outside America is meant to be an entertaining distraction to his fans, so even the ones who care about a truly democratic America pay less attention to what he’s doing in his attempts to destroy it.
I wish I could be more certain that Democrats will win the House of Representatives. It would take another seismic shift in sentiment. Can it happen twice in two years?
2
this story is easily comparable to Ross Douthat's epistle on the pope and his allegiance. not that i think the don(ald) can compare to a pope, and yet, the parallel is easy to see.
but what to do about it? my own believe in both, the church and that of a noble America has lost most of its foundation.
thank you though for Paul Krugman's eloquent reminder that there are still some few ready to rescue our republic from republicans.
2
"... the ruling parties have established regimes that maintain the forms of popular elections, but have destroyed the independence of the judiciary, suppressed freedom of the press, institutionalized large-scale corruption and effectively delegitimized dissent."
Then it's a good thing the U.S. constitution includes provisions to guard us from the popular vote - the Electoral College.
Typically, companies slide into autocracy slowly. By the time they see that they have given up much or all of their freedoms it is too late. For all those Republicans who are contributing to this slide, they should realize that once the autocrat is in place, he can focus on purging those of his own party who are not sufficiently "loyal" or enthusiastic.
2
All those who Pooh Pooh what mr Krugman says need only to attend some of Trump’s rallies, and see for themselves the glee in the eyes of those in attendance. It is like this, bungler, is the second coming of Christ. Every word that proceeds out of his mouth, no matter how racist, no matter how incorrect, no matter how idiotic, they latch onto. You would think you were at a Nuremberg rally. He has these people in the palm of his hand. And frighteningly he knows it.
4
The Titan has been saying this for years. Welcome aboard.
America has always had fascism just under its skin.
But the problem is not with DJT, it is with the human being, or at least a significant portion of the species.
Get out while you can.
The camps are not far behind.
2
I am afraid Krugman's warning comes too late. Fascism has also been an American doctrine for quite a while: consider Southern slavery, the wholesale genocide of Native Americans due to Western expansion, the Imperial wars of conquest against Mexico and Spanish colonies in the late 1890's under the guise of the Monroe doctrine; the support--either covert or military--for every single right-wing dictatorship in South America; and the unfettered vulture capitalism that has led to so many useless intervention in the Middle East [follow the oil trail]. And now, of course a criminal First Family whose leader governs like a Mafia Boss, whose "base" behaves like a pack of hounds from hell. and twisted version of Christianity which "supports" him reeks of fascist authoritarianism, which I define quite simply as any movement to grab absolute control of people's souls, minds and bodies.
4
In criticizing Republicans, Krugman conveniently ignores what the Peoples Republik of California has done in passing laws and regulations that has turned that state into a liberal democrat sinkhole. This far exceeds anything the Republicans have done and the democrats actively encourage illegals to vote and even hold office in their liberal paradise.
2
“Houston, we have a problem.....”
‘Nuf said.
1
'But why is America, the birthplace of democracy, so close to following the lead of other countries that have recently destroyed it?'
Decades of propaganda and brain washing from Fox News and Rupert Murdoch and his family.
4
Finally, a comparison that seems apt. Although Trump incites America's brown shirts, parallels to Nazi Germany seem excessive because we're not working our way towards genocide. While I'm surprised and disappointed in my fellow Americans' manifest racism - I thought most Americans were just "a little bit" racist upon self-reflection - I still hold out hope that changing demographics and videographric exposition of the way non-whites are treated - 911 calls on blacks for napping, kids in cages, will explain in simple terms the day to day realities of many non-whites.
I'm much more afraid of corporatization of America, of America turning into a collection of oligarchies beyond the reach of the law who can get away with their bullying consumers and employees through forced arbitration, non-payment of taxes due to tax cuts and lax enforcement, leaving them enough cash to pay for fancy lawyers and lobbyists as a cost of doing business.
4
So sad and amazed that our country has fallen so low so quickly. If this is about white people not be willing to have the USA be a multi cultural country, these people are sad. In a different time, I would say they were to be pitied. But today, I feel anger and hatred to white people ( I am one) who are racists.
4
I recall that the United States was a country full of racists prior to World War Two when everyone had to come together in order to survive. My wife's mother could not get a job until she used a different family name. The colleges had racial and religious quotas. Even during the war our secretary of state prevented the rescue of countless Jews from the German abomination. Perhaps DJT and the republicans are playing to the simmering hatreds of a dark past.
3
Thank you! Thank you, Dr. Krugman!
I live in SC and we have already gotten there...........
3
Let's remember that many people in Poland and Hungary support their governments, just as millions of Russians support Putin. Authoritarian leaders are always popular with a segment of the population; Hitler was once very popular in Germany.
Just this morning, President Trump tweeted about how Google is "rigged" in its search results, toward the "Fake News Media" and "National Left-Wing Media." If he could, President Trump would happily censor, abolish, and punish institutions like the New York Times. And millions of American would cheer him on.
While nearly all Americans decry fascism in other countries, too many Americans happily support President Trump as he demeans and debases basic democratic principles. President Trump's popularity with his base does not make him any less dangerous to the very institutions that have made our country "great."
Fascism - in our own unique American way - is at our doorstep.
5
This is a hitjob piece, headed by an offensive quip, meant to attack Poland and Hungary for oposing the open borders globalist agenda. I have been to both countries, they are great, in no way as described by Krugman.
6
@alexgri
And the plot thickens as the conspiracy to shut down fourth estate spreads across the Atlantic. Thank god for the tourists who figure out how people live between bites of pierogis and shots of palinka.
Republicans love freedom so much they will take it from you.
1
And now James Inhofe is slated to the Senate Armed Services after dissing John McCain within hours of the AZ senator's death.
Disgusting.
2
The canary in the coal mine was when Trump insulted Ohio voters by calling out at a rally days before the primary "How dumb are the Ohio voters?" and yet voted for Trump en masse! Latent racism laced with angry frustration is the only force strong enough to have "normal" people vote against their interests: the poor to vote for a crooked millionaire; the religious right to vote for the most sinful of sinners; women to vote for a sexual-predator; the jews to vote for a politician exhorting religious scapegoating and advocating deportations; etc. I am ashamed for the greatest generation who are still alive to witness this pernicious wave that stink of the fascism they sacrificed so much to keep at bay. How fast we forget the lessons of history...
4
Are we in danger of becoming the next Poland or Hungary? Well, we elected Donald Trump to the presidency, a man who we knew to be an unabashed racist, a proud misogynist, an open practitioner of thuggery, a charlatan and a fraud. He has done everything in his power to make sure those perceptions of him were accurate, or even understated. Last week one of his associated was convicted of eight felonies, and was one juror away from being convicted of 10 more. Another associate directly implicated Trump in one felony, and there may be many more to follow. So what happened re. Trump's job approval? It went up 2 points.
Are we following in the footsteps of Poland and Hungary as they march toward fascism? No, I'm afraid it may be the other way around. The country has more than once in its past been confronted with the specter of the overt calls to racist hatred, has been tempted to turn its back on democratic values and slip into the kind of hate filled atmosphere that is antithetical to who we have aspired to be. We have so far been able to restrain those demons. This time, I'm not so sure. We have to fight like hell. And we may lose.
2
@David L "unabashed racist" please cite some examples of this claim good sir.
2
A very sobering analysis Mr. Krugman. The Republicans are indeed focused on single party rule, to the detriment of democracy. I cringe every time Mitch McConnel thoughtlessly repeats his mantra "It's what the American people want." No, Mitch! It is not what the majority of Americans want. Most Americans, dare I say, want a government that is responsive to its' citizens needs, while being fair and just. The Republican Party, on the other hand, is dedicated to the creation of a government that is only responsive to their donor overlords, party orthodoxy, and greed. All other Americans be damned.
5
Fascism loves preserving the power & control of the national gov't. Doesn't that mean Antifa is a truly fascist organization?
Trump is such a refreshing source of what has been a missing factor in American society that he could not only be voted back in two years from now, but you'll have people wishing that they could get him back until he's in his eighties.
Freedom's best friend is a President de-powering the Washington, D.C. swamp. The children squalling about how quickly the White House flag goes up or down are just locking in more precincts to vote with our President.
American voters are already wise to these shallow fake tears at the NY Times for the loss of a Senator that Democrat media advocates have sneered at for decades.
1
@L'osservatore, What we have in the US is a badly supervised collection of arbitrarily-defined "states" making economic policies to compete with each other culturally. It is a phenomenon anticipated by the "commerce clause" of the US Constitution, which empowers Congress to suppress such internally damaging competition, and require equally protective laws over all the states.
3
Thoughtful citizens is what is needed right now. To quote Laurence Olivier, as he described the general mood in Germany when Hitler was first coming to power: "But maybe the time for thinking was over."
3
America, "the birthplace of democracy" ...? I'm afraid not. The birthplace of democracy is Greece. America was founded on extermination and slavery. It was never truly democratic. Wake up if you want to win the midterms.
5
It’s unbelievable how big the difference is between how Americans see themselves and how they are perceived from the rest of the world. I’d like to think this is just hypocrisy and not ignorance or naïveté
3
And the sky is falling
Time might be ripe for another American civil war. Plentiful guns in USA is a convenient trigger if racial resentment of the Trump white supporters and GOP members push the American political system into Fascism in the Poland-Hungary mode. There will be blood.
1
This is a very poorly argued column.
Krugman claims that the GOP is attempting to lock in permanent one party rule. He initially supports this argument by citing three purported examples of such behavior. The examples aren’t particularly compelling, but fair enough.
Unfortunately, problems start when Krugman follows those examples with the wholly unsubstantiated claim that “[t]here are surely scores, if not hundreds of similar stories across the nation.”
Things get worse when, having created “hundreds” of examples of objectionable GOP behavior out of thin air, Krugman goes on to assert that those non-existent examples constitute damning evidence of GOP malfeasance: “What all of them reflect is the reality that the modern GOP feels no allegiance to democratic ideals; it will do whatever it thinks it can get away with to entrench its power.”
In short, Krugman speculates as to the existence of “hundreds” of examples of GOP misbehavior that he thinks is “surely” happening, then relies on his own invented examples to draw conclusions about what the modern GOP “feels” and “will do”. Unsurprisingly, he concludes that what the GOP “feels” and “will do” is the very thing he accused the GOP of doing at the outset: seeking to entrench its own power.
This is lazy journalism. Krugman’s column stands little chance of convincing readers to adopt a perspective they don’t already share. Krugman and the Times need to do better.
6
See the little blue thingies in the three paragraphs in which Krugman cited specific examples of what he's worried about? Those are called, "links," which is short for, "hyperlinks."
They're called that because if you tap or click on them, you are linked to the news article or other reference that supports the claim.
Fun stuff, ain't it?
1
@Michael Hendershot krugman has become a sorry hack. its depressing. under Wilson and FDR, we had much greater threats of fascism- not even close to anything trump has done, and not only did the republic survive, they are heroes to the Left. is krugman so ignorant he doesnt know this, or even care? these hysterical screams of fascism, world-wide famine and ecological holocaust are utterly tiresome, unintellectual and juvenile. hard to find any sober, intelligent analysis out there.
2
"Willful blindness." End of story. We studied it in my psych classes. Cult-ism, indoctrination. Hitler got it; Mein Kampf. The only cure is education otherwise these subjects fall under the spell and are lost - never know what hit them. Feel empowered, special. Pride. Becomes a madness of sorts. Look at the young girl holding the hat at the top of the article. I agree with Dr. Paul - it all hinges on the coming elections in November.
1
For two years all of Mr Krugmans predictions have been wrong. He should take a moment and regroup. Stop being an alarmist, and get your facts straight. Fascism was created in Italy and reworked into the form of Nazism in the beer bars of Bavaria and Austria. Bavaria is very well known for its car industry, and Austria for its wine, but both those regions are also rich and well known for their contribution to the Nazizm. Bavaria and Austria, by the way, are not in Eastern Europe. So many inaccuracies from a Nobel laureate!!
3
So when you say republicans, you should really be saying white people. Right? Just say it.
2
@E
No, it's not all white people, and you
must be aware of that. Why the exaggeration here?
Lots of whites detest what is going on. Haven't you
noticed this?
1
What will we do when Trump's treason is shown in hard evidence?
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
2
Moral panics frequently start out being reactionary and end up looking silly: see Allan Bloom and the African-American Studies program at Cornel.
But then there's Weimar . . .
Professor Krugman's essay title recalls Sinclair Lewis's prescient 1936 novel and play, *It Can't Happen Here* where Buzz Windrip becomes fascist dictator of the United States with the complicity of Congress, and a series of pie-in-the-sky false economic promises. "Negroes" are re-enslaved and Jews are purged while complicit billionaires thrive.
Lewis knew the American character, particularly it's dark side. He was the first American Nobel Laureate in literature. *It Can't Happen Here* should be read again and again. It is coming true today.
4
What all of Trump's supporters don't realize is that if Trump/ Republicans somehow do sieze power and democracy is lost everything will change. The people he is now sucking up to for votes will become dispensable. Guns will most likely be outlawed because they are a threat to tyrants. Once religion, especially evangelicals, wake up and begin speaking up, that will be controlled. It is the pattern wherever tyrants seize power.
Eventually many thinking Germans turned against Hitler but the power was already solidified and there was nothing that could be done.
The question is, once the U.S. falls who will be the world power to stand up for freedom and liberty? Exactly.
3
Maybe I'm paranoid, but I put a lot of this facist movement at Putin's feet.
1
When a party’s only guiding principle is winning elections at any price, they have no principles. The Republicans could never become fascists because that would mean having actual principles. They have become party of kleptomaniacs, driven to take any advantage that presents itself. If this means abandoning past positions or democratic values, so be it. If America becomes fascist or an oligarchy, as long as they are in charge, so be it.
2
The truth; the whole truth; and nothing but the truth!!! There has always been a fascist streak in American politics. If not there would have been no Civil War, no McCarthyism, and no Trump. It shocks me how gullible millions of Americans are to this MAGA garbage the ALT-RIGHT has foisted on the U.S.; but as P.T. Barnum once observed long ago; there really is one born every minute.
2
What is this supposed to be?
"High Noon" for President Donald Trump?
And what's next?
Melania and Stormy Daniels
trotting by in a horse and buggy?
You all need to calm down, lighten up
and find a little love in your hearts.
1
not in california
1
The only threat to our constitution is the attempted coup by the small group at the top of NSA, Justice and FBI. The kid glove treatment of HRC who clearly violated the law with her private server as compared to the treatment Trump received is appalling. All of this justified because Trump is personally grotesque to most of us. I can't stand the guy personally, but people had a right to vote for him and did knowing he was scummy. Get over it Krugman. You're insulting half of America on a daily basis.
2
@bill
You need to look up some data...polling and voting.
Polls estimate support/approval at slightly over 40%
and the number of voters in 2016 was around 35% of
total eligibles.
That does not support your estimate by several base points.
Why do you think it is as large as "half"? I'm curious.
1
No, Dr. Krugman is correctly pointing out that 38-42% (not 50%) are driven by their personal resentments and fueled by propaganda to the point that they are eager to embrace the very same political system that their heroes in the “Greatest Generation” fought so hard to defeat. That these quislings wrap themselves in flags and Bibles doesn’t change what they are, and we should be unafraid to use the term fascist to describe them. They have earned it,
1
dont forget Israel.... and soon India.
1
can't disagree that American Nazis, no matter which name they go by this week, are dangerous and on the rise.
but I think Greece might object to your definition of America as the birthplace of democracy. let's just hope it won't become the graveyard of democracy courtsey of the GOP's strategy of catering to our lowest lowlifes and fringiest fringe.
1
To African-Americans, Native Americans and immigrants, the USA has always been a fascist country. Now it's finally dawning on the white middle class people who were insulated against it, and we are seeing this country for the rotten place it really is.
1
I am very sorry that such a respectable intellectual writes nonsense. Well, there is no regime in Poland, no political prisoners, nobody closes newspapers or TV stations unfriendly to the government. Everyone can protest. And one more thing, fascism was born in Italy and Germany and not in Eastern Europe. Pre-war Poland was a republic with a parliament elected by citizens. In September 1939 she became a victim of German Nazi fascists and and Soviet communists.
6
We already have gun toting, swastika waving, racists, brazenly marching to the tune of the far right Nationalist. Why do you think they are such ardent supporters of the NRA ?
There are people in the USA that would love nothing more than to see a violent overthrow of the government and a one party rules all system.
Read, " It can't happen here" by Sinclair Lewis. An oldie but goodie.
1
Yes, the NRA wing of the right is constantly threatening a violent uprising. I welcome them to do so, as it would provide a wonderful opportunity for the rest of us to put them in a nice, safe, for profit prison and off of the voter rolls.
1
@USMC1954
At the rate things are going they may not need to overthrow the government.
1
We are nearly at the crossroads of humanity. Our fate will be sealed in about two months time and will be decided by people who normally can't be bothered to vote.
But we have to once again look at the reasons why people don't vote. Primaries are decided by partisan hacks leaving us with unpalatable candidates on both sides of the aisle. Open primaries would bring enough voters to the polls to effectively endanger both parties and thus avoid our decent into a single party system.
1
I am not so sure that race and economics are so separate. From the end of WWII until the mid-70s, wages rose, unions advanced, white people (and some black) entered the middle class, and except for the South and the diminution of its white privilege via the Civil Rights Movements, voting did not follow strictly racist lines. (On the other hand, the riots/rebellions, rise of militant black and anti-war groups, etc. did lead to racial fear and animosity towards blacks).
But when GDP and corporate profits kept rising but wages stayed flat, from the late 70s until today, whites looked for explanations, and racial scapegoating became an easy (false) answer, stoked by Republicans, as Krugman describes. Some whites continued to vote Democratic while others, who felt they were stagnating economically (even if doing slightly better than other whites), not seeing the advances they lived through in those earlier years, fell for the racist answer.
This is not to deny that whites felt threatened by the movement of blacks, women, gay people, etc. for equal status, and that people like Nixon took advantage of that. Just that it's complicated and economics are a part of it.
1
I wonder if there will come a time when a group of progressive states (who will here remain nameless) will succeed from the Union in order to preserve democracy, leaving a Republican Theocracy to govern the rest.
2
@toby There was a cartoon way back about a division, giving us the United States/Canada (consisting of East and West Coast plus northern states) on the one hand, and Jesusland on the other.
2
I hope CA, OR, and WA succeed in seceding. I'll be there in a heartbeat if it happens.
It's not just White Nationalism that is driving the movement towards facism. Economic anxiety is also a factor. On this point, I don't agree with Krugman though the rest of his argument is correct. The areas that supported Trump the most in 2016 included old 'rust belt' cities that had lost their economic base (Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania).
The supporters were far broader than the out-and-out Ku Klux Klanners (though those were included as well). But, it was people with less education who feared loss of their economic status through the globalization of production that has occurred over the last half century. Sure, they blamed minorities and other religions (i.e., Islam) for their problems, rather than multinational corporations that control global production. But, it was their fear of losing their income that predisposed them to support a White Nationalist leader (Trump).
This was true in Germany in 1933 as well as in other places. Economic insecurity plus racism leads to support for fascist-type leaders.
1
I wish Prof. Krugman would not always avoid discussing one of the sources of disaffection for people in Western democracies, but he's done it again: neoliberalism! This horrible ideology, which began to take root in the 1970s and which increased across the West in the 1980s, as well as in former Communist states after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has helped to cement in the minds of many people the idea that representative government is a sham, and that only right-wing options--which of course still apply neoliberal principles while using populist rhetoric--will turn things around and provide real popular rule. This has been a problem in the US since Reagan won in 1980, and I prayed that Obama would reject neoliberalism, but in fact Wall Street's domination of his administration, which prevented their prosecution or effective solutions for the housing crisis, and the awkward structure and form of Obamacare, when simpler options, like single-payer or Medicare for All, are perfect examples of how neoliberalism rules the day. Trump rails against it without ever using the word, yet he reimposes it regularly (ever more tax cuts, privatization, etc.). When when Prof. Krugman or a US or Western leader expose and turn against this hideous approach to economics and society?
2
I was going to say that anybody who thinks that single-payer would be simpler and hey-presto solve everything has no idea what they're talking about, but then I looked again at the weird tirade about "neoliberalism."
Basic rule, okay? Any time you find yourself talking just like a Trumpist, stop and think about just what side you're on.
Dr. Krugman is probably right, but I hope he had a bad day and is looking at the grim side, we all do that. I'll wait till the November elections to see where the country is going. Of course, we have to acknowledge the flood of money from our own "oligarchs," gerrymandering, minority voter disenfranchisement and other interference to minimize the number of votes cast.
The problem is that the moderate Republicans and I really don't know who their icon was, maybe Eisenhower, are gone. Why? The current group of Democrats in power at every political level are the new moderate Republicans. To use a colloquial term, they are DINOs, I use the FDR type Democrats as my benchmark. When we have two political parties paying attention to the top 10 percent of income earners and the wealthy people, who represents the rest of us?
If the Democrats don't recognize the peril we are under and do what is necessary to gain the trust of the mass of voters, they too will become a forgotten political force. We need the next generation FDR to rally us to keep fascism out of our own country.
2
I'd suggest to you that yacking about "DINOs" and cheerfully yelling about how all right-thinking people have to agree with you makes one sound just like a Trumpist, and is a pretty good index to the danger that Paul Krugman's writing about.
1
What should never be overlooked is the fact that all migrants -- given the choice-- would prefer to live in their homeland where they are most comfortable in their traditional cultural settings. However, because their homelands have been destroyed by these "wars of liberation'" funded mainly by the military-industrial complex of those Western nations that are now complaining about " the burden of immigration being imposed upon them", they have no place to go. The solution can only be to stop the shipment of all arms to these unstable regions of the world and rebuild that which has been destroyed so that all can return to lead a normal life. That's not rocket science -- it's common sense.
3
I fully share Paul Krugman's concerns about the erosion of democracy and the move towards one-party rule, a la Poland. He states that immigration and racial animus are factors. I would add another important factor that has contributed to the current polarization and unwillingness to compromise that has characterized the Republican Party since the election of Bill Clinton (though the roots had been simmering since the Johnson presidency). I am talking about religious fundamentalism, both Evangelical and Catholic. For fundamentalists, compromise is not an option, as they think they hold absolute truths that are not negotiable. While society has been evolving on sexual issues and gender equality, fundamentalists have risen to protect what they consider are God mandated norms. The simmering discussion on abortion rights has also solidified among fundamentalists as a political rallying issue. When you add these factors to others that matter to the wealthy and donor classes, you have the beginnings of a coalition that does not believe in compromise. As they realize that politically the majority is moving in a different direction, their recourse is to rig the system in their favor to ensure permanent domination. Throughout history, minorities have ruled. Is the experiment with American democracy a brief parenthesis in the history of the human species?
312
Please highlight this comment. It is an important point. It describes my conservative Catholic (and Polish) family in Nebraska.
Fundamentalism in all its forms is why Michelle Obama, God love her, was wrong in recommending that we go high when they, in pursuit of their spurious beliefs, go low.
@David VB, As Rudy says "Truth isn't truth
"Senator Susan Collins of Maine was a voice of independence in the health care debate; now she sees no problem with having a president who’s an unindicted co-conspirator appoint a Supreme Court justice who believes that presidents are immune from prosecution."
What is the reason for that? What is the reason for the sweeping change in what used to be the centrist Republican party? I can't help but feel that there is a big piece of this puzzle missing.
3
Not just another Poland or Hungary, but another Austria, or another France where an astonishing third of the population voted for Mari Le Pen n the last French election, or another Czechoslovakia; or another Germany where the ADF continues to make sweeping political gains and keep an eye on sainted Sweden in their forthcoming election, their populist vote is surging. So, why is this? I would submit that these countries have finally woken up to the 'tyranny' of the disastrous globalist/diversity experiment which has been foisted on them without their consent. I too spoke to an associate, not an 'expert' (thank God) like you spoke to but feet on terra firma none the less, unlike a terra incognita 'expert'; he talked of feeling a sense of dread after the Trump win and said 'perhaps most of us who live in coastal cities have found ourselves having criminal thoughts and violent fantasies since 9 November. Some involve Trump and Steve Bannon; others involve white supremacists like Milo Yiannopoulos'. But my friend wished to protect himself from a slide into 'tyranny', the tyranny of resistance where it is easier to hate than persuade, of course, he admitted that his feelings provide a measure of psychological release, but they are also difficult to manage. Living with bile and rage is not pleasant; when we act on our fears, we usually end up being ruled by them.' I was almost converted by such honest doubt about the 'tyranny' of resistance.
1
The difference is that 38 percent of the population is made of asians, blacks and hispanics. So, no, it can't happen here. Our American democracy has always been far removed from the ideal proposed by the crafters of the constitution, but it will never be Facism lite.
3
This piece is disturbingly cogent speculation. I hope it's false.
3
For heaven's sake, America, VOTE!
4
I agree that the USA is ominously beginning to look like Poland and Hungary. What many Americans fail to understand is that your democracy, your institutions are not nearly as robust as you think they are.
The USA's system of government attributes far too much power to the president (think of the power to veto legislation and the appointment of judges). That is a flaw in the constitution from the beginning, but the problem has steadily grown over time, now culminating in this unmitigated disaster. The revered checks and balances are simply dysfunctional. Congress has virtually completely abandoned its responsibilities. The Supreme Court has become just another partisan political body. The president has already acquired almost dictatorial powers.
The uneducated masses, who get their information from social media and Fox News, believe all the lies the president and his propaganda machines are spouting. His labeling of the mainstream media as the enemy of the people is very effective.
I remember many Americans saying that they could not believe how the civilized Germans could fall for Hitler. Well, the exact same thing is happening to the USA. And it is going to be very difficult to correct this.
12
You didn't mention Russia
1
This would make Trump the top banana in a Banana Republic. We’re all cavendishes now.
1
Mr. Krugman has it right: It's racial anxiety (a nice term for racism) that is keeping Trump in office. What was not ok to say before Trump ran for office is now Republican Dogma: preserve our "culture", a euphemism for prejudice against anyone who is not white. This country has seen threats of this nature twice in the 20th century. First, when Nazi sympathizers argued in favor of isolationism, and second, when the McCarthy hearings painted anyone with liberal leanings a communist. It took an attack on Pearl Harbor to recover from the first threat and a very slow but belated awakening to recover from the second. What will it take this time?
353
@Sledge Nice try. The racists have always been here. They are more open now.
Wanting to keep out Islamic radicalism is not racism.
@Sledge
"What will it take this time?"
A heart attack or a stroke.
@Sledge
It will take a crashing economy and the rich losing money.
The Cassandra’s of the Left will always have their day. The sky is still above us, is it not?
Yet again, Paul Krugman sees the dark night of fascism descending on America. What a surprise.
Very much that emanates from the mouth of Donald Trump is extremely obnoxious. For instance, I find it rude and disrespectful when he calls members of the federal bench “so-called judges.” But so long as he complies with their so-called rulings, which thus far he’s done, this kind of hyperventilation strikes me as a tad overstated.
2
Think you meant Why It Can Happen Here AGAIN
1
This is how we white people act when someone might get their rightful share of power in our democracy? I am ashamed to be white.
5
You can trust Paul Krugman because he isn't greedy.
Looking at the smiling faces of the women in the photo is such a depressing scene. Particularly the young girl at the center. They are so charmed by the misogynist standing in front of them. What is it they get from him? Reassurance they’re white? You’re white ladies.
7
Look at all the rich, white middle-aged men in power. They want to keep it. Whatever it takes. We might just have to wait until they die out- like dinosaurs.
1
well put together thoughts , economy could be a point as well .say good paying jobs are in computers and they employ brown people, blacks are taking women and south Americans are driving cars isn't life should be easy born a white Male but that century ended office meetings are conducted in Indian language .capitlism went too far for liking for a very long time America enjoyed fruits of capitalism every Tom dick and harry was making something out of life now how do you compete against bozos. life in general is becoming very hard for humans, this is not only case in America in most of the countries there is no structural advantage anymore
1
Paul KRUGMAN, I am sorry to tell you that you are a sore looser.
Remember your dire economic prediction if Trump was elected ? Remember the stupid "The new normal for growth rate is 2%" ?
Open your eyes, you are expected to be a smart guy !
France is going to the drains, we are fed up with migrants who want to impose their lifestyle, who want to reap the benefits of healtcare, who create insecurity (there ie not a day without a knife attack in France), who doesn't bring anything to the plate except troubles.
See what going to happen for the next European election: a rise of far-right parties, it is a writing on the wall.
See what has happened in Sweden following your policies.
You can try to deny reality but it bites you back adamantly.
Once Coline Powell told to Arik Sharon : we have a wall but everyday I have latinos who come accross it.
Arik Sharon answered: I wish I had latinos coming to Israël every day.
It tells it all !
4
Gadzooks but do I miss the Cold War...when fascism was 'over there' and the political parties were in more or less agreement as to who the wolves at the door were.
36
Oh no, the Don just discovered Google search he was not happy when he Google himself.
2
Yes, we are and always have been a virulently racist, xenophobic, homophobic people. Now, it's just acceptable to trumpet proudly what many always believed but mostly kept to themselves.
You forgot to mention the refusal to even consider President Obama's Supreme Court nominee after the death of Justice Scalia.
2
It's good to see Mr. Krugman waking up to what was clear some years ago. Now if only the hystericals of the Democrat party would get out of fantasyland, but they won't.
America is Germany 1938. The opposition has been castrated and converted to ineffective shards of victims. Each little splinter group screams "Me, too", in its egotism. I want, I want. It's selfie time in America. Each splinter is too busy looking at its image to see what's happening in the real world. The focus is on the mirrored Me.
Poland and Hungary are little pipsqueak forerunners. Wait until you see the juggernaut unwind. You might read its history in The Devil's Chessboard by David Talbot for starters,
but most of those who saw this coming were locked out of the mainstream, branded as cranks, oddballs, and unpatriotic - like Snowden and Assange among many others. Look up Tom's Dispatch or Consortium News or Intercept.
We're out there fighting a losing battle for real democracy in an America lost. It will take more than a few attractive, fresh, but inexperienced faces to have any hope. It will require new leaders with clout not the sold-out haggard ones we have.
4
@Anonymot: "It will take more than a few attractive, fresh, but inexperienced faces to have any hope. It will require new leaders with clout not the sold-out haggard ones we have"
It will take a revolution. The Democratic Party is marginally better in representing the 99 percent. Schumer and Pelosi are the 1 percent's hedge strategy. Bernie and some of the fresh faces are our hope. Krugman opposed him vigorously and put his weight behind Hillary, another hedge of the 1 percent. It was so obvious to me that she was a phony. If Krugman has changed his mind, he clearly didn't say it on this pages.
Fascism comes after periods of instability, typically economic. We are lucky that the imperialist accumulation of centuries still left a few crumbs to keep the desolate from utter destitution. Not for much longer though. As Gordon Later brilliantly exposes the reality in "The One Percent Solution," the game is to get the 99 percent accept lower standards. The lower the bracket the lower the standard on top of it. At some point, the lumpenized proletariat turns to drastic alternatives. Fascism is what worked in Germany and Italy of the 30s, Communism in Russia twenty years before that.
Krugman is an excellent economist. I sat in his classes in my youth (and his). History and Political Philosophy are not his fortes though.
Comments like this don't get printed by the editors. They reserve their Picks for wishy washy verbiage.
1
Party first Mr. Krugman. Your weekly columns reflect this more than the dim light you try to shine on POTUS supporters. For our country to advance toward a better future we should all take a close look in the mirror.
It is so much easier and less scary to have a king or dear leader order the world for us and that is what America has chosen. Propaganda and bribery work and so money wins again and finally. In 25 years we will still call ourselves a democracy but people will not really understand what that means as they will rely on the dear leader to tell us what is and what is not. The fatal flaw of us humans is that we desire a leader to tell us what is and what is not. Bosses, churches, dear leaders, parents, fashion critics,etc. This kind of democracy thing had a good run here though, didn't it?
2
You failed to mention that Clinton operative Lanny Davis blatantly lied about Trump's having any knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting. The Democrats' unbridled attempt to dispose Trump at any cost - including the altering of truth - is certainly evidence of your allegation that our democracy tilting toward fascism.
5
There is no Act to the article 129 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. Polish Citizens have not the right to vote for the President of the Republic of Poland as well as representatives to the Sejm and Senate and organs of local government. Lawlessness of governments has been going on since 2000.
“...modern GOP feels no allegiance to democratic ideals”
This is scary. But that has been about the norm where a smaller group is distinctly privileged while a much larger group lacks such privileges, as in feudal system or as in British aristocracy.
Democracy, or socialism for that matter, not unlike the abolitionist and civil rights movements involve "renunciation" of privileges. Any movement that follows the direction of conscience involves renunciation, sacrifice.
When we pursue lusty indulgence, we ignore principles and rationalize just about everything as a televangelist asking his flock for money to buy an ultramodern jet to reach them "faster."
What we need to do is exercise our one privilege, which is readily available. Vote in every election. Don't go for a "perfect" candidate, as many liberal Democrats did in 2016, for Donald Trump to win.
PK also writes, “Study after study has found that racial resentment, not economic distress, drove Trump voters.” I would say, far more than racial resentment or economic distress, Trump voters largely became Trump voters because of Donald Trump, his outsize charisma.
I would roughly guess less than 10% of Trump voters had racial resentment. For that matter, Hitler captured power almost entirely because of his amazing charisma. Fidel Castro captured power in Cuba with his charm; he was more rational than Hitler and resisted a lot of temptations to last until he renounced his power 10 years before his death.
2
Bill Clinton's loudest supporters have become Donald Trump's loudest critics. Funny, isn't it ?
"The point is that we’re suffering from the same disease — white nationalism run wild..."
I would have colored that description as, "we’re suffering from the same disease", unparalleled invasion.
1
Now that Paul Krugman has pointed out, yet again, the blindingly obvious -- that racism (and other forms of bigoted hatred) -- are the foundation of Trump's support, we can expect the New York Times to provide "balance" and run yet another front page piece profiling the (claimed) anxieties and hardships of the Trump Voter.
5
The socialist democrat hatred exhibited daily is frightening to many of us. More chilling is their quest to intentionally try to find a crime and take down a sitting president who was duly voted in by the electoral vote and the voice of the people. The only Russian collusion was a false dossier which started with the socialist democrats and we, the taxpayers, are paying for with a current cost of over 20 million. The socialist democrats continue to show how they will spend your money along with changing the law/Constitution upon how it fits their socialist/wealth redistribution, UN American agenda. Don't let it happen as we do not want to become Poland or Hungary.
1
I did not know under the Obama years there was full employment of the middle-class, and that the only thing that put Trump in office was racism!
1
To all the comments here that suggest that voting is the way to avoid a slide into fascism: it has historically taken more than that. Too little too late!
3
Scary but true!
1
Rubbish - from the man who predicted "when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is 'never'".
There is plenty to criticize about President Trump without going overboard; why make it the end of the world? I remember when Bush '43 was in office and liberals like Naomi Wolf were talking about totalitarianism and the end of democracy. It was a scare tactic then, and it remains one now. Frankly I'm more worried about how much of a mess Trump will leave, then IF he will leave.
And as far as the state level, I live in MD which is jerrymandered to the limit of the law and beyond, and I remember how Democrats in MA handled the Senate nomination when the Gov was Romney (R), and how they totally reversed course when they had a (D) back in office.
Really Paul, you're not even that good commenting about economics (why can't the NYT hire Nasim Taleb?). Stay in your lane and quit crying wolf.
2
"But why is America, the birthplace of democracy"
Sorry what ?
5
Here in Oz we have a song: "I am Australian". Here are the lyrics of its chorus:
"We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on Earth we come
We'll share a dream and sing with one voice
"I am, you are, we are Australian"
You can get the full lyrics of it, and hear it sung, on the internet of course. I recommend it.
How is it that "Native Americans" or "American Indians" are not also routinely referred to as "First Americans" in the US?
How can it be intellectually and socially acceptable in the US to refer to African-Americans as "black" or "blacks" when their level of skin pigmentation is far lighter than black, their skin pigmentation is just part of their whole human nature, and such is wholly separate from the nature responsible for their wholly human hearts and brains?
How can be acceptable to refer to European-Americans in the US as "white" or "whites" when even albino human persons do not become invisible when they stand in front of a fridge?
How is it that the US is lionised as a place of "rugged individualism" when so many Americans are happy to squawk this myth identically like a pandemonium of parrots? Really, how can the US not have produced a single public figure moved to proclaim the truth that all Americans are unavoidably not just private individuals but citizens of, and representative of, their country - to which they owe their freedom, and to which they should feel obliged?
Don't ask me "Why can it happen here?" You should know already.
5
@GRW
The fourth last last paragraph should finish with ", and the nature responsible for such is wholly separate from the nature responsible for their wholly human hearts and brains?" In short I'm conveying that we may differ genetically with respect to the genes responsible for skin pigmentation but we are (overwhelming) the same genetically with respect to the genes responsible for for producing our human hearts and brains. There are small differences between individuals of the same group not just of different groups. People generally tend to underappreciate the influence of the environment of our mother's womb and of our early childhood, rather than our genetics, in helping to make us the different adult human persons we become and are.
White nationalism, you say? Who knew so many people in Poland and Hungary were white?
3
We have already lost. Democracy is done.
Trump isn't yearning to be king. He is king.
What astounds me are all the voices calling for -- democracy. Say what.
Liberals have such a huge investment in saving something already lost, they're blind and walking in the dark. And bumping up against objects (like walls) that will not move.
Republicans are moved by nothing. They do not care if 500 brown children are now condemned to live the kind of lives only a parent can provide.
Republics are racists and entrenched.
The reality is that those children will cost taxpayers one pretty penny.
Like Republicans care about fiscal responsibility or responsibility for anything whatsoever.
Krugman is right but he's more right that anyone wants to look at. Democracy has already vanished. There is literally nothing left to save. Americans have embraced the politics of revenge. Revenge is a Big Girl motivator. Mob bosses dish it out blood-cold.
Mob bosses steal. Trump is stealing. He's a psychopathic thief and a serial sexual predator. Congress is an idea from the past. Republicans just love revenge.
There are radicals who understand all of this. But their numbers are small. Trump is already crushing them.
There is no hope that democracy can be brought back. Quite the opposite. There is no evidence to suggest democracy is alive but momentarily asleep. This is the big sleep and it lasts.
Democracy is messy. People want a king.
The Revolutionary War is irrelevant. You lose.
1
It seems that the corporate cronies crashed the economy in 2008 with the Republicans, only to enable Obama in the White House because they knew a black man in office, will give them cover to regroup. All the rage against Obama, made Republican voters forget the economic anxiety wrought by Republican policies in the 2000s, or killed their kids in Iraq. Obama seemed to be the best thing that happened to the Republican Party - even though he was a generally good President for America.
1
Words are useless. If you agree with Dr. Krugman, make sure you go out and vote in November.
2
A good article - until the very end. Paul Krugman falls into the same old trap when he says “Don’t tell me about economic anxiety”.
.
No. I will tell you about economic anxiety. I’ll tell you that economic data is granular. Just because the averages look good, and just because your neighborhood looks good, doesn’t mean there isn’t suffering. Go to Flyover Country; go to rural America where the nearest Starbucks is 70 miles away.
.
I wish, Mr Krugman, you had taken that part out. Instead you could have talked about the 850,000 Texans who may go without representation in our State Senate because our governor won’t hold a special election to replace Sylvia Garcia when she goes to Washington. His sticking point (I kid you not): the definition of the word “intend!”
1
It isn't about white nationalism.
.
It is about oil.
.
That's where the money comes from.
.
It's all about oil.
2
Trump has focused like a laser on the one issue that unites whites (and I am a person of color).....demographic transition to a post racial and post cultural USA. Whites are a minority but they vote while we don't seem to vote in such high percentages. Until we start voting in the percentages whites vote Republicans and racists will continue to win elections. In another ten years as more whites die off all will change. This process is underway in Germany as well as we see in Chemnitz. Whites are behaving like the American Indians did after they realized their land was being usurped. What goes around comes around.
1
Nah, I don't think it could happen here. What could happen here is another Civil War, and maybe this time the South will win...
1
Yep, absent a massive blue wave this November we're done. That much of America has already embraced fascism has passed most people by. So much denial, so much pretending, so much history blatantly ignored.
2
My prediction is that liberals and progressives discover the "Right to bear arms" and take this country back. I don't like it but I don't see another way out if we become a full fledged fascist state.
1
Birthplace of democracy?
3
@Pat
Yes, I saw that. Too much. Maybe Dr. Paul needs to stick to econ!
1
I predict that in the years ahead Enron, not Sept. 11, will come to be seen as the greater turning point in U.S. society.
Paul Krugman NY Times, 1/29/2002
This column makes as much sense.
3
You have been fear mongering for about 3 years now. Have you ever heard the story about the boy who cried wolf?
4