Republicans are not an authoritarian regime in waiting, they are already authoritarian to the point of anarchy, Before trump won (stole) the election, McConnell, Ryan, et al began their reign of terror against our congressional processes and procedures most notable is Garland appointment that was ignored. Trump took it to new levels with his conspiracy theories about the FBI, tax cuts for the donor class, and stacking the courts with fundamentalists right-wing nut jobs. The Republicans are hardly "in waiting". They are well into the transformation of our country that only a "mod" of We the People can halt.
71
The outlook is bleak. The far right racists control the US government. We have had our last free election. The electronic voting machines susceptible to hacking are in place and it does not matter what votes are cast when the far right fix assisted by Russian agents is in place and ready to change the vote.
23
Pot, meet kettle...
9
(A short visit with the GOP#3, curtain rises.)
GOP Congressman (at dining table): A great meal, dear!
Wife: Thank you! Please tell me more about how why voters love you so much!
C: Well, mostly we just let Trump blather … saves us a lot of time & effort. Usually no one can figure out what he is saying, but he gets them stirred up and then that’s it until the next time. Such an artist!
Now when we talk to the voters we have a few rules: 1) Always claim to be a victim so our voters will identify with us. 1) Never give the Democrats any credit … if it’s bad, it’s their fault, and if it’s good, it was accomplished despite them. 3) Always mention how the problem or situation is unfair, rigged, un-American, or just not good. 4) Never, ever try to explain anything, just continue the tongue-lashing or change the subject. 5) Strike first … make them think there is a problem even when there really isn’t. And, it works! It all seems to confuse them, and rather than thinking about why they are confused, they react with their guts which tell them to avoid such discomfort by joining in, sort of misery loves company. They just aren’t too bright. Then everyone goes on their happy way … the voters feel relieved with a target for their anger or hate or whatever so love us & we go about our real business of getting more power & money! It’s beautiful … by the time they catch on, it will be too late. More another time, dear.
(Curtain closes… To be cont’d)
11
Let's hope the midterms prove there are plenty of citizens who don't need to be paid to protest Trump. Voters who had parents, grandparents, great-grandparents who fought and sacrificed in WWII to defeat Hitler, and who realize what is clearly at stake now.
37
GOP/Trump is here; now and in control. Kiss your freedoms goodbye. Vote; maybe their is time. Maybe not. Ray Sipe
13
What will the GOP authoritarian regime do in a depression? The Democrats dominated government for decades after the last one. Will the GOP Fascists do a Garland? Perhaps it's time for us liberals to get armed?!?!
8
He is an Irish Catholic. I expect him to be a whole lot less radical or extremist than the likes of Ginsburg (who will soon be replaced too, thankfully) Kagan and Sotomayor.
10
And who’s going to stop him? you ask. I guess that would have to be the Democrats. Why does that make me shiver?
Your great champions in the Democratic party are nobody to rely upon. Here's today's article from The Intercept about how Obama utterly failed to challenge any of their authoritarian lawbreakers:
https://theintercept.com/2018/10/09/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-bush-a...
...he refused to go after torturers, before he was even sworn in, he'd already disappointed people who voted for him, assuming that would of course happen. One of them is now running the CIA.
Another was Bret Kavanaugh, oddly enough.
Obama was the second disappointment. I remember how the House Majority of 2006 was going to "investigate, investigate, investigate" as they said about the Great Champion, Henry Waxman. Heard of him lately? He certainly didn't haul out the story of the lies that led to war, or shut down funding for it.
The Democrats you elect will do exactly as much as you force them to do, for as long as you keep their arms waaay up behind their shoulder blades. The ONLY difference between D and R is that it is possible to arm-twist the D side... at all. But you still have to keep continuous pressure on, because they let up the moment you take your eyes away.
They listen to their donor class, not their voters, unless forced.
9
Bravo Professor Krugman! The comparisons to Mussolini and Hitler are more than apt. The times we are living in now, in the United States are more similar to Philip Roth's brilliant fiction The Plot Against America. Wait until the failed economic policies of fools like Trump, Mnuchin and even Cohn take their toll. The blaming of Jewish Financiers will then go beyond good old George (Gyury) Soros (Schwartz). We have seen the rehearsals of Neo-Nazi's even before all that. Trump, the son of a Nazi sympathizer, racist tax dodger, is even worse than his father.
I am worried. As a descendant of recent (Holocaust) and distant (Inquisition) survivors, I thought we learned a lesson. Alas, it is not enough to keep repeating Never Again like parrots. And this time it is not only for Jews they are coming. It is anyone with reason, a moral compass and an intellect. And it is not paranoia.
14
Republican leaders all caved to Trump because he is hypocritical, unethical and an unrelentingly ruthless opportunist, just like all of them. They are all also equally dangerous, but fortunately less skilled. Unfortunately, Trump has provided now them all with a guidebook.
5
With all due respect, Mr. Krugman, the biggest conspiracy theory in recent times is Trump/Russia.
7
Right wing conspiracy websites taught my feeble minded grandpappy to fear liberals with the warning, "Their goal is control!" What gramps never could understand was that the right wingers were talking about themselves.
18
The authoritarian regime is already here - Kavanaugh on SCOTUS was the last piece in the puzzle of how to make the US a fascist country.
By the way, SCOTUS's moral authority left the building with the Bush v. Gore decision.
23
Paul - do you plan to discuss the funding of the radical left by Soros? When you do, please ask him why he hates America.
11
If this is true, then where are elected democrat leaders, besides Bernie and Hirono, shouting this out loud and clear to the nation? They also are mostly sedate and therefore complicit.
5
Let me get this straight: Paul Krugman asserts that Donald Trump wants to make himself a dictator, but that REPUBLICANS are paranoid?
11
The Republican Party has no choice but to lie, cheat and steal. They are the minority party in this country and they are becoming more and more of a minority as time passes. The rising number of non-white citizens has them in a frenzy.
Their behavior is understandable given this reality.
Unpatriotic, self-serving, irrational, racist, misogynistic, small minded, and mean spirited but understandable.
VOTE on November 6th to move them no step closer to the trash bin of history!!
22
This is how Trump is going to get Mexico to pay for the wall. The Mexicans will need it to keep the American refugees out.
22
When a political party believes that god is on their side and are so delusional that they believe that somehow Trump has been sent by god as some sort of political messenger of god to carry out their agenda, I shriek in horror for America.
The R's have no morals, no principles and like the fools who follow prosperity preachers, are capable of anything to maintain power and control. RESIST and VOTE.
14
You voted for him ... now deal with it.
2
Most Americans would welcome authoritarian government, as long as THEY get what THEY want (lower taxes, government handouts, shutting down newspapers, etc.) while their enemies (the "others") get NOTHING.
The Republic of Gilead is HERE. Put on your red robes, handmaids.
10
Bravo Paul Krugman! You laid out the opposition party’s arguments beautifully. Where are you, Democratic Party leaders? Grow a spine and go after the Republicans with these taking points. Your meekishness and poor messaging is allowing Trump to own the narrative, which as we know, is not reality.
1
"....not just contempt for the truth, but also a rush to demonize any and all criticism."
This. This is the part that should scare the daylights out of "good people", "good americans". But it won't.
Already in the comments section are personal attacks at Dr. Krugman. Not criticizing his arguments, or his evidence. But personal attacks on his intellect (psst ... trolls out there; Dr. K won a Nobel Prize, so calling him dumb doesn't really work), or his patriotism.
Thus, do the angry repbulicans, the unbalanced, unwashed trumpists make the point.
Its disgusting.
The trumpists are about half the gop, or what is left of it. The gop is less than half the electorate. This was proven by agent orange losing the popular vote by 3 million votes. The sane are being held captive by the crazies.
Come on people, vote!
Democrats, Bernie-ites, fence sitters, disaffected centrist republicans (there are WAY more out there than folks realize), woman, minorities, millennials. VOTE!
14
Using xenophobia and antisemitism symbolize in the person of George Soros, as Loban has done in Hungary , Trump, Loban, and Duda are dipping their pointers into the pot of fascism and then smearing that slime across the faces of their respective citizens, a stain that will remain even after they are gone or have been gone. For Trump to use the same shameful tactics as these little Eastern European wannabee dictators shows how low the GOP can go. We stand on the threshold of such profound hate being spread across our land that once, well if, we are freed from this party gone wild, we will hold our bellies and try to catch our breath as the the world looks on
7
"Even paranoids have enemies," Kissinger.
2
Mr Krugman, you have one delusional view of the world. You paint the Republicans as Hiller like and Liberal as the perpetual victim. Factually, Liberal Democrats have not represented their constituents properly in decades. Obama was a good oratory but a mediocre president at best. We saw more racial strife under Obama’s administration then we had since the 60’s. He did nothing to unify us. He left office wealthy and is home counting his money!
19
If it is proven that nDonald Trump Donald Trump is guilty of conspiring with a hostile foreign government to subvert the results of the 2016 election, every one of his judicial appointments need to be impeached.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen NY
12
I grew up in the country the GOP seeks to recreate. Ultraconservative Quebec before the revolution was as divided and hierarchical as one can imagine north of the Mexican border. The road construction and detour around the wall that separated wealthy English Protestant Westmount and impoverished Catholic Point St Charles has been going on for the past three years and the detours show no sign of disappearing. The Catholic Churches on the East side of St Lawrence Boulevard were the fortifications telling Jews and Jehovah Witnesses to not enter. One block from the Jewish General Hospital is St Mary's, a hospital built for English speaking Catholics.
This is what conservatism is: Ruling by division.
I know conservatism , I grew up with it I know the poverty of the many and the privilege of the few. It is what animates your GOP and is destroying your country.
When your country needed to turn down the volume of the rhetoric of the voices of hate and division, instead the GOP ramped up the volume to eleven.
I know conservatism it ruled Quebec for hundreds of years. It is vile and divisive and as dangerous as fascism and any other authoritarian philosophy. Cruz, McConnell , Hatch, Graham and Grassley have nothing of value going forward they are liars. They all should know what socialism is but they persist in using a pejorative that is absurd. Your President is a conman and your newest Supreme court "justice" is an aristocrat. you need to rear down walls not build new ones.
16
Trump supporters are the enemies of the American people and should be treated as such.
11
Republicans get teary-eyed about the Constitution; but one thing is clear--they have never read it or understand it. Like most American symbols, the Constitution is part of their mythology of the good old days, and it is nothing more than that. Meanwhile, the actual Constitution is the greatest anti-authoritarian document ever written, as it was conceived by anti-authoritarians. At its core, the Constitution is an anti-majoritarian document as well, limiting the power of government if a tyrannical majority overreaches, and expanding the power of the government when necessary to protect the minority. Unfortunately for us today, the Supreme Court is the sole interpreter of the Constitution.
12
With lie afterlie being told, why aren't these Pinochio's asked quite n]bluntly and openly yo offer proof of their allegations. We only report the lies, but rarely do we ask, in a public setting, for evidence of them. Why do we let Sarah Huckleberry off so lightly? The press needs to demand answers and not let up until they get them. Where is the evidence that protesters are being paid? Reporting them as lies has no meaning to the average Republican. Refuting them with back-up evidence may not either, but at least we can read that a case is being made to dispute them.
5
The Democrats should have stopped with Sen. Leahy's statement that he was going to investigate Kavanaugh's testimony for evidence of perjury.
But Dems had to go full "street theater" and lose all credibility with antics that were becoming increasingly transparent every step of the way.
Not one of them, not even the wide eyed Spartacus, pushed back against GOP attacks on them at the second round of hearings.
The House Democrats defended Peter Strozek with more passion
than the Senate Democrats defended themselves.
How come no one asked Mitch McConnell why he was so quick to accept the word of Lee Corfman who made accusations against Roy Moore that were very similar in nature to those Dr. Ford made but believes Dr. Ford was confused and a tool of the "angry, left wing mobs" given the evidence each woman offered in their respective claims?
Because Mcconnell wanted Kavanaugh on the SC but did not want Moore in the senate.
Dems could not even make that case.
2
I'm even more worried, in a way, about what *might* happen if the election goes very badly for Trump -- if, say, both houses of Congress fall into Democratic hands. Will he accept the results?
Remember, as has recently bee pointed out, that Trump contested the validity of an election that he *won* in 2016. If his party loses big in 2018, will he roll out the complaints about illegal voters, fake news, rigged vote totals, etc etc, and try to prevent the new Congress from taking office?
How could he possibly do that, I would have asked in the past. But now, Krugman's question is front-and-center: who would stop him now? The GOP drones who just shut up and do what he says? The voters hooting and braying (and cheering allusions to violence) at his rallies? Politicized judges?
Might we be reduced to a state in which we have to hope for some sort of military intervention to stave off a presidential invalidation of election results?
It may be that I've gone off the deep end here. Lord, I hope so... But Trump has yet to fail to take the lowest of low roads in any situation --
11
Kavanaugh served on the Starr Commission, involved in endless, mostly nonsense investigations of President Clinton. Leading to GOP's absurd and justifiably politically unpopular impeachment of Clinton. At same time Kavanaugh was engaged in this matter, attorney Debra Katz was defending President Clinton against Paula Jones sexual harassment allegations. In contrast to Clinton's consensual relationship with Ms. Lewinsky, Clinton's alleged behavior of groping Ms. Jones & exposing himself to her was nonconsensual. As Clinton's attorney, Ms. Katz smeared and marginalized Ms. Jones. In recent years, Ms Katz has donated thousands to Democratic candidates like Tammy Baldwin.
Kavanaugh's accuser, Dr. Ford, hired which attorney this past August? Debra Katz. Not an independent, nonpartisan attorney. President Clinton's lawyer (but that time, defending the powerful man).
In addition, Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign spokesperson, Brian Fallon, was hired in early 2018 to lead "Demand Justice," a dark money group to fight Trump court picks.
So facts suggest Kavanaugh is right about "Clinton revenge." I would never have voted for Kavanaugh based solely on judicial philosophy (he's too deferential to executive authority). But, please, just the facts.
And it was not "the paranoid style" with Nixon and Watergate but the facts. It was not "the paranoid style" with Iran-Contra but the facts. Undoubtedly no love lost between Clintons; former Clinton employees; & Kavanaugh.
3
Trump continues to be the same phony demagogue telling lies without conscience. This is what he is and will continue to be until he is defeated politically.
6
It may be worse than what Paul Krugman writes. We are now in a new era of deliberate "disinformation" research and dissemination. This is way beyond paranoia politics.
This is dictatorial brainwashing. The NY Times reported today about the Trump efforts to hire an Israeli firm to create false person IDs to spread lies about opponents during the primaries, and during the campaign. One example was the Trump claim that Ted Cruz' father was part of the JFK assassination plot.
Americans beware. We need the Paul Krugmans and the media to heighten public awareness of what is going on. They need to step up their game. This is more than serious.
163
Please, press stop being so deferential when asking GOP leaders and spokes- persons questions.
Don't give a platform to Kelly Ann and the likes of her to spin and plant lies as they AVOID answering your questions. I've watched it over and over that smirk- no intention to be accountable they just want air time to plant seeds of discord, doubt, and confusion.
Thank you for standing in the gap and guarding our democracy.
7
"The answer, I submit, is that the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting." I'm an independent, pretty much always have been and voted accordingly. But with the passing of the John Warners, Jack Kemps, Bob Doles, etc from the republican history books and collective memory, I am only left with democrat options. The quote above from Mr. Krugman rings painfully true to me, but worse still is a large swath of the American public's acceptance of this 30-40 year trajectory.
I recently read the republican party platform from Eisenhower's second term, and was astonished; today it would be far too progressive and left of center for even moderate democrats. He was probably the last republican to keep the John Birchers and dixiecrat moralists and other radical tribalists outside the gates.
Unfortunately they now infest and control republican policy and vision. Anti intellectualism indeed - it is not alarmist to say that we live in truly dangerous times in our republic.
14
In one of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's best comedy routines, Cook was an old pacifist who had been against the War: "I wrote a letter! I said, Stop it!" I feel like that now. It's hard to believe the Republican party, led by Trump and aided by Russians, has brought this nation to such a depth.
2
the worst 20 percent of the country supporting the liars and thieves who will say anything or do anything to serve their masters. organize. register. vote.
8
Trump and McConnell will stand as the most destructive political team in US history (at least to date), a one-two punch to the gut of democracy, decency and any sense of fair play or integrity we might have been clinging to in political life. They have turned politics into a winner take all, scorched earth, party over country and the majority be damned exercise in consolidating power. What is so heartbreaking is to see so many previously respectable (we thought) people fall in line behind them (et tu, Susan Collins? Jeff Flake? Bob Corker?) The minority only rules over the majority for a limited time before the inevitable revolt happens. I only hope it takes place at the ballot box.
147
In 2016 one of my clients who is now in her 80's was a child in Germany during the rise of Hitler. She lamented the spectacle Trump was placing on our politics and she compared it to Hitler. She and her family were able to escape Germany before the door was closed. She indicated that if elected, Trump, left to his own liking, would be another Hitler and he's proving her true right now. She is extremely well educated, of sound mind, and I have no reason to discount the depiction of her childhood events, anymore than I have no reason to discount Dr. Blasey's depiction of events with Brett Kavanaugh. Both women are signaling the demise of our democracy if left unchecked and I believe them. Everyone, please vote!
14
Democrats are already there.
3
Here's a terrifying danger: the right wing & dominionist televangelists are backed by NRA gun lovers with large weapon arsenals; they will jump at the opportunity to enforce a police state, complete with internment camps, STASI informant networks, and other totalitarian devices from the Stalin playbook.
These trumpian rallies are nothing but naked invitations to put in place such scenario, and our American brownshirts are getting the message loud & vulgarly clear. It is the "disenfranchised" angry white man (& woman) who will seek that bullying power. 1930's Germany, anyone?
8
Hitler justified his criminal behavior based omn wild conspiracies too. We are as close to a fascist dictatorship as ever in this country.
9
Republicans already are behind camps in the name of national security. Look at Sheriff Joe Arpagio's actions. Why did Trump pardon him? Because Trump is a racist who wants camps.
7
It is time to start using the "f" word. "Authoritarian regime in waiting" is too mild. Trump is making America fascist.
12
Gore Vidal's "crypto-fascists" ...
2
Right wing political strategists in America are - as opposed to the 30 percent of voters over whom they hold absolute sway - are educated, savvy, cunning and intellectually elite. The went to the best colleges and sucked up the lessons of history like nuclear-powered Hoovers.
They are using a time-tested blueprint in their consolidation of power: Dumb-down and manipulate the disaffected, uneducated and intellectually lazy.
In 21st Century America, thanks to technology, the oligarchy-seeking right wing's task has been remarkably easy. Fox News has been every bit as successful as Goebbels' ministry of propaganda and Pravda in stoking the fears and firing the hatred of people in America who love to brag about not being educated.
Putin used the same traits of his targeted American audience in 2016. The former KGB thug - like the Freedom Caucus and Federalist Society – knows an easy target when he sees one.
7
What bothers me the most about this column and the comments is the tone. Perfectly reasonable people-- Dr. Krugman and a lot of very erudite NYT readers-- are alarmed, nervous, off balance. I include myself. None of this is good. As JEB predicted, the chaos candidate has become the chaos president. His administration, and the congress, and the senate are together with him in their level of chaos. Add in the trump cultists and we are in a very scary spot. What happens when something goes terribly awry on Election Day 2018? Does anyone from the GOP speak out in defense of a fair election, in the event the Dems win big and trump and the wrecking crew want to disparage (or cancel) the results? On the other hand, if it crashes on the dems, will anyone of either party be willing to challenge the results if they are verifiably tampered with ? What happens when Rod and Bob get fired and the investigation gets tossed?
8
We are all well and truly screwed now. The Russo-Republican party has seized all the levers of power and has now put a stranglehold on the judicial branch of government. Unless every last person opposing this fascist, kleptocratic takeover of our country gets out and votes against these shameless thugs in November, we have no chance at saving ourselves from a permanent tyranny of the minority.
If Democrats can ever get a majority in congress and/or win the presidency, they should immediately move to add at least another seat to the Supreme Court and force a sufficiently liberal nominee down the the throats of the remaining Trumpublicans who stole the SC seat from Obama.
There is no longer any room for bi-partisanship when Trumpublicans have firmly established they will do anything and everything to retain power and thwart the wishes of the majority of Americans.
Play as dirty as the Trumpublicans. No more turning the other cheek only to get it slapped.
15
Like all good demagogues, the author accuses the other party of traits which better describe his party. It is clear that "the Resistance" is as authoritarian as any political group we have seen in many years. Either agree with the Resistance or be decimated. Either agree with the Resistance or have all your words be labeled as "hate speech."
7
@Tony
Uh ... that's all you have? You don't like it when the GOP cultivates racism and 66% of the country indeed rejects "hate speech"?
Rejecting racism has NOTHING to do with authoritarianism, and is what should bind us together, rather than divide us.
"Authoritarianism" means no longer respecting the truth and the separation of the three branches of government. If you want to claim that Democrats are "authoritarian", you'll have to give concrete examples of THIS kind of practice, rather than merely referring to the fact that indeed many non GOP voters reject racism as being hatred that is morally despicable, you see?
5
I'm sick and tired of all the lies from the non and unbelievers in the G.O.P. Mitchell is EVIL and so are they all. This is a fantastic essay. The "creation myth" is more than 300 years old already. It's 2018.
6
What if Democrats take both the House and Senate by solid margins? Will the new office holders ever be seated?
2
I, too, was alarmed by the typical lock-step repeating of this lie (paid protesters) by republican apparatchiks, but more alarmed that not one reporter asked any of these alarmists for proof of their claim, thus keeping the lie alive and in the headlines.
Where have responsible journalists gone? Seems that all they can do is lament the lies they help perpetuate and bemoan the abysmal state of affairs.
7
Things I know: you don't steal, you don't lie, I belief America is Great, I love my family, they and I have values, do on to others you want done onto you, respect, work hard, never compromise the truth, always help the needy, the backbone of a Democracy is the independence of the courts, and separation of power in the government. Can you guess what my political party is?
4
I am paying attention and I am very scared.
132
the dissolution of the white working class over the past 40 years has left a slice of the electorate -- angry, broke, unskilled -- ready to blame anyone the exploitive republicans point to: this time it's mexicans and women.
95
@true patriot Wonder when it will be the Jews? I think that screams of Soros and Saul Alinsky (whom I never read but have been called an adherent of) are code words for antisemitism.
3
There you go again, Mr. Krugman, simply stating the truth. You no doubt are conspiring with other truth-tellers, and Great Again America has no place for the likes of you. Better start packing your bags for the prison cell the NSA is building to keep you traitors in your place.
Your comments are an insult to God, who so clearly has blessed America with the Divine Brotherhood that includes Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, Charles Grassley, and most recently the extraordinarily gifted Brett Kavanaugh.
You've been warned.
3
God doesn't exist and the GOP is living proof of that.
3
During the campaign at a rally, Trump mused that should Clinton win there may be "a second amendment solution". This to the wild jubilation of his adoring supporters. What do you think the response would have been if a Democratic Senator made the statement in reference to Judge Kavanaugh's appointment?
We are already under siege by the rightwing arm of the Republican party and the moderate republicans have surrendered. Although my conservative friends scoff at the similarity of America today and Germany in the 1920's they do so at the peril of us all!!
12
My take on the paranoia is that wrongdoers fear actions and behavior from others, which they are currently guilty of. I've watched Trump, Graham, McConnell, Hannity, and McConnell go into fits of rage as they accuse The Left of acts (obstruction, lies, "orchestrated hits", "shams") which they have long since committed. They'e done these things (and they know how well they work), why wouldn't the other side? To me, it's so obvious it almost child-like. And yet, it works. I agree with Mr Krugman. What these people are capable of frightens me to my bones. Across the board, the single characteristic among this party is an absence of empathy, compassion or concern for anyone beyond their circle of power. That absence makes them capable of going down a road traveled only by history's most vile characters.
14
Trump's connections over many years with Mafiosi are well-know. So is the GOP dependence on right-wing fanatics. Even more, the Republican in the House and Senate are owned by the Kochs, the Mercers and the other powerful anti-democratic donors who use them to wage war on the poor and middle class, the environment, and regulation of any kind on their profit making at the cost of health, safety, and the country's future. So the tactics make perfect sense as the language to whitewash the brute force of a criminal conspiracy aimed at American democracy and values while pretending it's about Making America Great Again.
7
A quote from Leo Tolstoy:
“I sit on a man’s back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means possible...except by getting off his back.”
Which one do Americans want to be, the one carrying (as many already are) or the one carried (as too many already are)? Can we begin to make other choices in November? Are Americans ready to make personal sacrifices to save our country?
2
It seems Republicans have found their 'mantra' to attack women who protest too much to their liking. MOB. Do these Republicans have so little regard left for our First Amendment which declares the Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or right of the people peaceably to assemble. Brings to mind a 1967 'Buffalo Springfield' tune by Stephen Stills. Seems past is prologue.
FOR What It's Worth
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your heart it will creep
It starts when your always afraid
Step out a line
The man come
And take you away
Hard to witness the unraveling done under Republican men who don't even try to pretend any more they are patriotic Americans.
8
At the moment my vote is being suppressed by democrats! I registered to vote by mail and have not received my ballot yet and early voting has supposedly begun in california! I have been waiting for 2 years almost already to let trump know how much i despise him.
-an independant voter
@observer
A technical problem might explain this, of course ... .
You can't yell "voter suppression!" each time there's a problem, you know, you first have to examine what caused the problem before you can conclude that someone actively did something to try to make voting more difficult for people like you ...
1
Enough of this talk about American being in danger of falling under authoritarian rule. The fact is, we already are under authoritarian rule. The party in power is taking away voting rights, taking away women's and minority rights, empowering the rich and powerful and taking away programs that help the poor and marginalized. They do this while baldy lying, making outrageous accusations of the opposition, and have an extensive media branch that repeats and amplifies these lies.
13
I'm feeling good about Beto's chances to beat Ted Cruz next month. If Cruz is ousted, Texas Democrats will be setting their sights on John Cornyn's seat next!
8
Great column, as always. However, I'd like to point out that the Polish government, which I strongly oppose, has not yet reached the level of Hungary's. I hope it never does. Though it is paranoid in many ways, it does not seem to be accusing George Soros of anything - thank goodness!
4
It doesn't seem unusual, given the myriad connections, that such a thing should develop, given the relationship with the absolutist monarchy in the middle east. Nor does the reputed anti-Semitic take on demonstrations against (now) Justice Kavanaugh seem unusual. Not that brand new T's in themselves point directly to George Soros. Dark money is one thing, and it, of course, can have provenances other than those intimated by Jane Mayer. It should be remembered that the Supreme Court is the least powerful of the three branches of government, possessing "neither sword nor purse". It might seem that that is not exactly right, as the development of Capitalism has produced many conflicts of interest, primarily those concerning the concentration of capital. If the Republicans are " in waiting" as you suggest, then that does square with the "Paranoid Style", in that it is highly wrought with a projection mechanism, which not only precludes objectivity, but also posits little more than itself as object. Ring a bell? A party which no one but the complainant recalls attending? Well, that "Party" might have some referent in a "rigged" election, and so we see the confluence of interests blur the perception of the political "profitscape". Neither party has evidenced "Good Behavior", and so the "dueling" goes on replete with character assassination and also the dictatorial mien. The free press may not be able to save Capitalism from itself. It merely adds to the increasing hysteria.
The Republicans have shown they are willing to do anything in the service of power. What can check them? One is the aggressive protection of our votes and voting system. We have to keep the spotlight on election officials and demand transparency. Confirm you are registered to vote, know your polling place, have the proper ID. Help neighbors do the same and give them rides to vote. Beyond that we also need to find other ways to empower citizens. Voting is not enough of a check power-mad Republicans run amuck.
96
Dr. Krugman, you've channeled my fears for some time. The prospect of a Trump unrestrained by the threat of the Russia investigation or midterms is truly horrifying.
The question then becomes would the GOP really do nothing if he tried to shutter the press or if he locked up journalists? What if he declared martial law before firing Robert Mueller.
I bet everyone has some fear they don't dare utter about what this specific president would do to them or theirs.
I suggest to all who do, to continue dwelling on it for the next 29 days just to make sure you never lose sight of what's at stake here.
Then, if you still can't stop shaking at night, make sure you the first thing you do on November 6 after your coffee (if you haven't already), is to visit your polling station.
137
How quickly liberal men are calling the seating of Kavanaugh "of secondary concern" or "time to move on." That's a pretty callous response to the millions of women whose own pain at the hands of predators was rendered newly raw by the testimony of Dr. Blasey Ford and others with the courage to speak out. Now that Kavanaugh's in, we're lectured that too many angry women might be spawning a backlash and endangering the so-called Blue Wave of the midterms. It's disgusting.
So let's pivot again to Trump, Trump and nothing but the Trump and ignore the fact that he is but the symptom of the equally noxious neoliberal style of politics which been devouring labor rights and the social safety net for going on half a century now.
Authoritarianism is already here. Just witness the recent "no debate needed" bipartisan appropriation by a near-unanimous Senate of nearly a trillion more dollars to the dreaded Trump regime to wage endless war.
Look at Joe Biden, the current front-runner for the presidency. A "New Democrat," he impoverished millions of women in the 90s with his bankruptcy reform legislation and helped send millions of men to prison in the misguided war on drugs, which was really a war on black drug users. He will never prevail against Trump, who knows where all the bodies are buried... because they either aided his fraudulent rise to riches, or they turned a blind eye to it.
That's Trump's fascistic appeal. He pretends to eat his own, and his base feels replete.
132
I think you paint with a too broad brush when you condemn liberal men as aiders and abettors of the Republican supporters of Trump. I don't hear any of my male liberal friends saying that the seating of Kavanaugh is of secondary concern and that it is time to move on. We are doing what we can to regain control of the House by volunteering and contributing. We are supporters of the Mueller investigation.
You sound mixed up to me. What are your politics?
9
@Karen Garcia Ms. Garcia - count me as a liberal man who is NOT moving on. Putting Mr. Kavanaugh on the court is grotesque and he should be impeached as the first act of a new Democratic House. Sadly, it will be a symbolic exercise as the Senate would likely not even vote.
2
@Gerry G
Um...Paul Krugman used the words "of secondary concern" right here in this column. He sounds like too many other liberal male pundits I've been reading and listening to these several days.
As far as my sounding "mixed up" is concerned, that his exactly how how Brett Kavanaugh and others described Dr. Blasey Ford. They also demanded to know what her politics are.
There has been much attempted gaslighting of women by both liberal and conservative men. The liberals concern-troll it by calling us emotional and confused, while the conservatives come right out and pronounce us nuts and liars.
But according to you, it's all good as long as Dems support Mueller and give money to candidates.
I rest my case.
Interesting - Krugman casting Trump as a latter-day Mussolini and Democrats as saviors, while conveniently forgetting that Dems are utterly under the Wall Street thumb. Obama chose to save the banks and left ordinary people to save themselves during the 2008 crash but this apparently does not count for Dr. K.
Democrats have whipped up the Republican voters with their identity politicking and rabble rousing and now the inevitable backlash elicits the predictable lamentations and teeth gnashing.
The way forward is for both parties to eschew personal attacks and "privileging" of their preferred constituencies.
3
@Kai Don't you remember one of the first things Obama did, which was to save the American car companies about to go bankrupt in 2008? I think he did save a heck of a lot of ordinary people then, not to mention when he managed to get ACA passed which saved many as well. If the banks had gone under, our entire financial system would have collapsed even worse.
10
Interesting that you ascribe right wing conspiracy theories to the Republican defense of Brett Kavanaugh. It would seem more likely to be a left-wing conspiracy to destroy the man after attempts to discredit his judicial background and credentials failed (although Spartacus was a good try...).
No, Sen Feinstein held onto Dr, Ford's letter until the most advantageous political moment to release it. She did not hold it to maintain Dr. Ford's anonymity. She set Dr, Ford up with the partisan lawyer Debra Katz, gave her time to taker a polygraph, then, when they needed Dr. Ford to go public, released her letter to the media to set up the circus.
Justice Kavanaugh was quite right in both his angry indignation at being falsely accused and his assertion that it was a political hit job. Think about it. The leftists had to go all the way back to high school to find even a hint of mud to throw. Justice Kavanaugh had dozens of female students, colleagues and law clerks over the past 30 years. They couldn't find one, just one, to fess up to SOME kind of impropriety? Of course not. They had to go to a fully uncorroborated, unverifiable, vague claim from high school.
Darn right it was a political hit. It was clearly a weaponization of the #metoo movement that the Democrats should be ashamed of.
So, don't go lecturing us about the GOP paranoid style. The ethical and integrity issues on this one are clearly and unarguably on the left.
8
@Hillary: Whether the allegations are true or false, Judge Kavanaugh's demeanor, comportment, temperament, insults, disrespect, insolence, partisanship and conspiracy theories, among other unfortunate behaviors, in front of the US Senate, clearly demonstrated that he is unfit and unsuited for and does not belong on the US Supreme Court.
8
Bart K looked exactly like the assaulting entitle bully that Dr. Ford, and many others, described. His raging, whimpering hysteria was unbecoming and certainly disqualifying along with all the other coverups of his gambling debts and lies.
4
No investigation could have definitively determined what supposedly occurred at the party alleged by Dr. Ford. Other than Dr. Ford, the supposed participants and eyewitnesses identified by Dr. Ford all either denied the event/attack occurred or had no memory of the event itself.
3
Wrong. Many stepped up to confirm his disqualifying behaviors, which we all saw at the hearing. They were ignored in a WH-directed coverup. The WH lies. They cover up. That’s what they do. Deny and bluster and rage and cover up.
2
@CHM No investigation was attempted that might have definitively determined anything, because such an investigation might actually have definitely determined that Kavanaugh was lying under oath.
2
They weren't even interviewed.
The GOP's consistent party line right now is war: the Democrats are a "mob", perpetrating violence, with even more violent designs on the helpless Republicans. Consensus isn't possible or even desirable with them. Under Donald Trump, and from his bully pulpit, the Right has declared democracy dead, their opponents as traitors, and their own violence as a justified response or even a justified preemptive measure.
There's nothing new here but the extremism and the candor. they started this othering of their adversaries under Reagan. They promoted tribalism and fear relentlessly ever since. Now, however, their options are very narrow. They can't stand down. They can't be conciliatory. As of now the murders at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs are, as the GOP defines it, valid political arguments that they can't countenance and can't disown. As of now they would have to say that Timothy McVeigh had a point in perpetrating the Oklahoma City slaughter. Someone will take this like of reasoning even further, even more viciously, and the GOP will have to suggest anything except their responsibility for it. If and when Donald Trump suggests that violence is justified at one of his rallies, what will the Republican Party say about it?
11
Dear Mr. Krugman, A mistake you and a lot of commentators seem to make is that while the Supreme court or any governmental institution has lost moral authority, it hasn't lost authority. Authority without morality is a big problem but that's what we signed on for when we elected Trump. It's not his fault he's an immoral blowhard. I'm sure he doesn't care. It's the fault of the throngs of Americans who support him who are guided by the notion that the ends justifies the means rather than any moral compass.
13
Thank you! I have been waiting for someone to call it out and use the word Regime. When will the Democrats realize that words matter? "Family separation" is nothing more than state-sponsored kidnapping. "Inaccuracies" are outright lies. "Immigrant camps" are in effect concentration camps for children. What makes it so hard for Democrats to focus on the narrative and stop using the script which has been handed them by the Trump regime to lull us into complacency?
15
As someone who has survived the Marcos dictatorship, the Trump presidency is no long an authoritarian regime in waiting.
It is already authoritarian. An authoritarian regime fully backed up by Republicans.
Trump has started, the way Marcos has started his dictatorship:
--enriching himself and his family while in office
--dismissing the truth while spouting lies
--practicing cronyism and favoritism when it comes to public positions
--discrediting the press
--silencing dissenters
--corrupting the electoral process
Now that he's got the Legislative via McConnell and the Judiciary via Kavanaugh in his pocket, the plunder will then move on the next level. Dictators need all the support they can get and money is the only scaffold that will prop them up to power.
Same with the silencing of dissent. Disparaging the press will no longer be enough. It will escalate to members of the press ending up dead and disappeared.
The day Kavanaugh was confirmed, I watched in horror as the way Marcos killed the idea of Checks and Balances/Separation of Powers is eerily similar to how Trump did it. Consolidate all powers and lord over the other two branches of the government.
As I see it, November 6 and its result will be dismissed and in the succeeding dissent that will follow, Trump will declare Martial Law.
It can't happen here.
Until it can.
20
"Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate committee that heard Blasey and Kavanaugh, insisted that the protesters were indeed employed by Soros." Grassley is a 38 year political hack that needs to retire and eat ice cream. The G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting and no one will stop them at this point except the American people.
20
If republicans still control all government in a month we will not see an election in 2020. The fascist takeover of America that the koch bothers want will be complete.
And it will be the fault of US. Those who needed a super hero last election instead of a competent civil servant. Those who need an enemy instead of fellow Americans. Those who see no difference between republicans and Democrats. Those in the media who dabbled in false equivalence for 30 years.
The only recourse We the People have is to get to the polls and vote for the democrats on your ballot. Only democrats. They can be trained.
12
Trump & Co. have indeed turned the G.O.P. Fascist.
To save the country, the rank and file Democrats must turn the Democrats into a Socialist Party. Young Americans are rejecting capitalism. Corporate Clinton style Democratic politicians cannot win. Youth understands that Socialism is the real populism. Given the chance, they will reject racist Trumpism in 2020.
Socialism or barbarism--that is the choice. Which side are you on?
8
2018 was a banner year for Good 'Ol Putie (GOP) and for authoritarians everywhere. Fortunately, we are still allowed to vote (at least those of us who have not been prohibited from doing so by GOP initiatives are still allowed to vote), and everyone who can still vote should do so on November 6.
17
@Walter
It's not who votes, it's who counts the votes that matters.
5
Yes, this is getting serious.
8
Dr. Ford was lying.
Story was too contrived.
He assaulted her but no visible injury - someone would've noticed.
No ripped clothing - someone would've noticed.
He held her mouth - that's why no screams.
How'd she get home? Duh
Polygraph prior to going public? Won't show results
This was a dirty game to either get Kavanaugh to withdraw or for Trump to pull him back to save face.
Plan failed.
5
@Tuco
Even Trump admitted that she's credible, remember?
And if she was lying, why didn't the FBI investigation prove that hypothesis?
7
@Tuco May you reap what you sow.
1
@Tuco
Don't take this the wrong way, Tuco, but that is the second worst poem I've ever read.
1
It is far too easily that Americans conveniently forget just how much deep financial and social damage past Republican Presidents have left in their wake, much of it lingering for years, and yet they continue getting elected. I find that mind boggling.
Bush II left us floundering in two very expensive provoked wars of convenience for the wealthy, and in the interim, managed to leave our citizens falling off a financial cliff with seemingly no sense of shame for his calculated debauchery.
Nixon? - well, no one, not even his GOP peers care to remember crooked Nixon.
And then there's good ole Ronny boy. King cowboy who never failed an opportunity to use his Presidential pulpit to instill good old fashioned conservative style paranoia to the masses about the importance of giving all those lazy welfare queens a good turn of the screw by leading the way in beginning the deregulating of not only basic government services, but defunding and then rewriting legal favor to corporations over workers. And the 'unwinding' of basic services to favor the corporate CEO's- continues - to this very day. The only way to change this ?
Vote.
14
The supporters of anti-EU or "nationalist" movements in Hungary and Poland are surely white, but they are not "white nationalists". There are no significant non-white populations in these countries, including recent immigrants. Tying it to OUR loaded and unfortunate history with white supremacists is a shameless political ploy. Dr. Krugman, an academic professor/noble laureate-turner politcal pundit, has an extraordinary influence on our politics. Should his personal life (including his teenage years) also be up for public scrutiny? I'm not sure.
@carl bumba Should Dr. Krugman have been nominated for SCOTUS, his youthful "adventures" certainly should have been examined and any hint of criminal activity should have been targeted as disqualifying. He would expect no less, in my estimation.
1
@carl bumba
Racism always singles out the local minority as scapegoats, remember?
The fact that in Europe that's Muslims whereas in the US black Americans and Latinx Americans cannot possibly refute the hypothesis that Trump and the GOP are thriving on white supremacy ideologies, because white supremacy IS our local version of racism, remember?
No matter where you are on the political spectrum--don't let the urge to divide and hate take over. We had a beautiful country here. Don't tear it up so you can enjoy hating your neighbor. You are not the other and neither am I. Let's leave something good for our children and grandchildren.
7
The Republicans and trump have two agendas in place, that please their voters and the Republican Party. The first element is trump and his base, this is the clown circus. The base is enthralled by the circus, add in the chants of "lock "em up" either Blacks, browns, Latinos, immigrants, women, children, the Clintons and finally those treasonous "liberals".
The second element is the 1%, Corporations and Special Interests the Republican Party has offered them that all their dreams can come true. Less and less taxes and regulations. They can pollute, they can steal, they can abuse workers, they can kill. Everyone is happy, all in the name of bigger profits.
These two agendas will give them total power, what could possibly go wrong? Although, total power corrupts totally and Democracy will be lost.
9
I am predicting it here, with rending of garments and wearing my official prophet's sackcloth: The GOP will do far better than the polling numbers suggest. In fact, they will hold the Senate, and there is a better than even chance they will hold the House as well.
Why? Because the American people are far more like Trump in morals and public "virtue" than any of us here are comfortable with. Most Americans, if they had the money and the connections, would act as he does. They do not punish thieves, liars, and bullies because, if they were bold enough, or had the means, they would steal, lie, and brutalize. Only their cowardice prevents them; the same cowardice that causes them to lie to pollsters.
They admire him. They want to be like him. No successful bully on the playground ever lacked for hangers-on, remember? We progressives assume that the average American values virtue, is compassionate at heart, wants to help their neighbor, and build a better society. That if we just get more people to the polls, that all this will turn around.
But what if it isn't so? What if the rot is so deep, so pervasive, that there is no more American heart to reach, no American intellect to engage? What if the majority is so debauched now that they willingly vote for evil?
What then?
302
@Kit
I don't think so. If you're saying that most Americans lie, cheat and steal every day like Trump and the GOP congress to get their way, well you're not saying much for most Americans.
I don't know about your part of the country, but I grew up in west Texas in a military family. Whites, blacks, Asian Americans and other Mexican Americans like me in my neighborhood and most of them came from good families.
I would never say that they acted like Trump.
6
Fortunately, in the meanwhile neurologists have proven something crucial here: compassion is an innate skill.
1. It is INNATE, and hard-wired in our brains, as well as in the brains of most other mammals.
2. It is a SKILL, in other words something we can train and develop, if we want it to become predominant in our daily actions and behavior.
Conversely, that also means that the kind of behavior that you're describing here is merely the result of a lack of proper compassion training - in our schools and in our adult media.
The people who need this training most (= the people you're mentioning here) will of course object that compassion is for the "weak", and that in a "dog eats dog world" you need to be aggressive and strong, if you want to survive.
But that objection is merely based on a misconception about compassion, which neurologists have now debunked already too, as it turns out that the extent to which you can behave compassionately towards other people (compassion being defined as noticing someone's suffering and seeing if you can be of any help to alleviate it), is directly determined by the extent to which you've developed self-compassion.
In that case, judging people who lack self-compassion only makes things worse.
What we need is develop our own self-compassion brain networks, so that we can ACTIVELY practice more compassion toward GOP voters.
Or as Van Jones, Obama's adviser, writes: if we want to succeed, we need to launch a SPIRITUAL revolution.
1
@Kit - I'd really prefer to believe that you're wrong, that on average, we're much better, more moral and respectful of each other than Trump. But then, I watch the adoring crowd behind Trump at one of his "rallies", and I'm not so sure.
3
The primary winner in my house congressional district is a Democrat. I'm glad for the people who voted, but the voter turnout was abysmal. Dismal voter turnout will hasten our country's irreversible slide into a puppet government.
What a sham SC nomination and sham FBI investigation have done is exert irreparable damage on the public's trust in the institutions. The reality and the nefariousness of the US government's power structure was laid bare for all to witness. I used to look up to my favorite justices as a source of pride. Now, I feel deep anguish when I think about the SC. We may prevail but we will know for sure in 28 days.
I think Dr. Ford has done a great service to our country and in my mind September 27 will always be the Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Day.
7
Our pledge of allegiance reminds us we are one "nation" and not one "country" indivisible. It meant all who came here could become American. It underlined our role as a beacon of light to the world (even if the author of the pledge had no such intention) and a powerful force for peace and against tribal warfare. This has been snuffed out and we have a government that implicitly and explicitly supports racism and corruption. We must change this!
2
I totally agree with Dr Krugman.
And when the time will come, we will need deGOPification of this country, as today’s GOP has nothing to do to with what it was even 20 years ago, when it could still hope for salvation.
6
For decades a least to William Buckley and his followers, conservative ideologues have always preferred to play the victims of socially liberal, high spending progressives. You know the small government propaganda line: "We're going to starve the government until it's small enough to drown in the bathtub".
Trump figured out how to use crazy conspiracy theories to appeal to those predisposed to play the victims of the left. The right's paranoia has been a factor for decades, but it has never been manipulated so skillfully. Just watch the reactions of the crowd behind Trump at his "rallies" when he's shouting his fabricated attacks on Hillary or Dr. Ford or Chuck Schumer. They're more than ready for a transparent authoritarian like Trump.
8
Government by conspiracy seems to be an international playbook of all of the authoritarians.
11
In this article Krugman first lambasts so called right wing conspiracy theories, and then espouses his own fantastical theory that if the GOP retains control of Congress (emphasis on retains) we'll see some kind of terrible authoritarian crackdown on the press.
Krugman increasingly writes from the gut, not the brain.
2
@Mmm
Some times you gotta go with your gut.
The problem isn’t Trump. It’s the people who elected him and support him. Where in this essay is that addressed?
The greatest schism in this country is between the cities and rural areas - just look at a color coded 2016 election results map to see the islands of blue amidst the sea of red.
When I was a young man I used to travel with my father to small towns where he provided credit (he worked for a finance company before there were credit cards) to ordinary people to buy appliances and to small businesses to maintain inventory. His office was in a large city, and these small town folk relied on him for credit and he on them to pay back loans. Occasionally when we went on a collection call, he treated people with kindness and respect as he reminded them of the past due payment. He was greatly respected and loved by his debtors, political leaders and business interests. He represented a merging of city and rural interest and values, and we were often invited to fish or hunt with them. When I went to university I advised and tutored my new country friends in how to navigate city institutions and the university experience.
We share common needs, interests, goals and values. Many of the needs city people have can be addressed by recharging our spirit by spending time in small towns, farms and ranches. Many of the needs of rural folk can be addressed by more funding for schools, infrastructure and factories. And all of this only works with kindness and respect on both sides.
3
It's not paranoid if they are really out to get you. And there is no doubt that Democrats were out to get Kavanaugh. They are on the record saying exactly that. Virtually none of them were going to vote for him anyway, so they literally tried everything, including personal character destruction, to block his nomination. The radical left demanded it, and they delivered. Guilt by (uncorroborated) accusation was on full display. If that was not authoritarianism, I don't know what is.
19
@Southern Man Democrats weren't "out to get" Kavanaugh, they opposed him for very good reasons -- a hyper-partisan legal career in which there were flashes of the unhinged behavior we saw in the hearing; evasiveness, misrepresentation and outright lying about his earlier involvement in controversial Bush administration policies; and a judicial philosophy that is far from the mainstream. So it is correct that Democrats would have opposed Kavanaugh anyway. That is hardly a reason for Republicans to manipulate the confirmation process to put an unfit justice on the Supreme Court.
2
@Southern Man
Kavanaugh was not opposed just because he was
a Republican which you seem to be claiming. He was opposed because of his record and policies.
His rant provided evidence of his bias and inappropriate temperament.
@Southern Man
How do you feel about how Merrick Garland's nomination was treated by the Republicans?
Now that the political landscape has shifted, can we get a SWOT analysis for the Democratic party?
I think the biggest threat right now is voter suppression. Chief Justice Roberts has led a crusade against voting rights for over a decade and now he's the swing vote.
Democrats don't have political power but they do have economic power. Businesses need cities for revenue and skilled labor. Counties that voted for Hillary accounted for 64% of GDP. This is convenient because Republicans happen to represent corporate interests.
The EU has a strategy for influencing Republican policy when we put tariffs on them. They tax American companies that manufacture in Republican districts. I think Democrats can use a similar strategy. They can raise the cost of supporting Republicans in competitive districts by boycotting corporate donors. Maybe left-wing writers and podcasts can let their us know which companies to target. And if right-wing media retaliates, they'll be doing us a favor. We don't want money in politics anyway.
75
The resurgent authoritarianism is actually a sign of progress. As the majority of people around the globe become more centered on peace, meaningful work, environmental preservation and planning for the future of an inter-relelated global human family, the xenophobic, tribalist, nativist, ethnocentric religious radicals -- and the oligarchs funding their cultural terrorism -- be they in the United State, Saudi Arabia or Iran -- in order to maintain strict control, must begin to oppress their own people.
The result of this is overreach and a counter-movement towards even more pluralism. Eventually you get something like the Arab Spring of 2011 and the Occupy Wall Street and #MeToo in the United States. These movements have in similarity pitting dying, elitist power structures against an emerging egalitarian world order.
The irony here is that, sociologically speaking, the Trump supporters are actually the "Resistance" to change that is happening organically. The recent epochal event of all the Republicans in the U.S. Senate except Murkowski voting to advance to the Supreme Court Judge Kavanaugh, a liar, perjurer and likely sexual abuser, means they no longer care about the rule of law, having ignored it in his case to achieve their own political ends. That is a bridge too far. Money will only get you so far.
Even
It won't work -- they all love money and power too much to ever cooperative with each other.
7
I've seen just as much paranoid hysteria on the left, and it's embarrassing. 12 articles a day on Kavanaugh, and 1 on the war and famine in Yemen. Trump was "copy" before the election...and the hysterical journalists constantly harping on him probably helped him win the election. There are other things for this newspaper to cover. I live in the bluest of blue states, and the bluest town, and still get gobbled up by overpopulation, churches, excessive taxes, antiabortion protesters, you name it. All this was going on long before Trump, and if we don't clean up our act, it will be going on long after Trump. The worst homeless crisis in the nation is in San Francisco: blue. One of the most forsaken cities is Camden: blue. Time to cultivate our own gardens.
45
Here's your logic:
1. You can't criticize conservatives if there is anything wrong in a blue state.
2. Things have been bad in this country. Trump is bad. Therefore we should not talk about Trump. Been there, done that.
Sound thinking. Sarcasm meter at 11
1
@Stephanie Wood
Your argument fails when you list the flaws in "blue" cities; because there are no "red" cities. None. Not a one. People who live in close proximity to large population centers, with more diverse cultures and a more interlocked and interdependent society, do not tend to be red. They are always, always blue. And those few amidst the blues who are red, those reds generally live out in the suburbs, where they can get all of the benefits of a city without subscribing to or enduring the realities and lessons that life within a larger community teaches.
I'm not commenting on your other points, merely the fact that your logic fails when claiming that people on the "blue" side should fix their own problems rather than point to flaws in the "red" side. You have not made your case.
@Stephanie Wood Devoting extensive coverage to a topic (or not devoting enough coverage) is not the same thing as believing in and passing along conspiracy theories related the topic.
Thanks Dr. Krugman for keeping us alert on the bigger picture and the possible scope of the future. It can't be said enough.
8
Mr. Krugman, regrettably, you are proof that intelligent rational people can let their emotions become out of control. Do you honestly believe that Justice Kavanaugh is a threat to the future of America?
On what basis? His decisions on the DC Court of Appeals? His vigorous denial of being accused of facilitating gang rape? Your naked partisanship is showing, not your intellect.
33
@Stew Sir you miss the point of this article. The point of this article is that Kavanaugh's behavior today is consistent with Trump's, and now more and more Republicans', behavior toward the truth. You might notice the constant delivery of clearly false statements as true: examples are too numerous to mention totally. Do you believe Trump when he describes the size of crowds at his inauguration? Do you believe Kavanaugh when he says no President ever investigated more people and more carefully vetted a Supreme Court nominee than Trump did him? These are two from the uncountable numbers of lies both men have delivered.
Do you believe Giuliani when he says "there is no truth?"
Are you comfortable being led by such men?
@Stew R
No, Stew. Your vigorous ability to disassemble, to suspend disbelief, that is showing.
Kegstand Kav vigorously denied.... That isn't proof. (Most criminals deny; look at trump). Thus, did Dr. K reference the shame FBI investigation that the whitehouse deliberately circumscribed. Not even Dr. Ford or kegstand kav were interviewed. Dozens of calls from contemporaries of kegstand were deliberately ignored by the FBI. Thus, the sham part.
Kegstand has shown himself repeatedly to side with big corporate interests against employee rights, against envrionmental protection, and against unions (yeah, unions, the thing that make the american middle class).
Dr. K does indeed show his intellect. Not so all of you trying desperately to criticize him (and failing).
Have a nice day.
@Stew R
I'll take his decisions on the DC Court of Appeals, Stew. They show him to favor management over labor, industry (specifically real-estate developers) over endangered species, corporations over worker safety, and Christianity over church-state separation. He arguably leans too far toward executive immunity, and despite Senator Collins's defense of him against allegations that he would undercut the ACA, three of his dissents reportedly would have done exactly that.
In the above I draw on research I've compiled here:
http://chris-winter.com/Digressions/Election_2016/Kavanaugh.html
I’ve observed for decades that the most enthusiastic Republican supporters lean toward authoritarianism. They find democracy slow and messy. They prefer to think binarily. Black and white. Right and wrong. America, love it (exactly as it is) or leave it. My father was proud that Reagan defied Congress in the Iran-Contra affair. While controlling Democrats is like herding kittens, Republicans fall in line behind their leaders. I sense that many would be happy to have one-party rule, by their party, of course. Never mind that they will be astonished and upset should this happen and the far right pushes through their repressive agenda, such as outlawing contraception and prison for women who have abortions, sweeping up those who have miscarriages that can’t be proven to the law’s satisfaction. These laws have been tried sporadically around the country, but with pushback from voters. Imagine if we lose the ability to push back because politicians no longer fear their voters. The voters will then indeed fear their government and it will be too late.
186
@Louisa Glasson
I commented on the lack of appropriate fear of the people they work for and see everyday in republicans a few years ago. They never posted it.
@Louisa Glasson: The first thing authoritarian governments do is disarm the population. Don't see any Republicans pushing for that. Just saying.
Louisa Glasson: Astonished and upset? Maybe they'll be glad that minorities and women are put in their rightful places. Maybe they'll enthusiastically attend weekly rallies, shouting their approval, while their sons proudly wear the uniform of the Trumpen Youth.
The politics of fear and resentment amongst the most prosperous and lucky people on this planet is odd, but nobody is not frustrated by something in life and anyone who can tap into it can make people feel that they are interacting with a soul mate. Trump never appeals to the golden rule but he manages to attract with malicious expressions and lies to resonate resentments very adroitly. At some point Republicans will feel profoundly depressed and won’t know why Trump seems to make them feel worse. Then the fever will break.
5
Norms exist for a reason. If the background check had been independent of political control Kavanaugh's problems could have been recognized quietly, privately, before he was nominated.
But Trump wanted the nomination to be a fight.
11
Our voting machines could be being hacked since the administration in power has no problem with a foreign country influencing our elections.
11
Is anyone asking the Republican leaders in the US some very fundamental questions, such as:
- Are they committed to a society based upon democratic principles?
- Do they believe that all citizens have an equal right to vote?
- Are they committed to free and fair elections?
- Will citizens be permitted to vote without intimidation?
- Will they respect the results of elections?
- Etc
8
Perhaps both parties have a paranoid style, contributing to the failure to allow a discussion of solutions to societies problems.
Members of both parties tend to follow party affiliation rather than think independently. Evidence for this is that the vote to confirm Kavanaugh was along party lines, with only one or two exceptions.
Our experiment with democracy has lasted about 230 years. But democracy seems to be fading because each of the two parties don't listen to the ideas of the other.
Yes, Republicans reason too much as a group. But the same is true of Democrats.
The Bill of Rights guaranteed freedom of speech because it was recognizes as essential to the function of democracy.
Yet when Roseanne Barr made a bad joke that could interpreted as racist she was summarily fired. That sends a message: If you disagree with the consensus, we will destroy you.
Charles Murray once wrote a book, the Bell Curve, which seemed to maintain that blacks were less intelligent than whites. He was a sociologist who believed strongly in his research. Perhaps he was wrong. He has moved on to other investigations. Yet he cannot speak on university campuses but he once wrote something regarded as politically incorrect.
We have to give people the benefit of the doubt. It is not healthy to conclude that Kavanaugh lied under oath just because his party affiliation is different from Krugman's.
We have to be a bit more circumspect. We need to admit that we might be wrong.
2
yes, the Constitution says the government can not restrain speech. The private sphere is different, if what you say is viewed by your employer as being bad for their business they can let you go...which of course might be bad for them as well, but the Constitution does not guarantee your job
4
@Jake Wagner
Freedom of speech pertains only to government action. If your boss doesn't like what you say, they are perfectly free to fire you
2
@Jake Wagner
With all respect, you don't get it.
Conservatism and liberalism have always been two different but equally respectable philosophies, as philosophies.
But "philosophy" means a "terrible love of the truth", as Plato said.
THAT is what lacking horribly on the right today, and there's absolutely nothing equivalent happening on the left.
We should ALL support the notion that racism doesn't belong in the White House, Capitol Hill or our media. Instead, only Democrats still do today.
As to Kavanaugh lying under oath: that has nothing to do with Krugman, and has been proven objectively.
The only way to see any equivalency between both parties is to have forgotten what objective reality means in the first place.
6
Unfortunately there's plenty of blame to go around for getting the US to this sorry state. The Republicans are vile hypocrites, this was never particularly well hidden. But the Democrats have revealed themselves to be barely disguised tools of corporate interests, with a thin veneer of social responsibility. The Dems were willing to abandon all efforts to support legislation to fix problems affecting the "common citizen" in the US to avoid irritating their corporate overlords, and settled on an program of appealing to petty grievances in lieu of economic fairness. As a result, they lost to the worst candidate every fielded by the Republican party. Perhaps the Democrats will now propose a platform that will actually help the average citizen, and begin winning elections. Or they may continue cashing their checks, and holding the "moral high ground" as the country burns to ashes.
1
@cjl
20 million more Americans insured, which saves an additional 40,000 American lives a year - which means that thanks to the Democrats and notwithstanding historic, unprecedented obstruction from the GOP starting by the end of Obama's first year in office, soon a whopping half a million lives will already have been saved.
Anyone who dismissed this kind of progress as "a thin veneer of social responsibility" has become so cynical that he's actually increasing the GOP's attempt to control DC all while representing only a minority.
Nobody who was paying attention in 2016 had ANY excuse for staying home, and it's because of those who decided to allow the corrupt GOP to take over the country that a minority now controls all levels of government.
6
@Ana Luisa I agree with you mostly completely, however, the ACA was still just a thin "veneer of social responsibility" and a sop to existing corporate interests. Other countries have much more efficient systems for delivering health care, at a much lower cost.
I too was stunned by the turnout in 2016. I hope the Dems now offer a platform that motivates people to get off their butts and to get out and vote in November, but I'm not optimistic.
Here's a simple example, the Dems could propose a bill that would have the government buy up existing student loans, and reissue them at the 30 year treasury rate. This would result in huge savings to millions of young people, while still being fiscally responsible. They could also propose medicare for all, funding this by cutting the corporate tax deduction for medial insurance. They will do neither, I would bet.
@cjl (2nd comment)
Here's where I strongly disagree. You cannot possibly simultaneously claim to want universal healthcare and then dismiss saving half a million American lives a decade.
What you're doing here is remembering EXACTLY what Obama and Democrats themselves told us at the time: Obamacare lays the foundation for universal healthcare, BUT is only the first (and most important/difficult to achieve) step, as ALL social progress in a democracy is step by step progress, where first a U-turn has to be made, and once that's achieved, further progress can be built on that foundation.
It's too easy to remember that after a U-turn has been made, we still have a long way to go until we reach the finish line, and then blame those who succeeded that U-turn for not accomplishing everything overnight.
Change is never made by those standing at the sidelines yelling "not enough!", but by those who go standing in the mud and then celebrate each and every hard-fought step forward.
What I blame certain progressives of is to be merely "dreamers", who are stuck in an ideal world and then imagine that if our ideals aren't accomplished overnight, the main reason must be that Democrats never believed in those ideals to start with, whereas in a democracy, you HAVE to compromise, there is no other way.
As long as we can't get this (= as long as we stay so "politically illiterate", as Saul Alinsky called it), it's the minority that will win elections and then destroy any progress made.
What will happen if Democrats take both the House and the Senate? Will Republicans refuse to cede power, saying it was all voter fraud? Putin will have to work extra hard in this election to keep Republicans in power.
5
PBS, is probably the best producer of fact based documentary style news shows. Frontline is the leader in this type of investigative journalism. Although, since it isn't Fox News, or Breibart, or Alex Jones, and his Info Wars/ product sales vitamins etc.
Frontline, did some investigative work on a show called "Trumps Showdown" it follows the Russian investigation, and how the now famous, Steele Dossier, came to be well before Trump was elected. If you've taken the time to read the dossier, it points to all the people that have been indicted, and ultimately plead guilty, again well before Trump was elected, which lends credence to what Steele was reporting in the dossier. That the Russians have some sort of salacious information on Trump, remember Trump has done business in Russia for decades.
https://www.pbs.org/video/trumps-showdown-jqp2qd/
This should clear up any questions one might have about Russia's involvement, and Trumps meeting with the Russians in the oval office, while condemning his own intelligence gathering arm or government. You cry wolf too often and when you need to say, we rely on the intelligence gathered, people wont believe him.
Trump and the direction of the republican party is setting a dangerous precedence, we need to be vigilant and vote people into office, that will stop this garbage
7
The G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime, period. It is not waiting for anything. When, in his proudest moment, Mitch McConnell informed the President of the United States that the Senate would not act on his nomination for Supreme Court Justice, he declared the Constitution optional, and the Senate GOP our authoritarian government.
13
"...that’s as important as, and related to, the question of what he did to Christine Blasey Ford, a question that remains unresolved because the supposed investigation was such a transparent sham."
Ah yes, the "one week pause" proposed by "moderate" Republican Jeff Flake, looking all ashen and teary-eyed after being confronted in the elevator.
That was as insincere when it was proposed as when it was carried out. But it gave wavering Republicans (read, Collins) just enough cover to vote yes.
The most noteworthy thing is that Democrats fell for this myth of the "bipartisan, moderate Republican" yet again, in 2018. Like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football,
14
The REAL crisis, as bad as the GOP trying to create a narrative to dilute the stink coming from Kavanaugh's mouth, is CLIMATE CHANGE. We (as in EVERYBODY on the planet) has to undergo a HUMONGOUS attitude adjustment. If we have to pay Brazil whatever it takes to stop deforestation, if we have to ALL buy hybrid or all-electric cars, if we have to solarize every building possible, if we have to PULL CARBON OUT of the atmosphere, whatever it takes, WE ALL MUST BE PREPARED TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES. I'm not sure I will be around in 2040, but all those children we adore and cherish will be. Mother nature laughs at the GOP and lies in wait, like a great white waiting for lunch to arrive. Trump and his followers will be appetizers on the menu (the bigger they are...), but your kids, off to soccer practice, mastering chess, getting good on the tenor sax, dancing to the Nutcracker for Christmas- they face a hellish future. We knew about global warming by the mid-70's, we could have started down the path of conservation by the 90's. But now 25 years have come and gone, and the "lucky ones" have already died of old age. The USA, great again and all that nonsense, is the world's NUMERO-UNO polluter, with China as #2. What are WE going to do about our petty squabbles while the trees and the coral reefs and the polar ice caps disappear? I wish I (and the other tree-hugging fools like me) knew. BTW here comes Michael, a #3 hurricane heading for North Carolina again. Like I said...
6
The quality of sanity is a function of the degree to which the mentality of an individual or a culture is committed to reality.
That rational commitment is a core value of the honor and integrity upon which human health and survival depend. Imperfect as that commitment often is, (mea culpa) our dependence upon it informs a survival instinct that produces an intuitive alarm when we sense it is being violated, e.g. : "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."
Those who receive and react to that intuitive warning may avert or outlive the inevitable consequences.
Prof. Krugman's very pertinent summary and warning is but one of a growing number. It remains to be seen if these alarms will resonate
to the proportions of critical mass. If not, Reality's final law (Entropy) will take over.
4
Instead of this "doom and gloom" outlook, how about encouraging people to VOTE. That's the only way to make our voices heard. The electorate is activated, now it's time to use our VOTES to send a message that our government is in desperate needs of checks and balances on this corrupt administration.
6
I'm actually more concerned about what they might do just prior to the elections next month. How about fabricating a war with Iran? That could be a great pretext for exerting "emergency powers" that put the election on hold and allow Republicans to maintain their control of Congress. From there we could spiral very quickly into a complete police state (the apparatus is already installed and just waiting to be fully activated). Trump is a paranoid liar who will do anything to maintain his power and control, and avoid any accountability for his actions. We are a few keystrokes (or secure phone calls) away from a national crisis. And we're just supposed to carry on like this is all normal since the economy is growing.
7
Democrats lost any moral high ground with their behavior during the Kavanaugh confirmation. For most of us it emphasizes the extent of the disfunction on both sides of the aisle. Democrats are every bit as authoritarian as the Republicans - and just as prone to conspiracy theories. After all, wasn't it Hillary who talked of a "vast right wing conspiracy" trying to drag Bill down? And of course it was fine to demonize the women making accusations back then. This moral outrage on the left rights awfully hollow.
3
@Don Brown: Once again - One of Clinton’s accusers denied three times under oath that Bill raped her, one spread the Vince Foster murdered by the Clintons lie, and one had dollar signs in her eyes when she jumped on the bandwagon. All three of them lost every shred of credibility when they appeared with Kitty Grabber in Chief inna presidential debate. And I’d have gone after women lusting after my husband with a frying pan, and after him too!
Very scary but true. For those who don't think it could happen here, you are wrong. The Republicans in Congress are using the arguments about Soros and paid protesters because they have no arguments to support their actions other than they want to maintain control. Delegitimizing their opponents is the easy way to deflect from the criticism. Republicans are intellectually lazy, morally bankrupt political hacks.
8
"The more immediate threat comes from what we saw on the Republican side during and after the hearing: not just contempt for the truth, but also a rush to demonize any and all criticism."
no the threat comes from people like you who don't want to accept that lies are the republican norm. and they work with the base.
stop giving these clowns so much coverage! stop letting them direct the conversation! stop letting them manipulate you into covering every little fib they tell!
this is a crisis and you are not helping. anyone who thinks these lies are news worthy isn't paying attention!
2
Trump may include "lock her up" in his many cheers at an event. But the mainstream media uses all media forms at their disposal to project "lock him up", all the time. It must get tiresome for Dr. Krugman to have to keep including the word "possible" whenever referring to Trump-Russia collusion... two years worth of "possibles"; it's probably in the hundreds for him alone.
3
@carl bumba
So when on the one hand you have a president telling his supporters that he should jail his political opponents (all while not doing anything that might lead to such a decision, after two years in the DC ... but apparently you don't care about actions, only words?), and on the other hand some pundits denounce Trump's wrongdoings, you believe there's somehow an equivalency here ... ?
Since when is ASKING whether a president committed a crime or not, as journalists, somehow comparable to a president telling his voters that political opponents should be jailed even though obviously they didn't break any law at all (if not, he would have jailed them for a long time already ...)?
You guys seem to be completely confused, lost in merely "alternative facts" based anger.
6
@Ana Luisa
Using the fact that Hillary isn't behind bars, a tall order, as the PROOF that she is innocent of wrongdoing is witch trial logic.
But maybe we can agree that the two wrongs (of Trump and mainstream media) don't make a right?
I sure don't feel confused or angry.... But maybe I should just believe you, seeing that you're a woman and all.
I am really struck by the fact that lying about really important things has become so acceptable.
I remember when the Republican Party (led by the apoplectic Senator Graham) impeached a president for lying under oath about a consensual sexual relationship.
Now the President lies (over 5,000 times by recent count).
The President's whole basis for why he should be entrusted to fix government, he is a business genius, is proven to have been a giant lie.
A nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States lies repeatedly under oath.
The Attorney General of the United States lies under oath regarding contacts with Russians.
The President's son-in-law lies about the same to get his top secret security clearance.
It is endless
But now, Republicans have no problem with lying.
IT is incredibly sad.
11
I don"t understand why the Republican Party (Geriatric Old Patriarchs) want to destroy democracy in this country. Attempting to stuff down the throats of the American people, an unethical system of government that works for the rich and not the common man is treason and an attempted coup. Wake up working class citizens, this Republican vision will only bring you misery without Social Security, Medicare, and other safety net programs.
8
What do you mean "in waiting", Paul? I don't see Trump waiting for anything.
2
America, today, is behaving as though we are led by a monarchy:
Democracy does not work without compromise. It is not about electing your tribe into power, to act like a monarch, until the next tribe comes into to do the same, back to the other. Democracy doesn't happen without civil discourse, logical approaches, and common values that include "I don't win if I get it all and the other side is miserable". So very sadly 40% of America doesn't see it this way
5
Paul: your arguments are exactly spot on.
The blind trust in Trump is almost as scary as the blind trust in the President and the military industrial complex during the Vietnam era.
Back then, the loyal opposition were allowed to protest but rounded up/beaten once they got out of hand. With our reliance on cyberspace today, one wonders if the pro-Trumpeting hackers are helping him out.
The security agencies in our country are just as malleable as the rest of the voters. Once the FBI, NSA and CIA become blatently pro-Trump, what is left?
5
To me what we are seeing is not so much the politics of paranoia as it is the GOP alpha male dispensing with the last shreds of truth and shame.
Do you think Kavanaugh was really afraid of a Democratic plot when he screamed of “the revenge of the Clintons” before the Senate judiciary committee? Or that Trump and his parrots Grassley and Cornyn honestly believed Soros hired hundreds of thousands of protestors to stand against Kavanaugh’s confirmation?
Hardly. Kavanaugh and Trump and their GOP cronies who scream of plots and paid protestors and “angry mobs” are just entitled men whose male privilege was challenged by the women who raised their voices in the wake of #MeToo and the bravery of Christine Ford and whose power over every branch of government is now being threatened. They have simply learned to dispense with any semblance of truth and shame in the labels and stories they use to scream and bully their way to continued dominance.
And do you think for a minute that Kavanaugh and the GOP leaders who paved his way are just pawns in the service of a dictator-in-waiting? These are men who share his belief in their own male prerogative and who are more than willing to adopt his tactics in the service of their own personal dominance. And they have now been energized by their triumph over the women who would bring them down: “Grow up,” they drip with disdain.
Heaven help us when they find leader with more focus and “better words” than Donald Trump.
11
Dr. Krugman omitted the most clear evidence that the GOP is an authoritarian regime in waiting: Trump mused aloud about being president for life!
9
I am paying attention and I am terrified.
8
Excellent as always, Dr. K.
You omitted one of the most egregious GOP conspiracies, when Susan Collins used the discredited Ed Whelan Zillow-Gate tweets to suggest Brett Kavanaugh had a sexually abusive doppelgänger in high school. Collins spoke at great length about truth and bravery, then made it clear her decision was based on an internet rumor.
10
As Trump noted this morning, Hillary does not get it. The only people who do get it are Trump's cronies and pigeons.
Unless the politically disengaged half of the country who don't vote wake up and vote out the Republican party it doesn't look good for the future of this country and the planet. As a veteran of the 60's protests I am not confident this is going to take place. November elections are a litmus test of whether democracy or an ugly form of authoritarianism will rule our future.
6
When Trump was elected I told my American friend that 4 things stood in his way. The courts, the reluctance of the professional civil servants and agencies to co-operate, the states refusal to co-operate and even actively sabotage Trump, and ultimately the military whose officers take an oath to uphold the Constitution and not the Commander-in-Chief. I will never forget how Daniel Inouye so forcefully reminded Oliver North of this. The Courts may be useless now but lower courts, especially the Circuit Courts, could give legal and moral support to resistance. The other three are still in play but they point to violence and even Civil War or a coup.
My hopes and best wishes are with you.
5
There is nothing here to disagree about. The only
problem is that it will not be (carefully) attended to by
the many disillusioned and disaffected out there.
Their interests are not historically grounded. Their education about American history is poor. Their contempt is deep. They know little about life outside the country. Their only focus, assuming they can find the time or energy to focus, is more down to earth, since getting by each day isn't easy in their daily chaos.
What will motivate such people to insure they're registered to
vote and then find the time to do so? As Tavernise has
informed us, millions of lower income people have had
it with their political system since it has done nothing for them
in very concrete, down to earth, terms of physical survival.
Few, if any, such people will be inspired to vote.
So, it will come down to turnout among charged up
partisans, competing for who is angriest. When it comes
to fury, tweeter in chief is a master at its instigation. Democrats are not. The latest opportunity provided by the confirmation is but one
of many pretexts.
Naturally, democrats have neglected to detail with
a few pithy, effective, and concrete examples why its supporters who are not partisans or paying much attention should be furious. But, they have also been trapped into using fury as their principal motivator.
Do the sympathetic but disaffected, if devoid of a welling up of fury, know why they must really vote this time?
2
@bl
You say above, "As Tavernise has informed us, millions of lower income people have had it with their political system since it has done nothing for them in very concrete, down to earth, terms of physical survival. "
Problem is - the issue is that they are ignorant and take for granted all that has really been done about their physical survival - from Obamacare to foodstamps, to disability, police forces, laws against monopolies, minimum wages - I wish they could see for just a little bit what it looks like when the government ACTUALLY is doing nothing for you in the concrete down to earth terms to understand what is being done.
2
This is a coup, or at least an attempted coup. Dr Krugman is not using that term, but his meaning seems clear. Progressives need to prepare for the real possibility that the republicans will rig this election or the 2020 election. They did it in 2016, why not now?
14
"To sum up the argument: I see two diametrically opposed principles: the principle of democracy which, wherever it is allowed practical effect is the principle of destruction: and the principle of the authority of personality which I would call the principle of achievement, because whatever man in the past has achieved - all human civilizations - is conceivable only if the supremacy of this principle is admitted." AH, Speech to the Industry Club, January 1932
1
Once "who struck John" becomes a rhetorical question for either party compromise becomes hard; once it becomes rhetorical for both parties compromise becomes impossible.
Republican officeholders may cynically only pretend that the "angry mob" or George Soros, or a Democratic hit job struck first; to the base to whom they preach it's dogma.
To those paying attention--by definition not the Republican base--there's plenty of empirical evidence showing who struck first.
The latter may still be the majority, but likely so were those opposed to slavery. And recall what a significant minority, doubtless containing more than a few cynical pretenders, managed to provoke back then.
1
we stopped allowing trump supporters into our house. if a trump supporter engages me in conversation, i tell him/her that he is morally and/or intellectually defective.
this kind of response to a clear and present danger may not help anyone else, but it helps me.
we will not support a politician with a present or past (undisavowed) connection to the republican party (which once had, as had my parents). i think the current republican party is evil and dangerous.
there is a war going on, and dems (i am not one) had better start fighting rather than acting as if they were above it all (as obama did).
13
@james ponsoldt
It's a nice thought that Michelle Obama had, taking the high road, but in the era of Trump, taking the high road isn't an option. If we need to get down in the mud, to beat them into submission then so be it.
4
@james ponsoldt
"we stopped allowing trump supporters into our house."
I see - you only want to talk to those who agree with you, and you call this a "morally and intellectually superior" position. Philosophically speaking, can you see a problem with this?
2
@Kai: Nope, just as I wouldn’t have a problem refusing brownshirts in my home in WWII.
...an authoritarian regime in waiting...
A brilliant tagline for an economically diverse group of Americans -- wealthy or struggling -- who would have little to say to each other, beyond bonding via complaints. And who prefer to be reassured they and people like them are the reason America was once great. But who, in fact, lack an understanding of how their country got there in the first place.
5
We need only look to Turkey, Hungary, and Poland. Capture the judiciary so that power grabs are ratified, then grab the power. It's not just the Supreme Court seat, but all the district and appeals court seats that McConnell held open throughout much of Obama's administration. The courts are primed to rubber stamp Trump's excesses until they no longer look excessive.
7
There is a lot to unpack here. Here is just one: the authoritarian tone of the Republican Party: It is the flip side of paranoia. They are numerically inferior to the rest of us and will become more so with each passing year. They are well past middle ground, beyond reconciliation. The only way they can continue to dominate as a minority is to render democracy dysfunctional while retaining its shell. They have done that. But for how long?
It's been suggested that plantation owners in the antebellum South did not sleep well at night. I wonder if Mitch McConnell et al sleep well at night?
12
@Prairie Populist: One cannot be too paranoid in corporate boardrooms. Take it from the man who founded Intel.
2
In the hammer and anvil approach to government led by Mitch McConnell, the GOP will learn that if you hit the anvil hard enough, long enough, it will rise up and grab the hammer. This is what needs to happen starting this November.
4
The Kavanaugh nomination may prove to be the Waterloo of American democracy. Not only have America's enemies (Trump, McConnell, et al) placed Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, they have ginned up a dispute that fires their base. If that lets them hold off Democratic candidates for local, State, and federal office this November, the future for democracy in this country looks dark. After Waterloo, the Bourbon monarchy returned to France, along with the aristocrats who fled. They got back all their property, and ruled selfishly until popular disgust led to the elevation of Napoleon III, a dictator who led France into the disastrous Franco-Prussian war of 1870. It took France more than 60 years, in other words, to recover from its Waterloo. What will it take the United States?
5
@Keithofrpi
But that only lasts for so long, then it get's old.....
I'm fact-based terrified. I rely on a hard-working free press. Too bad it's disbelieved in conspiracy-aggrieved-fearful-false ways cultivated by GOP interests.
8
Our last line of defense may well be members of the military who swear to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.
3
@AP18
you mean the military that voted 75%+ for Trump, 90%+ in the Marine Corps ?
1
These articles continue to point the finger at Trump and his henchmen in Congress. There is little coverage of the disarray the Democratic Party is in this year in offering any coherent rebuttal to the Republicans. Lack of a singular spokesperson who seeks out headlines to get the opposing message out is tough when the Dems do not have a President equivalent. Tom Perez does not seem to seek out that role, and yet the Democratic Party has become a void with no clear spokesperson. While the Democrats may recover some seats in Congress due to people actually being fed up with Trump & Co., they still can not put out a clear Top 5 or Top 10 steps they will take if America hands them Congress or the White House again. Here's my list: 1. Climate Change/Carbon Tax/Renewable Energy, 2. Vote by Mail (on paper ballots) to improve election security, 3. Delete the 2017 Tax Cuts and Re-Invest in America 4. Change Corporate Tax breaks to offer them only if they relocate manufacturing to the U.S., 5. Don't spend $$ sending humans to Mars, while we are busy turning this planet into Mars. Fix our environmental issues towards sustainable solutions before there is nothing left. 6. The Democrats are the party that BELIEVES in government, so start defending government to Americans again to explain what it does to benefit every American!
7
@Linda
This article is about the authoritarianism of the republican party, because that's the only way they can hold power. They can only do it through loading the courts, gerrymandering, suppressing minority voters, Trump wasn't elected by a majority of Americans, he has no mandate, and I doubt that but for the help from Russia, he would be where he is.
7
@Linda
ANY list of items on ANY Democrats' campaign platform contains most of your list (except investigating Mars, of course, as that HAS a lot of scientifically valid advantages for life on earth).
Look IN DETAIL at who did what in Congress, as Democrat, under Obama, and you'll notice that they didn't merely respect most of those same items, but made progress on them, often of historic scale, and on many other crucial issues such as healthcare, education, and denuclearization.
The problem in this country isn't merely that GOP voters are easily misled, it's also that many belonging to the majority seem to ignore that if you know what Democrats stand for, you have to ACTIVELY seek out information, rather than blaming politicians for not having enough journalists writing about them in a way that you would spontaneously read ...
The only way to have a government for the people is a government by the people.
Waiting for a "clear spokesperson" on the Democratic side when SO much is at stake is absurd. Start watching C-SPAN and you'll find all the spokespersons you need ... !!
6
Thank you Professor Krugman.
I could see the writing on the wall when Trump was elected and immediately began making connections in Canada and learning French (since Canada is officially bi-lingual) in preparation for fleeing there. And nothing Trump and his Republican lapdogs have done since has made me feel I was over-reacting.
I just hope Canada stays sane and doesn't start treating those fleeing persecution as horribly as the US under the Trump administration does.
5
@NGM
They have their own Trump like politicians in Canada as well, they too will need to deal with those people as well.
The Republican Party is the last bastion of refuge and sanctuary for Americans resigned to casting blame, attacking individuals, and disparaging anyone refusing or failing to recognize and accept their myopically prejudicial views. The GOP is the party of a significantly diminishing number of Americans who believe their way of life and their future is being eclipsed by individuals reflecting extensive diversity. Multiculturalism, multiracial presence, multi immigrant posture, diverse religious participation, multi ethnic influence, and gender parity evidence the positive, forward looking thinking of FDR, LBJ, and JFK. These presidents knew the political calculus of their day that they would not accomplish the lofty ideals they promoted through federal legislation, but they initiated the process. 2018 reveals the fruits and the accomplishments achieved through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The beneficiaries-all Americans-take note.The same with Obamacare. All Americans benefit. The Republicans are intent upon dismantling all indicia of those federal statutory regimens, arguing that 'self help' [lift yourself up by your bootstraps] is preferred to government intrusion. Hypocritically speaking, those naysayers benefited from federal subsidies and programs protecting their vested interests, but don't touch those sacred cows. The Republicans are destined to be a 'minority' party of conservative Caucasians. Race matters.
6
Republicans are building an authoritarian regime because it's a necessary part of the vision their donors are paying them to implement. The Koch Brothers and other wealthy donors want an extreme version of the current "Shareholder Value Capitalism," a zero-sum game of plunder that concentrates the nation's wealth into their hands and necessarily consigns everyone else to varying degrees of poverty. They want a "small government" that exists solely to protect them and their assets, and to facilitate the redistribution of wealth.
Ever since Republicans became the Greedy Oligarchs' Party in the 1980s, they have worked to implement that vision. They have cut taxes for the wealthy (the only "idea" they've had for decades). They have also eliminated legislative and regulatory impediments to greed, along with government programs and services that benefit non-wealthy Americans. Their success can be measured in the greatly increased income inequality that Robert Reich and Paul Krugman insist is destroying our country. But for Republican donors, that's the desired outcome of what they're buying.
Unfortunately, the extreme inequality Republicans seek usually leads to instability and violence-- unless an authoritarian regime rules with a sufficiently heavy hand to ensure "law and order." That probably means something like the sham democracy of Russia, Poland, and Hungary, where the donors own the ruling Republican Party that controls all branches of government.
14
@Ted: Corporations are buying back their own issued stock to take themselves private. We can expect dictatorship by an unelected interlocked directorship soon.
Shareholders are getting screwed too. Trump misses nobody to fleece.
2
I'm curious to know why you list among Trump's many scandals "possible collusion with Russia."
Surely, standing in front of the nation and extolling the Russians to "release the emails" is actual, not possible, collusion. Ditto for meeting with Russian agents who promise "Russian support" for your election campaign.
I believe there are a lot of facts that remain unknown and some that will remain unknowable.
But in the same way that walking up to a bank teller and demanding "Give me the money" is a crime whether or not you actually get money, so is standing up in public and demanding help from a hostile foreign power a crime whether or not you receive that help.
In Donald Trump's case, we already know that he got it. That's not "possible collusion," it's "conspiracy against the United States."
11
@Reality Chex
Maybe, but it still needs to be proven, and Mueller is well on his way.
https://www.pbs.org/video/trumps-showdown-jqp2qd/
1
All i can say is read KILLING DEMOCRACY. It's a short book on Amazon that outlines the ways an authoritarian can take over our democracy. It could sound like a conspiracy theory, except the theory is coming to life before our eyes. The book talks about controlling the judiciary as one major step...written before Kavanaugh even got mentioned. There's lots more beyond that.
4
The craziness accelerated when we went digital. The internet and digital news programs became the new petri dish, offering the best in distortions and misinformation. People say we are polarized, I would say we are played and manipulated in the digital era, and that is where the polarization is designed and delivered.
1
The woman who yelled at Jeff Flake in the Senate elevator works for the "Center for Popular Democracy," an advocacy organization that promotes various issues, including immigration reform. The organization receives funding from the Open Society Foundation, which was founded and is partly funded by Soros.
So yes--she was not "employed by Soros," in the sense that he directly signs her paycheck each week. But she is also not some random barista who, overwhelmed with emotion by the Kavanaugh nomination, decided to take the day off of work to go yell at Senators. Her job is that of a political activist. You may agree with the views she advocates for, and of course she has every right to advocate for those views. By pretending she is not part of a particular institutional structure pushing certain policies is just not factually true.
Also, given some of the insanity being said about Russia right now by "progressives," I'm not sure that an inclination towards conspiracy theories is unique to Republicans.
7
She is also a survivor of sexual assault. Where or who she works for is irrelevant to the question of standing up for sexual assault victims, including herself. Invoking George Soros' name is an excuse for Senators to dismiss her as well as the thousands who protested at the Capitol and Supreme Court. So convenient for Senators to hide behind their delusions of left-wing boogeymen and to convince their followers to disregard the feelings and pain of their fellow citizens. These Senators should be ashamed of their disinformation campaign but they aren't and that's what terrifies me the most. They have bought into the President's relentless attacks on Democrats by calling them unhinged, angry, and yes, paid protesters. Very rich coming from the party that has built it's brand over the past two decades on fear, resentment of the "other", anger, and yes hatred. The most recent term being thrown around is "mob". This is how the Republican Senators refer to peaceful demonstrators. AGAIN, HAVE THEY NO SHAME.
If one wants to witness mob mentality, attend a Trump rally where decent looking folks are whipped into chanting lock her up and laughing derisively at sexual assault victims. That is what a mob looks like.
Professor Krugman has it right. Metaphorically, we are staring down the barrel of a double barrel shotgun and the powerful individuals with their fingers on the trigger are just waiting for their chance to shoot and kill the opposing party, for good. God help us all.
7
@RC
The name of "that woman who yelled at Jeff Flake..." is Ana Maria Archila. Yes, she is the Co-Executive Director of The Center for Popular Democracy.
And her job is to advocate for those who have little or no voice in America so they can be heard by government, corporations and the community.
Have you looked at the causes they are taking on? Have you looked at their BOD. All are far from a left wing conspiracy. Fairness, common sense and spirit of community.
Progressive is not a four letter word. Throughout history, both in the US and the UK, where your comment originates from, it has been the progressive thinkers and doers who have actually made our countries great. Not the hucksters, xenophobes and frightened elders trying to hold on to something that no longer exists, as if their myths of "the good old days" ever did.
Dig deeper for your news and information, don't just echo the scripted lines of the paranoid few as described in Dr. Krugman's essay. And, if you are a British citizen, not an American ex-pat, I'd suggest paying more attention to the difficulties to come in your own country by Brexit.
8
@RC And how is she different that any loser lobbyist!?!?
As I read these comments, I can't help but be struck by the irony that the left-wing seems to exhibit a degree of paranoia equivalent to the right.
If we vote, we can make things change.
4
People have assumed those who support the NRA are arming themselves in order to successfully defend the Republicans ideals. That may be true but they are not the majority.
Considering the rage now felt in response to the propaganda, manipulation, the chaos and deception by the Republicans there is a real need for people despite race, religion, party affiliation to understand we might not agree on all issues but it is necessary to unite in order to demolish the present agenda that is absolute poison.
All organizations will be strength in numbers to allow us to return to some peace, sanity, mutual respect and Justice in this country. The division by manipulation is a slow suffocation that is killing our spirits.
3
If some of comments were not serious, they would be comical.
K-man is losing it with his unsupported rants and raves and claims distortions and histrionics...and some folks, unfortunately, buying into it. The K-man ought to stick to economic subject matter on which, whether one agrees with him or not, he can claim knowledge. Encouraging mob rule and engaging in ridiculous characterizations, as he does, does this country and democracy no good.
4
This isn’t paranoia we’re dealing with, it’s nihilistic solipsism on a mass scale. Pyrite meets Pyrrhic victory.
I wish you all an interesting life.
5
Clearly Trump wants an authoritarian regime. I wouldn't be surprised if he ran not only for a 2nd term, but also for a third, voiding the law prohibiting that. Barring that, he will try to control whoever runs at that time.
But we have the means to stop Trump and the GOP. It's called voting. If you think the GOP has made a travesty of Congress and the presidency, don't just talk about it. Vote.
And before you vote, make sure that like-minded people you know are registered to vote. Offer to drive those without transportation to the polls. Help them vote early or absentee if that makes more sense for them.
Every vote counts. That's how we change what's happening now.
4
About "...think of what Trump and his party might do if they retain both houses of Congress in the coming election. If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention." I'm terrified, but if the Republicans retain both houses, won't most voters be serene? The people who vote for Republicans will be happy, and the people who don't vote must not care who is in Congress.
2
It takes a lot of nerve for GOP politicians to accuse protesters of being paid. This is merely projection as the politicians themselves are being paid off by the NRA and the Koch brothers.
15
It's important to remember that by the time a comparison with Nazism isn't tendentious, there's no point in making it any more. The whole idea of "never again" that emerged from the experience of WWII was that these tendencies need to be halted while they're still developing, and not dismissed until they can't be effectively countered. And look how far we've descended already under Trump. Does anyone think that the Republican Party would authorize a Russia investigation today, however convincing the evidence and however provocative the administration's conduct? Trumpism is a one-party dictatorship that will, I fear, be permanently consolidated in four weeks. We'll see what happens, but I have a very bad feeling.
17
@James McFarland
Thank you for making that point! It is of precious little value to point out how Nazi-like a regime is while you are being marched into the gas chamber by its gun-wielding functionaries.
1
We're in deep trouble. Evidently about 40% of American voters do not concern themselves with the preservation of democracy in the United States. I believe they would vote for Hitler if they thought he had their interests at heart.
It is indeed terrifying that so many people don't understand and/or don't care. It can happen here.
12
It's usually considered bad form to invoke this comparison, but the last time a crazy conspiracy theorist took control of a major world power, the result was World War II and the Holocaust. :(
15
We can call Trump presidency, not "Triumph des willens", but "The defeat of a mediocre democracy." No, Mr. Lincoln, this noble experiment did not survive: it is perishing from the earth.
We see this authoritarianism advancing rather quickly: Nikky Haley was not ugly enough in the U. N.; so she was fired by Trump; unless. people are so gullible that they really believe that she resigned on her own volition: her body language said the contrary to her words in the meeting with the narcissist in chief.
We just need another version of the Nazi swastika as a symbol of narcissism elevated to the tenth potency: Trump.
7
It's over people. They know how to jerk the system and they did it. We are beyond gridlock. These renegade repubs stole the system and worked it on us. Following the system as we know it will not work. It will be a true Revolution in the streets if we want our government back. Most people won't/can't pitch in. It was a good ride but it is over.
9
Did you know that the Koch brothers are spearheading an effort to rewrite the Constitution? They actually are. Google it. The Cato Institute and ALEC are behind the thinking. They want to balance out the strength of the popular vote so that business and wealth have more control over the taxing function. They win- we lose. That is why you don't know about it. They need LESS power- not more. If you hear about a Constitutional Convention to stop abortion and protect gun rights- well the grift is ON! Its about the seizing of control of the government. The wedge issues are there to get the convention open- the plan is to run away with it after it is open. Identify these mercantile traitors and cut them OFF from all political power.
17
Authoritarian? I applaud your restraint. I call it fascism. There are many definitions of fascism, but Robert Paxton's is the best, because it distills the vile poison at the heart of every fascist movement. "A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion." "Obsessive"? You bet. Trump is a man obsessed--with himself. "Victimhood"? That's where Goerge Soros and the Clintons come in. "Energy"? Do you know how fast a bullet exits the muzzle of an assault rifle? That's the right's "energy." Every gun toting crazy who prowls the streets, looking for someone against whom he can "stand his ground" is part of Trump's militia. The "traditional elites" are Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham, who are now defending the "rights" of rapists and white supremacists to practice the holy (to fascists) rite of "violence". Because if it is violent, it must be from the heart and therefore it must be good. And of course, we all know that Trump considers himself above the law. To his followers, it is his great strength. They voted for him BECAUSE he bragged about not paying taxes.
17
It is more than ironic that Donald Trump idolizes Russia. If he had any interest in learning history (not remotely likely) he might want to study what happened to the last Czar and his family, when they trampled roughshod over the rights of the majority of Russian citizens. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. While we have survived for more than 200 years without a second revolution, I would not want to bet on surviving another 100 with this kind of corrupt, lying, cheating government. This will not end well.....
8
We have been weaving this rug for a long time and avoiding the truth has become the warp and weft of our national fabric.
The people of Germany and Italy, both intellectually alive nations, were played by fascists, themselves tools of monied interests and a similar mindset is taking over here.
There is good reason for the separation of church and state; too bad we don't heed that notion.
11
The closest political organization to the communist party this country has seen. They all say the same things in the same way. They all vote as instructed. Decisions are reached in secret. Dissent is punished. And, none of them ever criticise another party member. A cult, not an American style political party.
5
The president's comments about Mr. Soros are actually a wonderful educational service for all of us.
Recall the way Trump hired movie extras to applaud his announcement that he was going to run for president.
That, combined with his Soros announcement, suggests that a principle of political behavior is as follows: a politician (especially an ideologue or extremist) making unsupported or outrageous allegations about others, is actually revealing details of his (her) own behavior.
9
There have been more than a few recent articles noting that about half of potentially eligible voters don't vote. I'm making an educated guess (and bet) that the majority of those potential voters would not join the Republican herd if they did vote. The Democrats need to build a permanent structure to turn out those voters and fight against the voter suppression tactics of the GOP. Nothing worth doing is easy, but boy is this worth doing!
7
cc : Tom Steyer, Mike Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos and, yes, George Soros. The Democratic party lacks a counterweight to ALEC, Americans For Prosperity (not what it sounds like), the Federalist Society, Judicial Crisis Network, the NRA, et al. Otherwise, unlimited dark money will be the death of our democracy.
5
My father was a Republican. He fought in WWII and Korea. He was a 25 year military officer and devoted Christian. In his last days he complained to me that Republicans had lost all credibility. He said they have become reactionaries without any firm allegiance to any principle other that holding political power to benefit their donors. And he was embarrassed that fringe political operatives seemed to have taken over large parts of the Protestant Christian establishment. If he were alive today he would be a Democrat if for no other reason than the GOP has become a morally bankrupt Trump institution.
13
Let's not forget the corporatist element of fascism. As Senator Whitehouse explained in detail during the Kavanaugh hearings and his book "Captured", all three branches of government have been captured by corporate interests. Conservative funders have purchased the GOP and through it, the SCOTUS, earned themselves a huge tax break at the cost of massive national debt and harm to the other 99% of the country.
13
I think it is too late. The GOP has spent money and years building a red seawall against any blue wave. They can now run the country will less than 30% of the vote. Get ready for minority rule for decades to come. Women, LGBT people, and minorities will suffer, and 'real' Americans will love it.
11
Isn't the paranoia, the conspiracy theory, a tool of both sides just because of opposing goals?
3
The keenly observant and eloquent analyst reached a proper conclusion about the purpose and goals of the former party of Lincoln: "The answer, I submit, is that the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting."
In a recent report on NPR re the 50th anniversary of The Heritage Foundation, it became clear that their mandate for their very existence is encapsulated in Mr. Krugman's quote above.
But here is the thing: While a Republican takeover of government will most certainly translate into an authoritarian, klepto-autocratic rule, consider what Democratic dominance would mean in all three branches of government. Demcrats (go ahead, call us "liberals" if you like) keep insisting on mandates for clean water and air, bringing back, and supporting, the world's greatest public schools, maintaining the nation's infrastructure, insisting on access to top quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans, bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act to separate banking from the stock market and insurance services, restricting the mergers & acquisitions in corporate America to sustain competition and consumer protections, ... yes, the list is much longer than this.
But you get my point. Republicans simply prefer an oligarchical power structure with an autocratic "leader" in charge of all three branches of government; to control the news Americans read and hear they want to shut down PBS and NPR to restrict access to facts.
Our democracy is in mortal danger and that is not hyperbole.
21
I was already terrified, and have been ever since Trump took office. He's an incredible manipulator, who has never hidden his authoritarian impulses. The GOP has been winning in its takeover ever since Newt Gingrich first organized their efforts behind evangelicals. Now Trump has taken over and given them new life.
Our only hope now is to get out the Democratic voters. Vote in November!
12
I sometimes believe that I must feel like a great number of Germans must have felt in the 30's. We can vote and we MUST.
16
Suitably terrified and bound up in full blown election hyper-apprehension is just where DJT and his cohorts want the American electorate. The full out fear mongering and dire warnings about the prospect of a major midterm election blow to the GOP hold on the Congress are now in full attack mode voice from the Right.
According to the category 5 vitriol of the President and the Republican heavies the result of a loss of their slim control of the Senate would guarantee certain Democratic run-amok chaos of a magnitude that will make the biblical plagues of Egypt look like child’s play. The same applies to the House to a somewhat lesser degree.
The spectacle that is now unfolding at warp speed will be dazzling.
Let the games begin.
2
The protesters are the mob? What about the "protestors" who tried to disrupt the Florida election recount in 2000? What were those protestors? The GOP's hypocrisy is staggering.
22
@batavicus
Don't forget the Tea Party and all manner of Alt-Right styled groups, including White Supremists and anti-Semites. That display of anger by Brett Kavanaugh and Lindsay Graham; that's a lot of angry white people out there telling the opposition to shut up. That's angry white people telling the opposition not to be angry. That is a lot of hypocrisy.
Kanye West and Ivanka Trump should be aware.
6
"Add in the investigations closing in on Trump’s many scandals...." What could possibly be taking them so long when, say, the self-dealing is so obvious? The midterms are here, now. Has there not been a failure here--why?
5
We are, on paper, a democratic republic. We are, in operation, a minority-ruled republic. The founders would be busy preparing a set of amendments to the Constitution if they could come back and see the point we've reached after 230 years. They would have the wisdom to tweak the design they wrote. They would still care for preserving the American experiment over their personal ambitions. I see very few politicians today who would do the same thing.
What would the founders change?
- Allow the regulation of money; it's not speech.
- Eliminate the electoral college. The president is president of the people, not the land.
- Write additional rules for operation of the House and Senate into the Constitution itself to block the rampant obstruction that both parties practice. Require the Senate to vote on appointments within 120 days. Allow a 1/3 minority of either house to force votes on the floor.
- Put the supreme court on 18-year terms, one expiring every 2 years, to eliminate the court packing.
- Eliminate gerrymandering through a national standard for non-partisan redistricting.
There movements advocating these things today: Problem Solvers Caucus and their Break the Gridlock package; Move to Amend.org; Federal Accountability Amendment. We have our work cut out.
28
All true. The MAJORITY of Americans MUST take back government to save the country. I am over 60. I really do not want to spend the rest of my life living under the thumb of an ultra right wing, ultra religious fundamentalist court and their partisan "decisions." I don't want a right-wing-gerrymandered House making laws that tear down what little civilization we have left. I don't want a Senate that is rigged so that the low population, right wing states with a small minority of the US population dominate the majority. I don't want an electoral college that is rigged in the same way so that a
"president" can get "elected" without a majority of Americans votes. Our defective political system has resulted in all three branches of government being diametrically opposed to the MAJORITY of the American People. It cannot stand.
21
I happen to live among and work with mostly liberal-progressive people who recoil in horror from Trumpism. Several months ago I spent a weekend with a high school friend who is a die-hard Trump supporter. We had agreed in advance to not discuss politics -- or if we did, to do so in as civilized a manner as possible, which we were able to do for 30 to 45 minutes, after which it became clear there wasn't much point to the discussion -- and our blood pressure was rising to unhealthy levels. It also became clear that my friend had bought into the Republican paranoid tactics and conspiracy theories (which for me are based in the basic theory "you come from scarcity and fear or you come from abundance and generosity," with the former holding sway over the latter in the case of Republicans) hook, line, and sinker. There was no arguing, because a position based on falsehoods and paranoia cannot be refuted by truth and logic. The Paranoid Style is a current running deep beneath the surface of the President's supporters and is, as evidenced by its continual surface eruptions, a fait accompli. I believe Paul Krugman is correct: if we are not terrified, we are not awake.
25
Krugman starts a column about the GOP paranoid style of politics with the following: "He’s (Kavanaugh) a naked partisan who clearly lied under oath about many aspects of his personal history."
Is Paul Krugman trying to be unintentionally ironic? Liberals harvest paranoid politics in all seasons, but in particular when considering supreme court nominees.
For instance, did the often-repeated liberal paranoid rhetoric about 'women dying' come to fruition after Roberts, Alito, and Gorsuch started judging cases? Does any neutral observer believe that former Kavanaugh law clerks were flashing 'white power' hand gestures during the hearings? How about the convoluted process Dr. Fords accusations reached the public. Does one really think that it wasnt timed to be released for maximal damage to Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation to SCOTUS? Does the left really think that any accusation should have legal standing despite the incidents being un-witnessed and unreported to any authorities? Should a three decade old event where a teenage Brett Kavanaugh is alleged to have thrown ice cubes at another young man be NYTimes A1 front page news? What about Sen. Graham's point about him and his predecessor voting for RBG, Kagan and Sotomayer despite representing one of the three reddest states in the union where his votes for these liberal justices did cost him politically. Yet, no liberal democrat would think about voting for Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
Dr. Krugman, please look in the mirror.
1
@rvu "Yet, no liberal democrat would think about voting for Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. " that is because they are ultra right wing extremists and religious fundamentalists nominated BECAUSE they are the embodiment of the ultra right wing partisan politics. They would not have been nominated otherwise. They got the lowest and next lowest confirmation votes of ANY SC nomine EVER. If the 60 votes cloture rule was in effect they would not have even be nominated because EVERY SENATOR understands perfectly well that these two are ultra right wing extremists in their judicial "philosophy."
6
I would like to suggest that everyone who has a Netflix subscription watch an exceptional documentary entitled "Hitler: A Career". Too many similarities for comfort. Chilling. We have faced many difficulties in the past which were overcome, and our lives went on. This is not going to end well.
11
"Putting such a man on the Supreme Court has, at a stroke, destroyed the court’s moral authority for the foreseeable future."
"Moral authority"?
Authority has two bases--bureaucracy and knowledge.
One derives from the office in a system of offices--not unlike military ranks. Lower ranks defer to higher officers.
The other derives from knowledge/competence--those with less defer to those with more. Thus parents/children, teachers/students, professionals of all sorts--often specially educated and licensed--and their clients and patients--their dependents.
Well run bureaucracies promote by "merit"--knowledge/competence--judged by credentials and performance. That's "good discrimination"--discriminating judgment often requires trained eyes and other senses plus experience.
The badly run bureaucracies assign authority for other reasons-- ignorance, prejudice, bribes, conflicts of interest--family, friends, donors, loyalty etc-- summed up as "bad discrimination." Ignorant bureaucrats are the real devils.
"Moral authority" contrasts with legal--a form of bureaucratic authority. The deferential/obedient do so voluntarily--freely--not due to external threat of punishment. Foolish decisions are punishment enough.
The Church lost its moral authority during the Enlightenment. Knowledge/Academia trumped god-story mythology; evidence and logic trumped revelation and marketing.
SCOTUS is now like the Church. Hope for a second Enlightenment.
2
Great points, Paul, and now when the Democrats take back control of congress they'll do all they can to rectify both the appointment of a man totally unfit for the Scotus, and also the non-appointment of Merrick Garland. Right?
Wrong. Pelosi announced that there will be no attempt at impeachment. Apparently, "resistance" does not apply to the lifetime appointment of an anti-worker, anti-environment right wing nutcase.
It's time to get rid of the establishment Democrats. They do not have our best interests on their agenda.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/409493-pelosi-says-its-not-her-plan-t...
3
Impeachment is only the first step; removal is done after a trial and 67 senators find the offenses are great enough to warrant it.
Any group starting the impeachment process must be certain their argument is solid and that they have 67 Senate votes for removal or the voters will punish them for a failed process. In short, it will take more than a few "new" Democrats to get rid of Kavanaugh.
2
@Ed Watters
Just remember, if we impeach, will be stuck with Mike Pence, who believes Donald Trump is his path to the presidency.
He is Trump without the crazy. He is Trump with better manners.
And the worst part of it is that our fellow citizens have brought us to this terrible place. From secular white supremacist crazies to zealous evangelical devotees, all have fallen in line with Trump's and the GOPs lies and cruelty.
Wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross indeed. And having completely destroyed the real meaning of both.
14
The Robber Barons ownership of the country grows ever so much. They discovered their mouthpiece in Mitch McConnell, who gladly stepped forward to fulfill their bidding. Then a miracle happened, a charlatan was available, one who could smoke screen their nefarious activities, a man true to their own heart. The genius of this snake oil salesman, expert in the art of flimflam, was to find reason for the dissatisfaction the millions out there in the countryside. It was not in themselves, as past demagogues have shown, but to find a good Jew to place blame on. Globally, works each and every time.
Sick and tired of this? Then VOTE!
7
I always refer to Republicans as Nazi-precursors. Sure, they aren't signed up for genocide yet, but take the base through the motions and they'll be ready. The first step was separating the babies, which they all supported. 20 steps later they'll be OK with camps in the name of national security. But before that, two intermediate steps must occur: (1) Trump's reelection in 2020, and (2) a major national security event.
163
@Moe
First they came for the undocumented, and I did not speak out - because I was not undocumented.
Then they came for the refugees, and I did not speak out - because I was not a refugee.
Then they came for the Democrats, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Democrat.
And then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
5
@Moe, If you're in Indiana, a traditional red state, then all the more reason to get everyone you know out to the polls and vote blue on November 6. At least keep Donnelly in office. If the Repubs keep the House and Senate, we'll have some form of authoritarianism by 2020.
4
@Moe
The Republicans are really mostly a bunch of fascists.
The famous Western writer J Frank Dobie said this about them over 70 years ago and he was right.
1
It's not (just) about Trump, it's about the Republican party.
A two-party system works iwhen both parties operate in good faith. But the Republican party no longer operates in good faith. Ronald Reagan famously announced that "government is the problem". Reagan didn't initiate the problem, but things went downhill rapidly from there. He gave bad faith a respectable face.
When Republicans gain power, they intentionally misrule in order to convince more voters that "government is the problem". When Democrats gain power, Republicans act to obstruct any actions that improve government. For their own part, they campaign for office with false promises to improve government, but their real desire is to wreck it. To shrink it to a size that it could be drowned in a bathtub, as Grover Norquist wishes. And then, of course, to do that.
That is the essence of bad faith action. It's Lucy holding the football, and Charlie Brown falling for her promises one more time.
If one partner in a marriage were acting in bad faith, the other could get a divorce. But when one party in a two-party political system is acting in bad faith, how should we proceed?
What would a divorce look like?
8
What I would like someone at NYT to do, is take this statement:
' It began in the first moments of Kavanaugh’s testimony, when he attributed his problems to “a calculated and orchestrated political hit” motivated by people seeking “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” This was a completely false, hysterical accusation, and making it should in itself have disqualified Kavanaugh for the court.' And rub Bret Stephens's nose it it like a dog who made a mess on the floor. And the show him the door.
9
Again, time for Blue States to stop sending excess taxes to Red States through the Federal government. One, they stop their own depopulation, and two, there will be no waves of Okies to the West that'll get assimilated to "Facts."
6
Since GWB declared war on Saddam Hussein before a joint session of Congress following 9/11, I saw the writing on the wall. It was fabrication meant to scare and intimidate that fueled profits in support of the war machine. And most of America (including Hillary Clinton who supported him on this) drank the Kool-Aid.
For years, I have said we are on a slippery slope and, like the Fall of Rome, the US was going to a place we don't want to go. Yet, history is repeating itself and, yes, what we are experiencing is so like Nazi Germany in the 1930s. But people don't want to believe it. They still stick their heads in the sand and complacently watch. Many complain, but they do nothing.
I have participated in numerous protests in Atlanta and see few people show up.
I write my Senators and Congressman and even the White House and all I get in response are lies (if there is even a lucid response - Senator David Perdue is infamous for ignoring the issues; he only says he got elected to change things in Washington...).
November 6 is our turning point and only hope. But I wonder if it will be enough? There are rational people around. Why not a military coup that eradicates Congress, the current administration and even the Supreme Court? We need a "supreme makeover" and I'm wondering if this will be the only way out of this mess...
8
I disagree. Republicans aren't an authoritarian regime in the making -- they are already made.
Hence their mad lust for power and control without really doing anything with it.
Under their control of all three branches of government and lockstep dedication to this administration, this country has never looked less like a democracy than it does now.
And the recent Brett Kavanaugh debacle is but the most recent example of how far we have drifted from being a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
If Americans aren't scared about that now -- they soon will be.
16
Soros pays protesters? Where do I apply; I've been on a number of protests and marches. Still no pay.
23
@Maryj - When I traveled with friends to DC multiple times between 2001 and 2003 to protest the wars, I can't tell you how many people asked us who was paying us. Out of my group, I was the only one retired. The rest were taking vacation days. We traveled halfway across the country on our own time and our own dime. But this claim that protesters are being paid isn't new.
10
Paid protesters?
I'm an older white professional businessman who raises money in capital markets.
I'm about ready to take to the streets in civil disobedience. How dare these GOP jokers insinuate the insincerity of the animus against their nefarious actions? Furious is a word that hardly beings to describe it.
As I tell people, it is inarguable that Kavanaugh, instead of being appointment to the high court, could have been locked up for overtly lying to a Senate inquiry about a multitude of things. How can he lie and get full GOP support? Oh, right, it happened once before with Thomas.
18
The defense of a democratic republic is the basic responsibility of its citizens. Woe to the citizens who do not do so. The republic is in peril, do the citizens not see this?
11
Who will stop him? Well, how about those Republican Bravehearts who stood up to him at the end of the Kavanuagh hearings? You know, Jeff Flake and Susan Collins.... oh wait, I see here in my notes that they both voted to confirm. But still, they were both really supportive of Christine Blasey Ford, really sympathetic, really respectful. The fact that in the face of all this sympathy and respect they still voted to confirm Kavanaugh doesn't mean we can't look to them in the future to say really respectful, sympathetic things about the people Trump demeans and belittles, right before they vote to support whatever he wants.
If you've ever been in a street gang the one thing you know is that there always comes a time when you either fight the gang or join them. You make this decision based on survival. Republicans made their decision back in 2016. As long as Trump is leading this street gang, they'll follow. It's a matter of survival.
10
Democrats should thank Dr. Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders for Trump. Dr. Stein siphoned votes away from Hillary Clinton and Sanders caused problems with his anti-Clinton rhetoric. Stein and Sanders would have had a better chance with Clinton in getting their agendas looked at and possibly passed. Stein and Sanders should have stood aside. Republicans fall in line and they win. Hillary Clinton may not have been the most popular person to have ever run for president, but she was the most prepared candidate since Eisenhower. Now the country has a dangerous bumpkin in the White House.
10
@HRW, nope you are so wrong. Hillary lost despite. It was her team's complacence, they should have had a bigger presence in WI, OH, PA and MI and not take those states for granted. Arrogance.
1
The rape of a nation being told to relax and enjoy.
16
It has already happened here.
Next, a little false flag operation akin to the Berlin Reichstags and/or blaming certain people and groups as being enemies of the state, followed by an emergency decree by the American Fuehrer, and voila, the US of A as a oldest democracy in modern times will cease to exist.
"I can't gorge enough as I want to throw up" said the world renowned Berlin impressionist Max Liebermann during the early thirties while watching the parades of nazis marching in his beloved city.
All those of us who have the same feelings better flood the polls this year.
Totalitarianism and personality cult comes not only in the dark of the night, but slowly like a fog and far too many among us don't even know how easily people swallow its poison willingly.
16
Hard to disagree. However, Prof. Krugman undoubtedly knows the long and sordid history of the political paranoias on the left. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion that he mentions were equally popular with the Nazis and the USSR. And so today we have the inglorious tradition continued with parts of American left blaming “Zionists” for Trump. Antisemites on the right have thei George Soros; antisemites on the left - Sheldon Adelson. And if it’s not Jewish financiers, then it must be the “1 %” or the CIA or the Silicon Valley or the “elites”. Don’t we still hear the same people who welcomed Chavez argue that the humanitarian catastrophe in Venezuela is a CIA plot? How about the claim that the US is responsible for ISIS? In the 20th century, the two flavors of political paranoia that the Scandinavian people used to call “red socialism” (Communism) and “brown socialism” (fascism) tore the world apart. It is sad to see the same sordid spectacle playing out in the US.
"...the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting, not yet one in practice. What’s it waiting for?
Well, think of what Trump and his party might do if they retain both houses of Congress in the coming election. If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention."
The fascists are coming. The fascists are coming. The fascists are here.
What are YOU going to do about it? At the very least, you'd better
VOTE OUT ALL REPUBLICANS
7
Re: Soros: Hatred for Soros is always a good indicator of both fascism and anti-semitism. It is astounding to me that the Orthodox Jewish community here in America and the Prime Minister of Israel have openly allied themselves with the American far right, the wellspring of American anti-semitism, much to the consternation of the larger American Jewish community. This is a marriage of strange bedfellows. When Michael Cohen (note: "Cohen") testifies against Trump, the romance will be over on the Christian fundamentalist side, and all the latent anti-semitism of this American fascism will come pouring forth.
11
If you are trying to reach any of the major GOP Senate figures today to complain, you are out of luck: they are all out getting fitted for jackboots, after which, they'll be busy with their German Shepherd training classes.
6
Republicans have both hidden and nurtured their fascist tendencies since the 30's when they planned a coup against FDR with the DuPont's and other industrialists; for all intents and purposes, they went full fascist in 2000 when they rigged and stole the election for Bush; under Trump they ARE really full blown fascists, they just don't come out and say so in so many words. Of course they would goose step into Congress wearing jackboots and armbands if they could - but that, for now, would be bad optics. Perhaps after they suspend the Constitution, and cancel the 2020 election, which Trump has already talked about and which a majority of his dumbed down fox addled base Republican base support. Or perhaps Republicans will pay for their installation of tyranny in this country, first at the ballot box, and then in a court of aw, and then prison, where these fasicts and traitors have long, long belonged.
7
Strange how the Republicans hate George Soros but love Sheldon Adelson. That does fit the authoritarian thesis, but not entirely comfortably.
6
Can we please stop referring to the Republicans as the Grand Old Party? Krugman’s essay convincingly argues there is nothing grand about it. I would like to propose M.O.P., although I haven’t settled exactly on the right word for M. Miserable? Mortifying? Macho? Mendacious? Malicious?
I know! How about the Mean Old Party? Perfect.
8
All the comments about the way Trump,would be dictator, governs are right on, Get people out to vote.
5
"Well, think of what Trump and his party might do if they retain both houses of Congress in the coming election. If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention." Ok, I'm terrified. I think we need bumper stickers on every vehicle. "I terrified, and I am voting in November". Keep on trucking Paul Krugman!
2
Coming soon: imprisonment and torture for political opponents and journalists; martial law; secret police...
8
"When people who hold most of the levers of power [blame shadowy forces], their fantasizing isn’t a delusion, it’s a tool: a way to delegitimize opposition, to create excuses not just for disregarding but for punishing anyone who dares to criticize their actions." It is also, nonetheless, a delusion, a transparent delusion, the product of myth-making. And people who are manipulated by it are fools. Democrats should be calling out both the mythmakers and the fools.
7
Mr. Krugman's columns over the last few months have become as predictable, and ignorable, as get out the vote missives from the DNC....while they may serve to mitigate the stigma currently attached to old white men, their value to healthy debate in the body politic is receding.....
People say there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans. Those people are wrong. Democrats want to govern, but Republicans want to rule.
And if you can't see the difference, that's part of the problem.
21
@Joshua Hayes
I think the idea that Pols have "power" rather than "the authority granted by the people to do the job" might be a big part of that confusion.
1
We now know how Russian citizens would feel, knowing that any statement coming from their government is a lie. A lie designed to manipulate and brainwash the public. We are already living in America-stan (sarcastically, a satellite of Russia).
In an astonishingly short time, less than two years, just think of it, in less than two years, this nation ha slipped, slid, fallen, descended into being an authoritarian state. And it is not just the work of one person, the lying authoritarian president. His cohort of GOP partisans have sold themselves out totally with viciousness and lies as egregious as those of the lying president.
For those with still a rational mind it is hard to believe that such corruption, on such a scale could become manifest so quickly, so rapidly. Be not deceived. Unless, the electoral voting system is protected, and a relatively honest government can be elected to replace this one, this nation may never again function with any semblance to being a democracy.
17
They were waiting.. now they're the authoritarian regime controlling America and rest of the world through it.
5
Armchair historians look at atrocities and wonder how civilized populations have countenanced them. The answer of course is: By small degrees.
16
I'm terrified. Especially after the phony FBI fake extra investigation,the summoning of Rosenstein to the plane,
the ridiculous speeches of Flake and Collins supposedly
justifying their Kavanaugh votes etc. etc.
14
O Canada, please, please let me live in your country.
7
The upcoming election will speak volumes about as as a nation. Perhaps we will lose democracy as we know it since the majority of our citizens have no shortage of excuses to not get out and vote.
My folks were immigrants and never missed a vote. And I've only missed a couple of opportunities myself due to illness. We should abolish ICE and create a new deportation program for any freeloader who fails to vote regardless of race, gender, age, etc. Vote or get on a bus to a neighboring country and stay there.
4
Trump has been given the office. His wildly inappropriate behavior and nasty bigotry are sanctioned by the electoral college. The fact that a greedy rip off of his caliber can nominate Supreme Court justices is a travesty.
4
Actually, Trump is now an authoritarian backed by an absolute Republican controlled government. The ascendance of Justice Kavanaugh solidified it along with the Republican controlled legislative and executive branches.
5
There is a lot of high and mighty stuff here, including my own posts not yet posted.
I was just thinking that in my nearly 60 years I cannot think of the name of anyone I have known or worked with who wasn't willing to, at the drop of a hat, say or do something dishonest to make money or get something they could not get by honest effort. I know there have been honest people and I have been on both sides of that equation. But the "truism" we often hear that I always objected to, I no longer see as wrong headed "We get the government we deserve."
If I look at it in light of what I know and have seen my fellow Americans do every day of my life. I realize that the ubiquitous dishonesty, which is always forgiven for being minor, might actually be the cumulative source of the defect in our society that lets the republicans who are so obviously criminal degenerates win while pretending to be morally superior.
4
@magicisnotreal- I gotta say, you make a great point. Here's an example of that minor act of greed and dishonesty, that I think is part of the point you are making. In my retail store, all the time people ask, "Can you do better if I pay cash?" Great. You wanna save a coupla bucks so you're inviting me to commit a crime, cheating my state outta tax money. Where I wanna say, "Take that sad act to Walmart," I politely (and too apologetically) say, "Everything gets reported." So yeah. The cumulative minor acts of dishonesty certainly has an affect. Which leads me to one of my favorites- "It's OK when I do it; Not when you do it." Tah Da!
1
Hey, America. Are you, as Don-Don promised, "sick of winning" yet?
Today's news reports that Trump's tariffs have already cost Ford Motors substantial losses. And farmers have no buyers for their crops.
If Republicans are successful at slashing Social Security and Medicare, they will discover that they have crossed a bridge too far. Take enough money out of peoples' pockets, especially if they rely solely on Social Security payments for survival, and even those foolish enough to vote for a reality-TV host for president will have no choice but to sit up and take notice. Because they can't pay their rent or buy groceries.
Republican overreach could certainly lead to shifts in political sentiment that put the Democrats in power, unless Republicans can steal more elections. Sadly, they've gotten very good at stealing elections by gerrymandering, voter suppression, and lots of assistance from hostile foreign governments.
If the Republicans damage US democracy beyond repair, they had better barricade themselves in their homes and offices. Republicans and the now criminally-implicated NRA (for channeling Russian money to Republican political candidates) have made quite sure that the American right-wing is armed to the teeth. Mobs of gun-wielding citizens will never defeat the US armed forces, the National Guard, and police armed with military-grade gear. But they can attack enough politicians, some mortally, to make Republican pols wonder whether the game was worth the candle.
2
It has been rightly said that to figure out who will win a beauty contest , the trick is not to pick the one that you believe to be beautiful but to figure out what the judges think makes for beauty.
The Republicans think that their base believes that corporate tax brakes,anti-progressive legislation, anti women's right to chose stances, air -pollution and racism are...beautiful ! In much of the country that votes red we can only conclude that they have been cynically correct . Republicans have thus chosen to be lead by a mob mentality that is much worse than that which they impute to the Democrats . Yes Democrats have causes like healthcare, public education, clean air , equal opportunities, income equality, but these causes appeal to a base the sees the function of government as leading us all to a better place , even if this requires some degree of sacrifice .
And in this word "sacrifice" we find the rub ...Americans seem to no longer be interested in sacrificing for the well being of their fellow citizen , interested in their health or the effects of poverty ...especially if the poor involved are not white. The GOP has a paranoid style but their base seems beyond being paranoid , they have forgotten how to be big spirited and concerned only with their own existences ...as Trump likes to say...SAD !
2
We need to stop listen to Senator Collins as the voice of reason in the Republican party. She is just a soft spoken right wing extremist that wants to do the right thing bu has forgotten how. She will readily join the authoritarians if the republicans retain full control of Congress. Heaven help us all.
8
This country and the world are looking more and more like the 1920s and 30s.
6
My Aha! moment came many months ago but when my smart phone began screeching at 2:18 on Oct 3rd in practice for a nationwide emergency by the president my blood ran cold. Nothing indicates that any nation is poised to attack the US and if so, I thought there were already regional alert systems in place. A central alarm could only cause mayhem. I am paranoid. And I do believe that the POTUS is out to sow confusion if he is finally cornered for the many criminal acts he has perpetrated in against the American people. I believe he will attempt to call to arms his support base and wreak havoc in our country all in for the sake of himself. I am already mentally willing myself not to panic and I hope there remains enough good people, true Americans, who will not respond. I may be paranoid but I am sane.
7
Jabba the Trump now has his Salacious Crumb in Collins the all knowing. "Surely Christine Ford was attacked, but it wasn't Brett Kavanaugh" no, like Sen. Hatch said: "She's confused."
After the "thorough" half hour investigation by the "New Improved Trump FBI" The country is assured of Kavanaugh's innocence and except for those paid mob people are solidly behind the GOP.
5
You'd think that we're back to the main debate between 2 of the West's most important and earliest political thinkers, Plato and Aristotle.
Plato defended a tyranny as best political regime, Aristotle a democracy.
What they both agreed upon, however, was the idea that in order for a political regime to fulfill its goal of keeping the country and its citizens safe and thriving, cultivating learning and knowledge at the highest levels of government is crucial.
For Plato, the best way to guarantee that the most "enlightened" people were running the state was to restrict access to the highest offices to "philosophers" only. Those are men who love ("philein", in ancient Greek) wisdom ("sophia"). They would of course take the opinion of other men into account, but would not be forced by law to follow it. The idea was that the only alternative, democracy, by definition means "mob rule", which guarantees that "stupidity" takes over, which cannot but destroy the country.
Aristotle objected that loving wisdom and constantly wanting to become wiser (= being a philosopher) is fine, but NOT enough to obtain the best possible government. That's because you need people to participate, if not you'll always have revolts. The huge advantage of participation is increased debate among citizens, and the more people debate, the more the truth spreads, and the wiser the entire population becomes. THAT's when society as a whole thrives. Its process is messy, but its end goal far better.
1/2
2/2
Both Plato and Aristotle, however, were talking about a society where slaves and women didn't have the right to vote.
Now that both demographics are "free citizens" too, denying people the right to decide under what kind of laws they want to live became impossible, unless you completely distort Plato's notion of tyranny, and replace it with a minority government that stays in power thanks to the use of force and manipulation. So in a sense, you could say that Aristotle has "won".
Since the GOP invented neoconservatism, however, it rejected that which was evidently true for both Plato and Aristotle: the idea that the wiser the people and its rulers are, the more society as a whole will thrive.
Irving Kristol, founder of neoconservatism, famously called any conservative party "the stupid party" (WSJ op-ed, 1976), and defended the hypothesis that for society to thrive, intellectuals have to stay "at the margins", because as soon as they enter public debate, conservatives, who need to cultivate "values" through gut feeling and "sentiment" of "evident truths", cannot but lose, as they will always be the "less articulate party".
And this anti-intellectualism indeed can make millions of citizens freely and "democratically" elect corrupt politicians who merely want power for themselves and then pass laws to keep power concentrated in their own hands.
That's NOT tyranny, as citizens maintain their constitutional power, but a democratic oligarchy.
And it's very dangerous.
1
The 2016 Presidential Election was a wasted opportunity for concerned Americans to unite. Forget political party for a moment and think about how many people were upset with both the GOP's nomination and the DNC's. We could have reached an agreement for once and let that be the common ground we needed to reach across the aisle and befriend our American brothers. Instead, the political circus continues and we polarize issues, when really we have more in common than we think. Let's start with this: we are worried about the future of the United States. Who isn't concerned about that?
3
@Ariel
If you've watched Fox News or read Breitbart under Obama, you know that both media had in the meanwhile fabricated a totally alternative universe for GOP voters, where black is white and white is black.
THAT is what divides us.
What creates common ground, in a democracy, is the thirst for truth and solid moral values.
The GOP and its propaganda machine gave up both, and that's how today even people belonging to the same family are starting to avoid each other because they can't talk anymore.
As to the DNC: what is did is what anybody in its place would do, namely using its internal resources to favor its own candidate when that candidate has to run against an Independent. You can question those tools, for sure, but this has absolutely nothing to do with what the GOP and FN have been doing for years.
As truth is the only possible real common ground, recognizing it rather than imagining false equivalencies is the condition sine qua non for healing, imho ... .
In the meanwhile, the GOP indeed made its voters believe that many liberals aren't concerned about the US at all, remember?
2
Thanks for the history lesson.
The truth is not always plain to the eye, which is why we are factioned in the first place.
I just wish Conservatives and Liberals would stop calling each other "evil."
There is common ground between us, can't we find it?
There is hope. People can change. Minds can be persuaded. Unfortunately, though, a lot of people don't believe that. Our culture reeks of pessimism and distrust.
The important question is not why the ruling political class thinks this way, but why so many citizens approve of it. I am not afraid of a few hundred political hacks, but the millions they represent present a problem.
17
@John
1. The US's notoriously bad education system, which leaves tens of millions of people (if not more) without any tools to know how to fact-check.
2. Fox News, spreading fake news on a daily basis and as such literally fabricating the world GOP voters live in.
Combine both, and as you can see in the comments below, the result is that for GOP voters, there's no such a thing as objective truth, their standard for "truth" is what Fox News/Trump/GOP leaders said.
They reject what Krugman writes here simply because it differs and is incompatible with what FN told them.
The good news is that there IS something like objective truth, and that we can all try to get closer to it, AND that in a democracy, citizens have the constitutional right to openly engage in real, respectful debates with each other.
So we still can avoid a switch to tyranny: by informing ourselves as best as we can (= including being as critical as we can towards our OWN evidences and beliefs/assumptions), and by starting to talk much more to GOP voters than we do today.
A democracy only thrives to the extent that its citizens engage ...
6
I think one of the most telling statements about the Republicans kidnap of the Supreme Court was in Susan Collins Oct 5 speech defending her support for Kavanaugh:
"Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions and so that public confidence in our Judiciary and our highest court is restored. Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh."
So Senator Collins feels that the prevalence 6-3 decisions, presumably in favor of conservative positions, will enhance public confidence in the Court. A public that gave a sizeable popular vote win to candidate Clinton.
What a gotcha if Kavanaugh lives up to all the (liberal sort of) praise Collins heaped on him, and he frequently votes with the liberals on the court. Back to those divisive 5-4's.
3
Kavanaugh is one political appointee who is sure to be "loyal" to the man who appointed him. Can presidents be indicted? No way. Can they be compelled to testify? Not my man, Donald. Putting this "impartial" judge on the Court is like putting the EPA in charge of the Koch brothers. O, wait, he's already done that.
10
An earlier comment recommended this essay by historian Christopher Browning:
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/10/25/suffocation-of-democracy/?pa...
I just finished reading it, and it is excellent. And sobering.
Vote on Nov. 6, and help others get to the polls.
5
@Duane McPherson
Great essay! Worth reading for everyone.
1
@Duane McPherson- Read it. That was refreshing. I'm voting, but I got my eye on the exit.
And now, having secured the third branch of government, what will the Trumpistas do for an encore? They may appear to win in the short run, but tearing up mountains to remove coal to poison the planet to melt the icecaps and flood the coasts will not just happen for their grandchildren. Increasingly, it may happen in their children's lives or even their own.
No new conservative Justice, no big salary, no offshore tax haven and no friend in high places will stop a hurricane or a wildfire or a foreign war brought forth when mass starvation causes mass migrations. The Republicans are building ever higher funeral pyres for themselves, dousing them with gasoline and now playing with matches.
9
In order to win the 1968 election, Nixon committed treason by telling the S Vietnamese to stay away from the peace talks. This is well before Watergate. Reagan defied Congress with the Iran Contra scandal. Lee Atwater was responsible for dirty tricks in order to get Bush Sr elected. Newt decided to shut down the government as a grab for power. Trump has been praising dictators, enriching himself, denying inconvenient truths, and cheating at every turn. Yet, at every rally, he leads chants of "lock her up". Opposition is portrayed as "a political hit job" to delegitimize what is a political debate.
There is a pattern here. Republicans don't think that rules and laws apply to them. Well, they do know those rules apply or they would not hide their transgressions. But, they look longingly to the day when they are the only party with power and the rules really do not apply. If you know the history of Germany in the 1930's you should be very afraid. It is happening here.
Who will take us in when we flee?
17
@RN - My son said we're in 1934 now. If something doesn't change quickly, we'll find ourselves in 1939 before we know it.
6
Think back to the time of Newt if you want to understand how he put Republicans on the fast track to today. In the 1990's Newt and Frank Luntz created and sent 'training tapes' to all Republican Candidates teaching them how to talk about their Democratic opponents in demeaning and derogatory terms. We are reaping what they sowed . Sadly, the Republicans still listen to them.
7
@David
Newt et al were the children of reagan's propaganda which began in 1968.
5
Lying and libel are features, not a bugs, of the GOP. Predictably, the more they do it, the more Trump claims to want a change in "libel laws".
After all, if he was libeling people, why would he want the law changed? Just another con.
In practice, it could work for those in power. See how the FBI was exploited in the Kavanaugh "investigation"? The Administration reverse engineered "lack of corroboration" by designing a process that couldn't get corroboration.
7
The only thing new about Republican paranoia is the recently found ability to drive it near-mainstream. Paranoia is a principal driving force behind right-wing thinking; this seems to be a primary psychological connection. This was magnificently exposed in the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing. But you can observe it everywhere: from talk radio to any real discussion with your more conservative neighbor(s). They get angry quick, they are angry, and they are driven, and believably unstable.
Like a virus, GOP-style paranoia appears fully contagious. All it takes to create a full-on epidemic is someone to willfully spread it. Combined with intense ignorance, it can be catastrophic. We've seen enough of this syndrome in recent centuries to know we are not just whistling Dixie.
6
"The answer, I submit, is that the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting." Sadly...and frustratingly...some of us have been warning about this from the very beginning. We were called "over-reactive" and sometimes "hysterical." This situation is the precise reason we study and teach history.
10
240 years of self government. It is happening here. Happening now. Happening to us. We are giving in.
2
Lecturing won't stop them. Winning will. Democrats need to stop lecturing and start winning. Step 1: control the narrative. That means a powerful slogan instead of long explanations. Step 2: tell us what you stand for, not just who you stand against. (see step 1)
5
@Dan Ari - Democrats need to understand that we need to have about 8% more votes than Republicans just to break even.
The EC makes smaller state EC votes worth about 4 times as much as those of lager states, meaning twice in 16 years Democrats have won the popular vote and lost in the EC. That trend will become more frequent in the years to come because of shifting demographics.
The founders' compromise that allots only 2 senators per state, no matter how large or small, means that Senate Democrats got 20 million more votes than Senate Republicans, yet Republicans retained control.
And of course there's gerrymandering. House Democrats got 3 million more votes than House Republicans yet Republicans retained a 23 seat majority.
5
America has moved so far to the right over the past 50 years that we are on the edge of the abyss into fascism and we can't even see the fall coming. Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.
2018 mid-terms will show us if Americans have learned anything from the history of the world, political freedom is very hard to achieve and even harder to maintain.
10
Not all their paranoia is unjustified. The name calling and the hysteria around the Kavanaugh nomination has gotten completely out of hand. To read the New York Times' readers' comments, the GOP was promoting the Devil incarnate. Democrats and Republicans justify their zealotry and unfair tactics on the other side's similar behavior. It is certain that what the Democrats did will result in a fierce backlash. For the sake of the Republic, this politics by outrage should end. Perhaps we need rethink our system that is designed for a political duopoly because it so easily lends itself to the Right vs. Wrong arguments.
5
@George - What do you think the Democrats did? The minority party has every right to object to a candidate because of his judicial philosophy or previous rulings. That's what Democrats did. Notice that Alito, Roberts, and Gorsuch got through with no accusations of sexual assault. Those accusations were solely about Kavanaugh. If you're saying, as many Republicans are, that Democrats ginned up phony accusations and that they "always do that" to Republican nominees, then you're falling for propaganda and lies.
1
I agree that Obama and the Democrats should have made the blocking of Merrick Garland by the Republicans a much bigger issue. The whole Hilary email issue was such a small potato compared to the outright treasonous behavior of candidate Trump. The Democrats really need to tell the truth that Republicans want you to die early by taking away the Affordable Care Act. They should actively mock the Republicans as to what happened to there better, cheaper healthcare plan? They should also constantly barrage the airwaves everywhere that the Republicans want to take away your Social Security and Medicare which is true, especially in Red States. Definitely Democrats need to get more confrontational with their advertising.
13
The GOP paranoid style paves the way for their other theatrical specialty: Victimization, and no one does it better. In the aftermath of their despicable handling of the latest justice, they parade before TV camera's with hurt feelings, with appropriately sad facial expressions, and then shift into angry outburst reminiscent of Malvolio's "Never has man been so notoriously abused." They want us to believe that Republicans are among the most persecuted on earth. That show should have closed on opening night.
5
@William - Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics" says about 20% of any population falls to the far right end of the political spectrum. They're characterized by the demand that all laws and all mores exactly reflect their own beliefs. When that doesn't happen, they feel disrespected and conspired against and very, very aggrieved.
We see that even though they control the presidency, both houses of Congress, and the courts, they're still very, very angry. It appears to me that the very existence of people or a political party that doesn't agree with them 100% is an affront and consider illegitimate and even worthy of punishment.
5
Here's a thought, straight out of Crazyville. What if the Republicans maintain their hold on Congress? And, Trump is re-elected. Perish the thought.
At what point do progressives go from resistance to acceptance? When are liberals going to have that epiphany, that what a majority of Americans want what Trump is selling.
Maybe the problem isn't Trump and his supporters. Maybe progressives believe so strongly that Trump is wrong, they are blind to reality.
Did not Trump lose the popular vote by a couple of million people?
California has a population of over 30 million people with two Democratic senators. Utah has a couple of million people with two Republican senators. Senate Republicans do not enjoy popular support among the general U.S. population.
In 2011, Republicans controlled many state legislatures seized the opportunity to gerrymander their states to give themselves an artificial advantage over Democrats.
To believe that Republicans enjoy majority support among U.S. citizens is delusional.
6
Many people have pointed this out for a long time. There is a reason that every extremist fascist and white power hate group in the US aligns with Republicans.
11
Nice try Paul. Offering a conspiracy theory on your oppositions' conspiracy theories.
Cute.
2
It's a polarized society and columns like this simply make it worse.
3
But, Paul, what if they really are out to get us....and we are all out to get them?
We'd then have a case of paraparanoia, or paranoia squared. This condition is loved by the media because, if we weren't worried before, we are now. They really are out to get us. The media, I mean.
Let's forget our enemies, folks. It's those darn instigators that cause our enemies.
The fascist far right movement in this nation has slowly built since the McCarthy era. The paranoid style of the lunatic fringe owes much of its philosophy to the John Birch Society. Multi millionaire Fred Koch was an original member of the JBS. His sons funded a network of fellow far right billionaires and pseudo think tanks whose whole mission is to give the patina of legitimate intellectual thought to what is thinly disguised fascist propaganda. They know that their ideas and plans are repugnant to the dreams and aspiriations of the majority they despise So they funded and supported a cadre of politicians and economists to promote their illiberal fascism through stealth, undermining as it turns out, our quite fragile liberal democracy .
The fascist far right billionaires know they can count on a yes, core of alienated deplorables and left behinds as their stormtroopers.
Dr Krugman is right in that this coming November election will be viewed as mandate to finalize and bake in their version of the Thousand Year Reich.
That said, I’m not preidicting regimes that were as totalitarian as Mussolini and Hitler. Putin’s level of authoritarian rule will suffice for the next stage.
6
The status quo for most of history has been authoritarians. Emperors, kings,dictators, czars, fuhrers, nobles, etc. Behave with impunity for the elite men and their cronies, punish or destroy any critics, dissenters, or uppity women and minorities. The Founders were white male elites who feared too much democracy.
The brainwashing control tactics of cults and totalitarians are always the same. Forbid facts, evidence, and truth, manipulate the resentment filled malcontents to hate certain enemies and blame them for all their troubles, insist only the Dear Leader or the leader's party can save the masses of believers from the polluted, impure, treasonous world outside the cult. Only the leader has the truth, can deliver the cult members from the evil world outside of the "purity" of the cult. Fear and paranoia. Poor me. Victimhood, Cosmic self pity. Never admit error, it's always others at fault.
I have submitted quite a few comments referring to Hofstadter's essay and calling the GOP totalitarian or authoritarian which have not been published. I'm glad Krugman wrote an op-ed saying the same thing so it is published.
The right is the opposite of land of the free, home of the brave. Honorable brave people are not afraid constantly. All the values taught to children have been renounced. Would you want to have your kids imitate the GOP?? Anti-democratic, anti-equality, anti-Christian, anti-justice, anti-truth, anti-love, anti-golden rule haters in your house?
6
Paul Krugman may be wrong to assume that President Trump and Senators Grassley and Cornyn actually believe the garbage they spouted about George Soros and paid protesters against Judge Kavanaugh.
A few years ago, most people thought that an American president and prominent Senators would not dare make outlandish conspiracy claims about anyone without even bothering to cite any proof of the claims. But, the Republicans have now done exactly that.
That leaves us with two choices.
Either Donald Trump and the Republican Senators who falsely claimed that protesters against Brett Kavanaugh were being paid by George Soros are dumber than politicians were a few years ago and actually believe the nonsense.
Or, Trump and the Republican Senators are knowingly lying, comfortable that they can get away with the lies.
If it is the latter, that means that reporters, columnists, commentators and newscasters are not doing their jobs.
We need reporters with megaphones shouting to Trump and company on camera:
“What proof do you have for such lies about people protesting against a horrible nominee for the nation’s highest Court?”
“Do you always lie like this after you shut down an F.B.I. investigation?”
“Are you so desperate to hide your perversion of the judicial confirmation process that you are determined to tell incredible lies to the American People?”
The country’s journalists, like the country’s Democratic politicians, are not rude enough to deal with chronic liars.
3
Kavanaugh is a Republican mole who acted his way onto the Supreme Court, courtesy of the Federalist Society and the Republican Dog and Pony Show.
4
The authoritarian leader is less important in general than the conditions that gave rise to him. There is a one in a century Hitler who only was able to ride on the German Hyperinflation/Depression to Naziism. The weakening of the Middle Class because of Globalization and automation leads a fertile ground for authoritarianism. Also Trump's attempt to keep peace with foreign dictators and warmongering is a good sign of the lack of Fascist hypernationalism. I am concerned about Trump but I don't think Nazi like authoritarianism is likely in our near future. If we should enter a depression however, all bets are off.
1
Funny how so many who read this article will dismiss it as another Chicken Little moment. The sky is falling! Tragically, the sky is, literally, not what it used to be, and the human world is wobbling beneath it, like a top losing its spin. What an awful bit of timing, putting up an incredibly flawed candidate against Trump in '16. Now scores of awful trends are coming together, and the center is definitely not holding. Things are falling apart. In a few years, the migrations that have shattered Pax Americana will be dwarfed by the hundreds of millions fleeing coastal areas and the equatorial hot-box for cooler climes and drinkable water. The resulting wars will be pervasively devastating. So call me Mr. Little, and thank you, Mr. Krugman, for doggedly illustrating the stakes of the coming election. They are, very literally, epochal.
2
Conspiracies thrive when unexamined. People don't have a clue who Soros is. If he disappeared, they'd invent another.
Kavanaugh invented a conspiracy when he said big left-wing donors financed investigations into Hastert and others, revealing the Clinton-era impeachment leaders were sex criminals or miscreants. Kavanaugh expressed this to show that if he'd had anything to hide, these conspirators would have found it.
This crystallized the conspirator complex. It wasn't leftist donors who uncovered Hastert's crimes, but journalists. Hastert molested boys 12 and under. Exposing him was the right thing to do, whoever funded it. Kavanaugh wasn't a Congressional leader, so journalists didn't focus on him. But he worried about it.
So the conspirators didn't exist, but were morally right, and Kavanaugh was worried they'd come after him. Like Trump's conspiracies, which reflect his own ugly self-image.
Republicans have a one-party policy, based on immoral conspiracy notions like these. California is only blue because those attacks ricocheted, once the white population dropped below 50%. All those they attacked remember. Republican controlled states are plenty white, still, and the conspiracies still work.
1
The only solution is to vote out the GOP enablers of the Trump regime on Nov. 6. The worst are: Kelli Ward (AZ), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Babs Comstock (VA), McSally (AZ), Meadows (NC), Tillis (NC), Barletta (PA), Kobach (Kansas), Stivers (OH), Kemp (GA), DeSantis (FL), Scott (FL), Jordan (OH), Nunes (CA), Gaetz (FL), Goodlatte (VA), Brat (VA), Rohrabacher CA), McCarthy (CA), Sessions (TX), Gohmert (TX), Cotton (ARK), Steve King (IA).
5
You have it wrong, Mr. Krugman, as usual. It is the Democrat machine that is acting paranoid; paranoid to make a last minute weapon of a woman who, 36 years ago, thinks she was assaulted by Justice Kavanaugh, all without a shred of evidence except that it coincides with the nascent #MeToo movement.
2
@Bill
Trump called her "credible", remember?
Since when is hearing a credible witness somehow "paranoia" ... ?
And since when do we expect our government to NOT thoroughly investigate credible witnesses, because that is apparently what you're now supporting ... ?
What Krugman is denouncing here is the very fact THAT there has been no serious FBI investigation in order to objectively examine both Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh's claims. Instead, the GOP invented a conspiracy theory on the part of Democrats - theory that you're blindly taking over here, without doing any questioning yourself.
THAT is what authoritarian regimes produce, as citizens, you see?
1
Now it’s Soros paying off the protestors?
See Catherine Rampell’s W. Post column on conspiracy theories that frankly deals with anti Semitism.
“And Trump has suggested that a horde of torch-toting neo-Nazis included some “very fine people.” He tweeted an anti-Semitic meme during the 2016 campaign and closed it with a TV ad pairing images of famous Jews (including Soros) with a pledge to destroy the “global power structure.”
It’s blatant.
And ‘the one conspiracy theory they dismiss outright is the one with mounting evidence---the conspiracy against the US by the Russia government, possibly with the Trump campaign’s consent.”
1
When voting (?) doesn't turn out this authoritarian regime (voting and authoritarian in the same sentence is awkward if not simply impossible) then what are we willing to do to save a nation? When we wake up on Nov 7th to find we are now absolutely perpetually ruled and really no longer governed - what are we really going to do? Do we have it in us to fight? I ask myself; I ask collectively. I am quite doubtful 'voting' is going to fix this mess; but, it is difficult to get my head around and accept acquiescence to such regime as it is to accept the fact that an actual revolutionary or civil 'strife' (put mildly) may be the only way out.
3
despite being absolutely terrified for all the reasons
mr krugman so rightly mentions, i manage a smile,
caused by his pun at the very end of his warning:
PAY attention!
as djt is known for having PAID women [among others] to HUSH,
he will easily paint his critics being willing to get PAID to SCREAM.
PRAY do not fall for this preposterous propaganda!
embark on the herculean task of making those who already have
turn back and see crystal-clearly what is really at stake today.
[how shocked i am to read right-wing comments
stating that "the left hates america while djt loves it."
how could democrats fail to foresee that their idea[l]s
would breed utter disdain?]
on other occasions, commenters suggest
to divide the untied [typo mine] states along the lines
which have been existing since the civil war ...
yet, even that would not solve the - global - problems.
- close the ever-widening gap btw rich and poor.
- punish perfidious tax evaders & money launderers.
- advocate for a global minimum wage.
- stop economic exploitation, unfair trade & modern slavery.
- educate people to immunize them against hate-mongering.
herculean tasks, i know. BUT
as long as greed succeeds to breed fear, we're doomed.
"deride, divide and CON_quer" has been working for too long!
so may i emphasize: PLEASE EMPATHIZE!
[like you used to. remember?]
1
So with seemingly no centrist core in the Executive Branch, Senate, House or Supreme Court, according to our media my choice is between a bunch of:
(1) conspiracy-theorist, women-hating, mostly-racist, immigrant-hating (unless they are Norwegian), hypocritical bible-toting, science-denying, money-grubbing, debt-creating, billionaire-groveling, authoritarian, Neanderthal white men, OR
(2) conspiracy-theorist, white man-hating, open border-loving, science-exaggerating, authoritarian bureaucracy-governing, environmental-overreaching, business-killing, spend-happy, debt-creating, victim-claiming women, people with brown skin and LGBTQ people.
I am thinking of moving to Luxembourg. I hear they have a benevolent, symbolic royal family that does utterly nothing remotely authoritarian other than dress well.
2
I don’t get this business about “The Jews will not replace us.”
I have met up with hundreds, no make that thousands
of Jews in the course of my lifetime if you want to include the High
Holidays, and not a single one of them has ever expressed the slightest interest in replacing them, often going to extreme lengths and way-out-of-their-way to decline any interest in doing so.
What is about these guys and ladies that makes them think anybody has any interest in replacing them?
I have, of course, run into numerous Jews who are disgusted by them
and would like to throw-up in their faces.
A better, more accurate slogan for them would be “The Jews will find us disgusting and will feel like throwing-up in our faces.”
3
@A. Stanton
You evidently haven’t read Bret Stephens.
Why would George Soros pay protesters? Because he doesn't have enough money to buy a politician? Brett Kavanaugh made the quantum leap from off Donald Trump's celebrated list to the top of said list for one reason ... his stated predisposition to hold Donald Trump harmless from investigation. No doubt Donald Trump has extracted the obligatory loyalty pledge from Kavanaugh and will in very short order be calling in that chit.
7
When all else fails, blame the Jews (Soros). It already happened to Soros by the new far right demagogue in Hungary.
7
One of these days some investigative journalist should do some simple backgrounds on those as in the photo for this piece...
no doubt it would be enlightening....
"Republicans are an authoritarian regime in waiting"
If you think the above sentence is true, you live in a dangerous, privileged bubble. That was the thinking of the bourgeoisie in 1932's Germany.
3
The ripple effects of Trump and his GOP cronies reach around the globe, as well. Just look at Brazil's far-right Bolsonaro. And the all but certain state-sponsored criminals behind the brutal murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. Not to mention the fate of Jamal Khashoggi. Dictators, misogynists, racists and their ilk are becoming more and more emboldened with each step the GOP takes us toward authoritarianism. This is not just a frightening time for Americans. It is a frightening time for everyone.
5
I find it maddening to think that Trump and the GOP may well like a Reichstag fire incident to happen, so that they could postpone the coming midterm elections, declare the democratic party illegal and purge the administration.
Be very wary.
5
“Use power to curb power” is the Chinese proverb the Republicans most need stamped on their foreheads.
1
If there are any wise men and women left in America they would do would say unify unify, there is no wisdom in dividing dividing name calling. Whatever power position each individual has, use it to bring people together.
Going forward the only way we can eliminate partisanship is by electing a president Vice President duo each from one party. End of the the term they switch roles as a team. They balance each other other and each party included. Think about it.
1
Doesn't look like the GOP - now Russian Republicans, are waiting.
1
The paranoid style of paranoid alt-right conspiracy addicts were just a faction and the remnants of the John Birch Society till the day Rupert Murdock, that toxic immigrant, came to our country and established the not-news, non-fact, no evidence Fox channel to organize and inspire a cult of ignorance, illiteracy and psychosis for the aggrieved and those feeding off outrage like a three-year-old screaming babies.
The divisiveness, supported by deceit, dissembling and gossip, rumors, and outright lies has been the agenda for Murdock's Fox since the beginning.
4
"The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics
"Republicans are an authoritarian regime in waiting"
Are these oxymoronic headlines intentional self-parody?
1
Despots need enemies.
2
@freyda
To a despot the people are the only real enemy. Creating false enemies allows the people to think 'oh its not really me its "those" guys'.
1
Their decades-long greed for power and money has resulted in a Republican party with palpable moral rot at its core. This moral rot will hinder their Machiavellian efforts, but how long will it take the duped minority to wake up? The majority needs to wake up sooner rather than later or this tyranny of the minority will not end well.
VOTE NOV. 6!!
2
It's bad either way. The GOP is at war with democracy in this country, and either the GOP wins, or democracy prevails -- but one or the other isn't going to survive this century.
6
Can we get a UN monitor of the vote? Pronto!
4
This is something I've feared for a long time: this nation was born from the genocide of native Americans and the enslavement of Africans and it will die from the arrogance and racism those acts left behind.
This November election is literally our last chance to redeem ourselves and save the United States, democracy and a system in the world that has essentially prevented a world war for over 70 years.
5
The answer, I submit, is that the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime.
4
The Republican party and Donald Trump are not only paranoid but also clearly authoritarian and would like nothing better than to continue to subject all Americans to a country where only the chosen are allowed thrive while everyone else who is not one of chosen you will be regulated to 2nd class citizenship.
You are not welcome in the Republican & Trump's America if you are any of these.
Non Christian, Non White, Liberial, Female, Gay, By or Trans, Socialist, Blue collar, Collage educated, Democrat, Kind, Empathetic, Moral, Poor, Middle Class, Sick.
2
"Well, think of what Trump and his party might do if they retain both houses of Congress in the coming election." Duh! HelLO!! You're almost there. How about this: "Think of what Trump and his party might do if they DO NOT retain both houses of Congress in the coming election." Fascists on a drive for absolute power who were elected never voluntarily give up power when they lose an election. Nowhere in the world, to my knowledge, has that ever happened. There is no reason to expect it here, now. If the Democrats are successful at the polls, the danger will be at its greatest from Nov. 7 to Jan. 3. Election victory on Nov. 6 is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for "taking our country back". We need to *seat* the new Democrats as well. That may be a struggle in itself.
5
Perhaps Trump at this time, mirrors the insanity that is raging through humanity. Left with very few years of the planet as we know it, climate change is going to alter lives like never before. The insecurity that stems from it, is forcing the rich wealthy powerful, cling to their wealth and power, like never before. They foolishly think they will take their wealth and power when they leave the planet. It is not just Trump, he is just an ugly version of what is happening everywhere. The only consolation is, that it is wakening people up, there is an awakening as people become aware of how the rich wealthy powerful manipulate our lives so they can just keep enjoying what they own and not let anyone touch their ownership. Instead of sharing they want to limit the joys and pleasures of wealth to a privileged few (who look like them, pray like them). This foolishness will cause tectonic upheavals, the earth is a living breathing organism who is pained by her burden of insane humanity.
1
Trump is also in waiting.
After the midterms, regardless of the outcome, we will see a steroidal Trump backed by a proactive Supreme Court in lockstep with an alt-White Congress.
The only thing between us and the work camps is the oldster Democratic Leadership still in their jobs after losing the country.
2
Let's keep this simple.
The Conservatives have an agenda with just two points: White Supremacy and Power. Not The Rule of Law, The United States Constitution, not The Tenets and Principles upon which this country was established; ONLY White Supremacy and Power. That is it.
Power to denigrate, subjugate, abuse, demean, humiliate, and even eliminate some Americans by means of interment and/or possible genocide. Blacks, Muslims, Jews, Women (in particular Women of color), Immigrants, and People of Color are all on their 'little list'.
People have already experienced the trolling, the insults, the conspiracy theories and the like. They are capable of worse: MUCH worse.
If people truly care and respect The US Constitution, The Rule of Law, and The Principles and Tenets put forth by The Founders:
Vote. Please Vote. Vote while you have the chance.
4
They got nothing. They got nothing but crazy conspiracy theories, and no offense to the Clintons, but the only ones who keep their names alive in the public forum are Trump and the GOP. They are truly old news to the rest of us as neither will be running for president again.
Grassley promised us Jr.'s testimony about his 'Boris and Natasha' meeting with that Russian lawyer, and never delivered. He also swept under the rug the money laundering deal that had to have happened with the 95M purchase of a single Trump home in FLA during the 2008 RE crash which was 45-50M over market value at the time. One of Putin's oligarchs purchased it and it sat unsold for years afterward.
The GOP resembles the Geriatric Ole Boys Club and they are fighting to keep their membership despite the fact that most of them are far beyond their prime and time in Congress.
Truly, Lies R Us is the battle cry of this GOP, Trump, and his WH administration.
Speaking of lies, let's hope Putin doesn't cause further chaos to the U.S. elections next month as we have been warned repeatedly by the intel community. We will never get Putin out of our cyber space until we get Trump out of our WH.
2
Trump had modeled his presidency after the mob bosses he's known since he was a kid. His is a presidency devoid of ethics and scruples. The GOP already had one foot in the cesspool, but now Trump's behavior gives them the green light to follow him down into the stench.
Trump's strength is that he has become a cult of personality, and his followers have dug in hard. Until he leaves office, our country will be held hostage by a demagogue, a bully and a liar who will continue to harm our international relations, our environment, and in the long term, our economy.
2
Paranoia *and* Projection: they accuse the left of their own sins. Every slur Donald Trump voices about others applies perfectly to himself (Lyin', crooked, fake). They accuse Democrats of rigging the process when they withhold documents and circumscribe the FBI.
The GOP has become the party of narcissistic personality disorder. And this is identical to Germany in the 1930s.
And that's because so many citizens have the same formative childhood DJT did: harshness, control, power dynamics, and lack of nurture. Then they marinate in Fox news and their lies.
Narcissism takes disowned pre-verbal anger (towards parents) and repurposes it with scapegoats and enemies.
And if you think the christian right is not angry like this, take a look at "Raising Kids God's way" by Gary Ezzo, a popular evangelical child rearing manual... it advocates hitting little babies with sticks ("chastisement").
THE RIGHT ACTUALLY BELIEVES a lot of what they accuse the left of.
This sources in right brain learning from 0-3 which is either compassionate or harsh, and sets up trust in "the other" or paranoia.
6
This Republican assualt on our once envious consensus democracy started in the 80s with Russ Limbaugh and the birth of right wing hate talk radio. It was enabled by a clueless Democratic party that did nothing to retain the Fairness doctrine which demanded a bias balance on political speech on media. Limbaugh went quickly from joking about political correctness and feminism to outright demonizing liberals and Democrats and turning his show into a flat out free campaign ad for all things Republican.
His program and hate talk was copied by thousands of clones that flooded the airwaves for the next 4 decades with right wing lies and propaganda and a hate liberals/Democrats narrative. It was expanded via the internet with clones such as Drudge and became a unofficial arm and part of the Republican Party with the onslaught of Roger Ailes and his unbalnced Fox news network.
A whole generation of voters have been brainwashed with this radical right wing narrative of hate liberals and demonize all liberal policies and values. This is the base of the minority Republican Party. This programming is so effective, this base consistently votes against policies that benefit them.
This hate talk radical right wing narrative has reached it's apex in a illegitimate, corrupt,lying, conman, who's puppet masters are Sean Hannity and Fox. He is a self serving salesman for hate talk, and the presidency, the Republican party and the Supreme court have been co-opted by the radical right.
9
A few days ago I wrote that Senator Cornyn's claim about "paid protesters" was poisoning the political climate. He isn't particularly well known for listening to his constituents. http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/2018/10/cornyn-we...
1
I remember a gubernatorial contest in CA in the 90s, where an energetic Dem candidate should have buried the grey GOP Gov.
But her campaign put out things like a four box TV ad that had the Dem representative pigeonhole voters speaking and acting like robotoids. In the same election trial lawyers, to beat a Prop that would have defanged class actions, put out an ad with a gang of wolves ripping apart prey.
One ad won. It was not the robots.
It is time to stop targeting the head and go for the gut. With TV, the $$$ are there. The GOP wants to demonize protestors as a mob...well, put that vid of the "torch march" back on with the clear push Q- who is the real danger to the people? (aside-women who have been assaulted should come out with their story, not one line, but to the voters in their life. A hard thing to ask...but if not now, when? Word of mouth can win).
As far as the GOP goes on "empathizing" with victims...I think the vid of the GOP Representative's "joke" about Feinstein being groped is sufficient to delineate the real situation (& why do GOPpers, like Collins, get to get away with a strategy amounting to "well she's no bit slutty, but completely nutty"... if something occurred, who was it if not who she says? The one armed man at midnight in the cemetery?)
The Doctor is right, this is extremis time. Practically war...
1
I think we have to start talking more about institutional disenfranchisement (in addition to this campaign of disinformation).
With the rejection of Garland and appointment of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court has lurched to the partisan right and can no longer be counted on as a check of the other political branches. The Senate has never been a representative institution since sparsely populated red states have the same number of senators as densely populated blue states. Gerrymandering has resulted in a disproportionate number of bonus seats (21 according to Brookings) being filled by Republican congressmen. The last two Republican presidents have been elected by a minority popular vote.
The Republican party requires less and less people to accept its false narratives because our political institutions are less and less representative. Further, the Republican party's authoritarian tendencies will increasingly go unchecked by the partisan judges they appoint. I do not know the answer to this problem, but would like to hear more experts addressing it as a serious concern. We are not only witnessing a crisis of disinformation (accepted by painfully ignorant segments of the electorate), but a foundational crisis of our constitutional democracy.
6
Yes, absolutely, it can happen here and may be happening.
Democracy? The Senators who voted to confirm Kavanaugh represent less than half of the people in the U.S.--44%, I think.
The anticipated blue wave will be met by gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the powerful effects of propaganda: counter-waves of manufactured anger, phony righteous indignation, and paranoia about a liberal elite that supposedly controls everything.
You certainly can fool some (40%, +/-) of the people all the time. Come on, America, get wise to the con(servatives)!
2
"Republicans are an authoritarian regime in waiting"--not "in waiting"! They are authoritarians and have been for at least 30 years. They love to seize power with voter suppression, unfettered access to guns for their followers, forced pregnancy, free viagra, gerrymandering, propaganda a la Fox "News", wrecking public education, mocking science, locking up immigrant children, cutting taxes for rich reactionaries, letting old people starve and sick people rot and die. We are well past the stage where we start to notice the hints and telling behavior. The country is in decline and has been steadily hurtling downward since the Reagan days. We can only do what we can to try and fix things, but it may well be too late.
4
Chief Justice Roberts has led a crusade against voting rights for over a decade. The Chief Justice just became the swing vote. We're in trouble.
From 2015: Inside John Roberts’ Decades-Long Crusade Against the Voting Rights Act
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/john-roberts-voting-righ...
2
Democrats seek to govern. Republicans want to rule.
5
An old minister in the church where I grew up told our high school group one Sunday evening the political right has always admired tyrants. Eisenhower greenlighted the CIA to overthrow democratic elections in Iran and Guatemala because Iranians believed their oil was a national treasure not the private holding of BP. Guatemalans believed the land belonged to them not US fruit growers and Guatemalan oligarchs who owned most of the country. Eisenhower turned his back on our soldiers who fought for freedom in Europe and Asia the decade before when he backed the puppet French government in southern Vietnam who refused to participate in national elections guaranteed in the French surrender saying most of the Vietnamese would have voted for the Communists, anyway. My Republican father finally realized the American War in Vietnam trampled everything he fought and was gravely wounded for in the Vietnamese mud. Freedom for conservatives has always been about freedom to pursue private greed over the common good and suppress the right to vote no matter how much they try and dress up a pig.
7
Anti-Semitism obviously remains a force, a powerful filthy current, around the world.
Now George Soros is accused of funding the protests against Kavanaugh and infiltrating both Hungary and Poland?
He’s everywhere! He wants to take over the world!
At least that’s what dictators and wannabe dictators claim when they’ve got their microphones on (or their Twitter accounts open) and are eager to excite their base.
George Soros was born György Schwartz and lived as a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
Not so long ago, Rudy Giuliani retweeted a message calling Soros the “anti-Christ.”
These careless, mean, dog-whistle Republican accusations against Soros are despicable and terrifying.
6
Authoritarian is Fascism in the on-deck circle.
7
So how did the Republican minority hijack our government?
Well, they gamed two Presidential elects to win a majority of electoral votes with a minority of the popular vote. And they rigged other elections by gerrymandering voting districts. And now they pack the courts with ultra-conservative, liberal-hating judges.
The gaming and rigging tore the fabric which united us. The packing will maintain rule by the minority and will eventually lead to the Divided States of America.
Republicans are destroying our country to win their war against Democrats and democracy. The strategy is better known as scorched earth and it was a favorite of another fascist party in the last century.
8
Whose being paranoid? Paul Krugman.
2
@Ryan ... said with eyes wide shut.
@Ryan
Lol ... denouncing paranoia doesn't work that way, you know.
To do so you have to come up with arguments, and arguments that objectively prove that the central statement in this op-ed is false.
Any suggestions?
Remember, Hitler was elected. So was Trump. "We have met the enemy and he is us" Pogo (Walt Kelly)
7
Why must it always be a nefarious Jew (Soros) accused of buying protests or whatever. Why not nefarious Christians like the Mercers or Kochs who buy elections and run lobbyists galore who influence far more than a supposed Jewish cabal. The latent and not so latent stench of antisemitism still fouls our environment and is still using the "evil conniving Jew" as our country's malady. Do I sound paranoid, perhaps but I see the overt antisemitic behavior on campuses, in the UN and all around Europe disguised as anti Israel. Does the vandalism of Jewish synagogues, temples or cemeteries reflect hostility to Israel or Jews in general. Yes, it can happen here. NEVER AGAIN!
5
Vive la Resistance.
By. Any. Means. Necessary.
1
@Publius
NO that is their propaganda. The "means" necessary already exists.
After the total frustration of the Kavanaugh confirmation I pledged to myself that I would no longer speak out against the sham that our democracy has become. After what can i do with my one small voice and my aging self against the forces of fear, anger and hatred that is leaving our country and world in shambles.
The GOP ethic would have us continue our denial of the greatest force for human oblivion, climate change.
It would have us ignore the need for a strong educational system, a working infrastructure and an improved health care system which would serve all of us, not only the entitled oligarchy.
Child poverty seems to be the GOP goal as well as the denial of rights to women and anyone who disagrees with their mo first nationalist ideals.
The GOP has been intent on its purposes for along time and it has learned that fear and anger makes people blind to its ends and fighting this fear and anger with more fear and anger only feeds into this. Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King saw that nonviolent protest was the only path to breaking this endless cycle and opening a path to social justice.
Do we who see the dangerous path this country is taking have the the courage and will to fight nonviolently these fear based trends? Do I? Sigh.
4
I am glad that Paul Krugman is at last lending his authority to the long-term convictions of many others. Yes, the paranoid style has a long and recurrent history in America. But the present cycle began with the evil machinations of Newt Gingrich, received a spin of the wheel with the Supreme Court's ruling making George Bush president--so dishonestly that even the late, sainted Scalia said the decision should be taken as a precedent (lest Democrats return the favor)--, and was staffed by the Tea Party (aka, the base).
I have hopes that the House will go blue in November and use the power of the budget to curtail both the Senate and the Court--cutting staffs of the latter would be a start by limiting the resources to hear cases. Then, in 2020 and 2022, the Republicans will have more Senate seats in play than the Democrats, and opportunities for them to retake control of Congress. But if the Democrats fail to retake the House in 2018, the day of democracy may be over.
7
I'd recommend that Republicans in Congress and Trump supporters read The Origins of Totalitarianism written by Hannah Arendt for lessons in history and in how one party rule evolves into a movement bigger than the tyrant at the top, but they don't read and prefer rallies. My fear is that when this book was written we had no internet or social media platforms to spread disinformation and it happened anyway for the same reasons. People were not told the truth, but were comfortable with hearing what they wanted to hear at their most vulnerable time because it was just more convenient for them. Attacks on minorities, the judiciary, the free press, any opposition to the movement and the nation's democratic institutions are really just the beginning. Once in place authoritarianism becomes so much worse. Once the "them" in an "Us versus Them" movement removes the "them" domestically, the movement spreads to other nations and they become the "them" that is the threat and has to be removed. During this process the people who looked the other way and were willing participants, like the Republican enablers and Trump supporters will suffer unimaginably. We all know this took place in Nazi Germany and how that ended. How will this all end? November 06, 2018 is coming. Please vote to secure freedom, democracy and our way of life and stop the madness already taking hold of the nation one seemingly unimportant event at a time.
10
The destruction of earth and progress in one administration. Impressive.
4
The GOP is an apartheid party in power. 73 percent of america is white and the other 27 percent non-white. If 35 percent of whites and even 20 percent of the growing non-white population is democrat, the GOP is already in the minority. The 20 percent realizes that the privileged 35 percent of whites in the GOP are keeping all the power and most of the wealth to themselves, in all three branches of government. It is unsustainable. If the democrats play their cards smartly soon, in a few years, they will be in power for the next 1000 years.
3
Anti-Semitic conspiracy theorizing has always been part and parcel of right-wing authoritarianism.
And now it has been elevated to the Supreme Court. Which makes elections entirely superfluous:
https://silverberg-on-meltdown-economics.blogspot.com/2016/07/sometimes-...
1
@gs. Elections "superfluous"? Not nearly. The president may appoint (with Senate consent) SC justices, but Congress can undo their work with legislation that meets the test of constitutionality--the ultimate check on the Court's bias. Never before has voting been so crucial.
You're behind the curve, professor. The coup has happened. Decent people around the world lost. We are officially a fascist oligarchy and I'm not sure that even voting will matter.
4
Frankly, I'm sick of hearing about the doom and gloom of it and am looking for what to do about it. I know what I'm doing, registering people to vote, involvement in elections in my community, setting up voter information websites, and demonstrating. What I'd like to hear from those in the know is what they think we can do to stop this.
4
Trump is gallantly attempting to bridge the divide among the world's divergent societies by the clever subterfuge of appealing to humanity's universal shared loathing of George Soros. Soros is already reviled across the breadth of Europe from Russia to Britain. Is America next? Tired of holding hands with Macron? How about tea with Marine LePen in the White House? Only time will tell. The fate of civilization may hang in the balance.
Since nobody is quite sure why Soros is so despicable, everyone is free to choose the rationale that seems most suitable to the time and place -- sort of like privately defining what "great" really means when you close your eyes and do the MAGA chant. Or deciding whether God really looks like that dreamy-eyed dude on the calendar hanging above the counter in the dry cleaners shop. It will be your very own special secret. No one will ever know, or even need to know.
2
All of these psychotic regimes do what they project because projecting it justifies it.
Ultimately human mental illness will be responsible for the mass extinction to take ourselves out.
4
As the Republican leaders follow the strategy of Trump to lie profusely, they gain ground with no resistance or rebuttal from Democrat leadership. The Democrat leaders are cowards who won't call liars liars. If we should gain back some of the Congress, purge the present leaders in favor of strong ones, if there are any.
1
I'm afraid this is a done deal. There is a conspiracy alright - of dark money. It really got itself organized after the election of Obama, and has achieved virtually every single objective, culminating in the destructive insertion of Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Maybe it's because of where I currently live, in a very red region of increasingly red NC, but my pessimism about the upcoming election is growing. I have noticed a substantial uptick in troll-like comments to NYT editorials in recent weeks, which make me shudder to think what the tone is of those that don't make it through the curators. I cannot imagine what it's like on Breitbart and other radical sites. If the midterm leaves the GOP in control of both houses of congress I think it will be time to start consideration of how this so-called nation might be divided. Because this degree of polarization will ultimately destroy us all. We are delusional if we think this abyss can be bridged. It simply cannot be. There are now two diametrically opposed philosophies of governance, with zero in common. Half clearly and gleefully accept a demagogue authoritarian, while the other half cherishes true democracy. That does not, and cannot peacefully coexist.
6
@Michael: With advent of Trump, cronyism is all that is left of your grandfather's Republicanism.
1
Don't you mean, "The Republicans Are an Authoritarian Regime." Full Stop.
6
A significant portion of the American public dearly want an authoritarian regime and would cheer lustily its creation. They think things are "out of control" and need to be put right. I never thought I would write these words, at least not about a major section of our society. Fringe elements, crazy nutcases and people carrying around "documents" that prove everything is a conspiracy have always been with us. Now, they are going mainstream. No, they've gone mainstream.
Why does this impulse rise? We can, and should, blame "state media", Fox Noise, of course, a channel that would scream glory hallelujah if Trump sent out troops to round up and imprison their fellow citizens (if you doubt this, get back to me when Trump tries something wildly unconstitutional). There is much more behind all of this than Fox, of course, including talk radio and extreme websites.
The NRA has jumped its boundaries on gun advocacy and is becoming (I mean this) a neo-Nazi organization ready and willing to approve any illegal crackdown by police and other para-military forces. Organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce, which used to push issues of central concern to business, now advocate politically across the board. There is, also, a tsunami of money, hundreds of millions, flowing to outside groups to continually warp and influence public opinion.
Trump's lies work. He tells such big lies that no one can prove him wrong or many just go along because otherwise the world is too confusing.
9
@Doug Terry - and he's proven that if he tells the same lie over and over, people think it's the truth.
2
The paranoia Dr. Krugman correctly discusses, is real. We were all born with fear in our DNA from evolution. It is simply a survival mechanism. It is on a continuum. The more you have, the further right on the political spectrum until you reach a point where healthy fear begins to resemble symptoms of paranoia. The most common symptom is the sense that everyone is out to get you. And since we were born this way, conservatives in particular are predisposed to unconscious, automatic "thinking". Nobody seems to be aware of this basic fact, yet it fully accounts for what differentiates them from everyone else on the political spectrum. Trump is totally paranoid and thinks everyone is out to get him. He is the most paranoia President in our lifetimes by far, much more so than even Richard Nixon. People thus afflicted should not be in positions of public policy because they unconsciously prioritize their inner fears over the well-being of the people, country and planet. But you can't change the way someone was born. Ask a gay person. NEVER vote for a conservative.
3
It is hard to understand why they hate women, children, Medicaid, to discuss climate change, gun control, immigrants, poor people, and affordable healthcare, just to mention some issues that affect our lives. We are human beings.
4
Has the New York Times dropped all pretense of providing fair reporting?
Here Krugman claims that Kavanaugh lied under oath. How exactly does he know that?
Is it not more likely that memories have faded after 36 years have passed?
Make no mistake. Trump is a terrible president. But doesn't it make more sense to criticize the things he is actually doing wrong than to assume that every Republican is lying when he attempts to defend himself from a charge which might be false?
What is frightening is that what is regarded as the truth becomes subject to party affiliation.
An example of what appears to be good reporting is Bob Woodward's book Fear. It describes what happens among the White House staff without making judgments about the validity of Republican policies. What emerges is a picture of a president who cannot make the best staff appointments, but even when he makes acceptable ones does not follow their advice. In fact, he assumes he knows what the experts knows better than the experts.
This is the reason the Trump presidency is such a disaster.
But people working for Trump are not all corrupt. They are human beings who make mistakes, but also sometimes show courage and make good decisions.
Why must Democrats assume that Brett Kavanaugh is lying?
It detracts from the goal of replacing Trump, and increases the chance that Democrats will appear as biased and willing to dispense with due process in order to achieve feminist goals.
This helps Republicans win.
Yes Paul! Lust for power and greed, driven and enabled by shallow, binary thinking defines our current GOP. Add in voter apathy and ignorance regarding their best interests and the swamp stinks even more. And then we have a press that doesn't much look under the surface and question very deeply, such as what did Trump mean by draining the swamp, and we have a serious problem. Wish I saw an answer!
After reading Klugman's opinion piece I have to wonder if he watched any of the same confirmation hearings that I watched. It was the Republicans who asked questions of Ms. Ford; all the Democrats did was make speeches and pontificate... the public was lucky if democrat senator managed to ask more than a question or two after they posed for the cameras.
Frankly it isn't the Republicans that are out to tell everyone how to live their lives... that is what the Democrats do while protecting their rich benefactors. The Democrats are the authoritarian regime in waiting. Paul needs to get his prescription checked because he isn't seeing things too clearly.
1
Mr. Catholic and Conservative, I would like that 10 seconds of my life back. I think every sentence is demonstrable complete and utter nonsense. Yes, Democrats with no power are authoritarians in waiting. Oh boy
2
Oh, we have been paying attention. We were expecting a backlash after Obama, but not the long con being picked right back up where it left off. It is like their plan was derailed by him, and they are fighting to make up lost ground. Since we are white and well-off, I suppose we could blend in with the New Americans, be all jingoistic and bigoted. But, I think we will just keep shopping those beach-front condos in Ecuador...
2
Another very pointed suggestion/reminder: VOTE!
4
Don't know where everybody's been on this.
I understood this the minute Trump sent out propaganda minister Sean Spicer the day after the inauguration to lie about the crowd size, even though there was irrefutable photographic evidence to the contrary.
It sent a chill down my spine and made me sick to my stomach.
If they were willing to tell such a brazen, absurd and demonstrable lie on their first day in office, there were really no limits to what they might try and get away with.
The GOP has been actively plotting and scheming for this moment for two generations. With Trump, they finally have the final piece in place, a man not bogged down by political "norms" or conscience but who actually revels in and is energized by the misery and misfortune of others.
With McConnell's unprecedented, no holds barred tactics and Trump's preternatural ability to obfuscate and misdirect, the GOP is on the precipice of morphing into something truly monstrous and unrecognizable in American politics, if they aren't there already.
These two are really hitting their stride now, and there is no telling what they might try next after pulling off this latest chicanery with Kavanaugh.
Might be a good idea to have some good election law attorneys on hand and ready to go in those congressional districts, just in case something "funny" starts happening in November.
4
@JayK - I remember that lie. I was seeing that picture in my head the other day and longing for those simpler times and lies. How we've progressed!
2
The Republicans morph to accommodate the times: their duplicities fit the current times, if not create them whole cloth. The Democrats, nimble as they are can't avoid being trampled by the apathy of the people. Give them their due, the GOP didn't want Trump, but they feared him, and as he perpetrated one outrage after another, taking a sizeable portion of the voters with him, they had no choice but to acquiesce.
The world over is lurching right. Pockets of resistance briefly flicker and are then just as quickly extinguished. The left so want to believe that within us all is a kernel of goodness; the right knows that mirage is ripe for exploitation and so it goes.
No dystopian world view would conjure a Trump, he's too fanciful a figure to elicit anything but derision, but these times demand him. He is the most brazen of the current crop, but the list now sees endless, populist authoritarians, they didn't need to grab power, because it was willingly given almost naively so, comical even, but this is no joke. The GOP aren't authoritarians in waiting, they have all the levers they need and the people behind them too, and we weren't paying attention as they snatched it all from under or noses.
3
Says the man who enabled Trump by supporting Clinton over Sanders. Sanders would have beat Trump and we wouldn't be in this terrible crisis.
1
This started when the GOP turned to neoconservatism as its main doctrine.
Back in 1976, the doctrine's founding father, Irving Kristol, wrote in the WJ that for a society to be "healthy", intellectuals should remain at its margins, rather than taking center stage and actively participating in public debates.
He also wrote that as soon as politics isn't about gut feelings anymore but has to be debated, conservatives cannot but lose, as conservatism is about what FEELS evident, so conservative parties will always be the less articulate party.
Nevertheless, when he died in 2009 even the NYT hailed him as an intellectual. Why? Because he was talking about "ideas and values".
Americans have made this mistake for almost a century now. It started when Carnap wanted a scientifically proven philosophy, and decided to reject the entire history of philosophy as being "unverifiable". The next generation of philosophers then didn't even read ancient (= from its origins to the 19th century, PLUS most contemporary "continental" philosophers) philosophers anymore, and took developing their own subjective opinions for "philosophizing" - even though Plato had precisely invented philosophy in contrast with "doxaphilia" ("doxa" = opinion).
Since Kristol, the GOP deliberately identifies with anti-intellectualism. A democracy however can only thrive when all citizens, including intellectuals, engage in real, respectful debates. THAT is what the GOP is destroying, decade after decade.
5
@Ana Luisa: "Philosophy" means love of or affinity to learning and knowledge. It is abhorrent to Republicans.
2
McCarthyism will win if we don't turn the house and senate next month.
2
But some people aren't terrified. They're hoping the Republicans control both houses with Don the Con as King/Dictator of America. For about the last thirty years the Republican Party has slowly but diligently worked with lies, conspiracy ideas, voter suppression tactics and, above all, a dumbed down base of supporters to turn America into a one party ruled nation for their rich donors like the Koch Cartel. With ownership of the Supreme Court and Trump as President, the Republican Party has pretty much achieved their goal.
3
The Republicans might be an authoritarian regime in waiting, but they are not waiting long. With Kavanaugh's appointment to the new "religious" Supreme Court, we are in for thirty years of backward evolution toward a second Dark Ages where authoritarianism was the norm. However, there is hope. In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof of how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about just what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. At that point, we can begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
Attaining total authoritarian control of the US has long been the goal of the Republican Party and now it is all starting to pay off for them. If they retain control of the US government in the 2018 elections this whole discussion might well be moot by 2020.
Look around you folks and ignore the hoax and fake news rants because this is how a democracy dies.
1
Excellent and eloquent expositional piece. Your op-ed never disappoints me. Thank you. You don't need to be a Freudian wonk when the GOP politicians get paranoid. It means they lie and their base lie to themselves.
Soros has a political agenda and spends his wealth towards his goals. I as a American Jew and political conservative oppose his vision of the world strongly, does that make me anti-Semitic? There is no difference other than their political views between the Kochs, Soro, and Mike Bloomberg, all are billionaires willing to spend on politics. Of all the charges against Trump coming daily from people like Krugman I think that anti-Semitism is the most vile and the most obviously wrong at face value.
2
Time to donate again. DNC, ACLU, everybody who stands between us and either tyranny or just wanton destruction of American values and systems.
The absence of a check on Trump in the Republican Party is now starkly clear. McConnell, Grassley, Graham, Collins, Cronyn, and the rest have fully adopted Trump's divisive message of hate.
The two major ccomlplisments of the Trump Administration were to lower taxes on the upper 1% and confirm a partisan to the Supreme Court. And the price of those accomplishments will no doubt be paid over the years by higher taxes on, and reduced benefits to, the lower 99% and further reductions in the rights of women and workers.
Be afraid, very afraid, but vote this November and get others to vote who believe an inclusive, fair, and just America.
1
Thank you. Paul, for spelling out something I have been thinking for a while now. Today's GOP no longer believes in democracy. You are the first columnist I have seen to spell this out so clearly. I've been called a drama queen and told to calm down, but in my opinion not enough people are as alarmed as we should be.
9
The GOP can't run on its awful economic and healthcare record, so it resorts to building a coalition of "Make America White Again" (anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-minority) people to win. And sadly, with Fox News as its propaganda arm it's doing this successfully.
History tells us the uninformed and lower educated people are very susceptible to demagogues. What's arguably different here is how easily this was done despite a very strong economy, which had more or less fully recovered by 2014. The GOP propaganda arm merely had to tell people the economy was lousy to get them to into the fold; no evidence was required.
History tells us that job creation, GDP growth, and stock market returns are all better under Democratic Presidents, regardless of who controls the Congress. Clinton balanced the budget for four years, the only time since 1969. Obama brought the crushing deficit he inherited from Bush back to historical average by 2014 as % GDP, by holding spending flat while revenues returned to more normal levels.
Trump is claiming economic success and his supporters believe him, although it's clear he's simply riding the wave he inherited from Obama. Job creation in Trump's first 20 months was below the job creation in Obama's last 20 months, the best evidence we have that Trump's policies have made little difference overall. However, the ten-year debt trajectory is up 50% and the number of uninsured is up 1-3 million. When will the winning start?
10
How long until they change the oath of military enlistment from "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States " to "I will support and defend the President of the United States "?
5
I recall an old adage that stated “politics is war without bloodshed”. Always thought it was a quaint way to describe political theater.
The republican extremist “theater” has now succeeded in elevating what used to be unthinkable in America to an ugly reality.
Instead of countering the incoherent rage of the current POTUS, republicans encourage and even cheer for the malevolent, narcissistic oaf installed by a low information gaggle of malcontents: a grouping of Americans that openly hail the outrageous invasion of our voting system by Russia as a good thing.
That treasonous, authoritarian mindset - utilizing flag waving as a tool of subversion - has now fomented civil war in a nation that until recently had thought of itself as beyond internal violence as a means to achieve the “more perfect union” of which the Founders envisioned.
The Republican Party must be squashed and relegated to irrelevance, before (not after) their diabolical misfeasance triggers the sum of all fears.
4
While the G.O.P. may be as Mr. Krugman says, "an authoritarian regime in waiting," it is an authoritarian regime owned and operated by the corporations. If the appointment of Mr. Kavanaugh portends anything, it is the complete control of the government by the corporate power of America. Already recent decisions of the Supreme Court have elevated corporate interests over those of workers and ordinary citizens. The dogged insistence on Mr. Kavanaugh, over hundreds of other more qualified candidates, simply consolidates this control. The corporations saw their man and made sure their Republican middle men got him confirmed at all costs.
8
Thank you, Paul Krugman, once again, for a lucid assessment. Trump's disgraceful enablers in the GOP are culpable in the extreme. Most terrifying is the realization that it is Trump's mocking of Dr. Ford that "turned the tide" -- as he himself put it, implying that the mousy likes of McConnell and Graham and the trembling lot of them cannot get their own short-sighted and self-serving policies adopted unless Big Daddy Swaggerer Dear Leader of the Overcomb intervenes to flame hatred and demonize the opposition. Where is the old American visceral indignation against bullies? Where is the American impulse to defend freedom by defending facts and to protect the defenseless? What will break Trump's sinister spell over his "base"? May the resistance stay determined and UNITED until Trumpism is completely defeated and buried.
1
The party of Trump is a willing tool of their leader. They would forfeit our democracy for continued control of political power in our country.
November 6th can't come soon enough!
5
Trump has cheapened the White House, the Congress, and now
The Supreme Court. He is doing what he promised his supporters
tearing down our government. The question is can this be stopped?
We have two possibilities left , the mid-terms and the Mueller
investigation. The people who sat out the last election, will have
to stop sitting on their hands. And the Mueller investigation has to
come to a conclusion, quickly.
2
We have participated in several protests or marches since trump was elected. No money yet. I guess the "check is still in the mail" This president and his complicit congress are repulsive. The dangerous cultists are worse. How one can gloat over the poisoning of the earth, the compromising of our children's/grandchildren's future, the threats to our autonomy, both women and men, the dismantling of any government services including the ACA, funding for public education, the turning over of our penal system to for profit prisons, further enhancing the school to jail pipeline, the manipulation of religion to serve their dangerous agenda. The attacks on labor protections, on unions, on states to determine the best direction for their residents regarding sane gun laws, pollution, minimum wage, the right to unionize. Trane, a manufacturer of HVAC systems is closing every unionized shop, resulting in the loss of jobs and moving to an anti worker state, sen. graham's very own South Carolina. Access to birth control and healthcare are threatened daily by this administration. Is the abolishment of the ACA protections next? Social Security? Medicare? So much is endangered. Have we ever had a president with a complicit congress who wants to destroy all the gains this country has made? Pundits say it's been worse but when? We always moved our country forward. None can name any president and a lock stepped congress who wanted our country to regress. Have we ever faced worse times? Ever?
7
The Senate had an opportunity last week to right all of the recent wrongs of the Trump administration, including the appointment of Kavanaugh. They blew it.
5
Has there even been a Democratic politician groomed and popularized as a talk show host? Has any Democrat emerged virally above the most local level?
The two parties don't even play in the same league.
1
Let the weakest go to the wall. While there's nothing automatic about self rule, the human impulse in that direction always lurks among the rocks and in the bushes to pounce on and crush plutocracy. The push back from the oppressed is never particularly organized and is almost always messy, but the plutocrats are invariably hopelessly outnumbered, with only some iteration of a transient Praetorian Guard to protect them.
No society can guess the form and nature of the outcome of social upheaval when self rule explodes against plutocracy, and in fact what ensues may be worse than what went before, but inevitably - in the words of Thomas Jefferson: "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants..."
And the plutocrat's sense of security is directly proportional to the inevitability of his downfall.
5
Forgive me for not being paranoid about the GOP destroying democracy. It’s already been done decades ago. Both parties and Paul Krugman were blind to harmful social effects of globalization. We have reaped what we have sown. The right has no reason to destroy democracy. They already turned the Democrats into Republican lite on economic issues. This HRC voter cannot for the life of me understand why the Dems are so committed to social engineering when the jobs are going to evaporate with automation. It’s like the Dems are anarchists now.
The only problem with Paul Krugman's analysis is that Blasey Ford is in all likelihood not a victim of sexual assault. Her testimony has been shot to shreds. Speaking of lies, she is basketful of lies about fear of lying, claustrophobia and the actual facts of what happened to her which have changed considerably since her therapy sessions in 2012/2013. The Republicans have every right to be angry about Blasey Ford, Julie Swetnik and the deep probing of his high school yearbook and college drinking. This had little or nothing to do with his fitness to serve on the Supreme Court. His exemplary and distinguished record on the DC Court of Appeals, his vast array of endorsements prior to the Blasey Ford fiasco including the ABAs lauding of his judicial temperament are what should be substantive or perhaps "dispositive" of his fitness to serve.
Trump may be authoritarian and seriously misguided in his policies, but the Democrats didn't do themselves any favors with the disastrous attempt to block Kavanaugh's nomination in the 11th hour with a deeply partisan and ultimately dishonest attack on a conservative nominee.
1
@Yankelnevich
Kavanaugh was a lousy nominee. Too divisive , evasive and blatantly partisan.
Trump and the GOP were to lazy and feared losing the senate to nominate another justice. With an artificial deadline that had to be met their behavior is typical of the management class. Don't do the work and scream about deadlines.
The irony of it is that whatever comes out of the mouths of Trump and his administration are behaviors that they do every day. They seem to like to enrage everyone, their base and undermining and insulting their opposition. There are increasing pages on the web that identify liberals in a radical negative light. Liberals support democracy. Americans have experienced the abusive power of industry from its birth. Those who were brought to colonize were unwanted in their countries of origin to labor the land, to work on the railroad, in the mines, in factories and fought in its wars. This is America. How many of us have family that have come from this struggle to have a better life. Trump has no regard for any of us and now that we have become educated with empathy for those who do the same, he hates us and tries to turn us against each other.
116
@barbara
But Republicans that support Trump, don't understand the definition of "Liberal", in fact they use the word socialist but socialism, is totally different from a liberal. They interchange the words because they don't know how to properly use them. Hard core supporters, really are uneducated, in the sense that they are unable to think for themselves, they aren't free thinkers, they don't verify what they are being told, in fact, they regurgitate it like it was their own thought.
Republicans are complaining about "mob rule" by Democratic protesters. What they really fear is majority rule, since they no longer have the support of a majority of Americans. When a majority is denied a voice, it can become a mob. Whether it is a peaceful mob or a violent one will depend on its level of frustration.
798
@Christy Exactly. The new Republican trope is that VOTERS are "mob rule" by being the majority.
@Christy. But we know which side is armed to the teeth.
@Christy. A riot is the language of the unheard. That mob Trump and McConnell mock is also known as "the American people." I'm curious, what happens when a mob becomes 180 million strong and is unheard?
1
Beware of Republicans characterizing Democrats as being nothing more than a "mob." How do you deal with a mob? You crush it with brute force.
11
I am so glad that someone tells it like it is.
8
Apparently a LOT of Americans are not paying attention, because the results of an NPR poll showed that Republican enthusiasm spiked as a result of the Kavanaugh hearings. I have no idea what benefit the folks who heard the arguments during the confirmation of Mr. Kavanaugh hoped to reap from his confirmation, but I suppose that the people whose enthusiasm spiked considered his pro-business, anti-worker, partisan Republican judicial history a benefit so attractive that his questionable past and disagreeable character didn't matter. From where I sit, it seems like working people are shooting themselves in the foot by supporting this judge. And yet, here we are, aren't we? Say what you like, propaganda and paranoia work in America. Look at the president--propagandist, conspiracy theorist, liar--yet he's loved of the distracted multitude. He actually called Democrats "evil." The crowd cheered.
9
@R. Adelman You're absolutely right. Perhaps the scariest thing about the Kavanaugh hearings is that the very behaviors that should have disqualified him from advancing to the high court--his obvious lying during questioning, his lack of judicial restraint or temperament, his ridiculous unfounded charge that the opposition to his candidacy was a liberal conspiracy linked to the Clintons--were what endeared him so to Trump and the Republicans and eventually saved his candidacy. In the alternative Republican universe, it pays to be deplorable, even if you're aspiring to be a judge on the Supreme Court.
2
@R. Adelman Mr. Adelman: The solution to the puzzle is two words: "white supremacy".
Trump has called the Democrats “evil.” And what does history tell us that autocrats do when they’ve decided their opponents are “evil”?
Watch out, Republicans! Your leader has shown us where he’s going.
5
The point I'd make is to look at where obviously conservative leaders and opinion writers who are also obviously pro-freedom and pro-democracy are heading. And the alarming answers are either "out of the Republican Party" or "seriously out of favor with the Republican Party". Max Boot, Steve Schmidt, Andrew Sullivan, Jennifer Rubin, Joe Scarborough, David Frum, John Kasich, etc. etc. While the more authoritarian end of the mainstream Republican Party -- let's say Mitt Romney, Lindsay Graham, Marc Theissen, Susan Collins -- has made its peace with Trumpism, and in some cases even adopted a cheerleader stance.
That ought to be a warning to anyone. But just remember, this didn't happen overnight. It goes at least back to Newt Gingrich, the GOP's deeply unhealthy reaction to losing the 1992 election, the sharp-elbowed and divisive campaigning of Bush senior and Lee Atwater, and the ludicrous conspiracy theories surrounding Clinton.
Somehow, somebody needs to speak up for what conservatism means for liberty, and sideline and marginalize authoritarianism. A democracy, after all, needs multiple parties that believe in liberty and democracy.
1
I had the same reaction that others did: "in waiting?" We have a little more than two years left to determine whether the U.S. will remain a democracy. Given the unorganized, incoherent opposition party (the Democrats), I'm not optimistic. The message it should be giving to every candidate is: Tell voters that the country's future -- your children's future -- depends on you getting to the polls. If you don't take away the Republican's power, they'll take away your freedom.
Unfortunately, today's Democratic Party is a lot like Michael Corleone's description of his brother, Fredo: stupid and weak.
2
@Dario Bernardini
"We have a little more than two years left to determine whether the U.S. will remain a democracy."
I don't know when it became a democracy. I was taught in school that we live in Representative Republic.
"If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention."
Or you are a brainwashed believer in the Trump cult, invested so deeply that you can no longer extricate yourself. Or you are one of the Congressional Republican immoral opportunists of limitless bad faith, both beside yourself with joy at the power you are accruing and at the same time in so deep that you could no longer extricate yourself even if you wanted to.
6
The Party of the weak, led by the weak allowed this void to exist in which a sadistic power struggle was far skewed to the most dangerous to ascend to the top of the pack to lead us all.
Democrats must find strong leaders the likes of Kennedy, Johnson and Roosevelt to save democracy and our way of life.
If Democrats wish to help the weak, they must be strong, not weak themselves.
The Republicans see how weak you are, and like a true sadist, they prey on you.
3
Someone needs to take this article and put it into the hands of every single Democrat in the House and Senate. Democrats are not getting it, and if they are, they aren't conveying it to the public. Pundits on TV sound the same as they always do, with similar talking points. What they need to be doing is openly and passionately describing the threat at hand. And they aren't doing it. I'm terribly worried. Who can get through to them?!
2
Paul points out the threats the GOP poses for democracy. One remark: “The more immediate threat comes from what we saw on the Republican side during and after the hearing: not just contempt for the truth, but also a rush to demonize any and all criticism.”
The attempted suppression of criticism, the weakening of reliance on fact, the desecration of government agencies like the FBI, the mocking of science, all are symptoms identified by Hannah Arendt: The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Banality of Evil, and other works describing Hitler’s rise.
And although the trend is to blame Trump and the GOP Congress, the real agents behind all this are a handful of billionaire donors with troubling views: The Mercers, the Kochs, the Wilks, the Adelsons, the Uihleins, the Sinclairs and so forth. They now run Trump, the GOP, and the Supreme Court. And a huge disinformation machine.
6
Boiled frog, the authoritarian regime is in place, we are just waiting to see how bad it will be.
459
@jdawg
With energy and courage, authoritarian regimes can be prevented or removed.
Move to California which is solidly in Democratic hands,and avoid much of the Republican horror!
2
Most of these conspiracy mongers are old white protestants. They are the successors of William Dudley Pelley, Gerald Winrod, Gerald L.K. Smith, and Martin Dies. There were Catholics too, most famously Father Charles Coughlin and Senator Joe McCarthy, who before Donald Trump, was the most talented demagogue born on our shores.
This group is suspicious of Jews, especially liberal financiers like George Soros, blacks, immigrants, Muslims, anyone who isn't "one hundred per cent" American. Mr. Krugman is correct. In the 30s, 40's, and 50's, most of these people were marginalized. Now they control the government.
1
The Republicans are not satisfied with elected power, they want total control, just like an abusive spouse. And like an abusive spouse they are prepared to be abusive and disrespectful to achieve that control.
8
This is why people vehemently defend the Second Amendment.
2
@Thinker
Funny isn't it? The people who "vehemently defend the Second Amendment" are the very ones who have been brainwashed by the Trump cult. With that much credulity, ignorance and rage, they should never have been permitted to buy a gun in the first place.
"Thinker" wrote:
"This is why people vehemently defend the Second Amendment."
The alarm is sounding, but will the people wake up?
In keeping with this article is the Rapepublican's belief that their base will be angered and moved to vote because of the Democrat's attack on Kavanaugh. This is nothing more than a "dog whistle" for the attack dogs, the Brown Shirts, to clog the polls.
The message here is that you (other white man) can be accused of sexual assault at any moment, and there will be no due process. You will be judged guilty and not presumed innocent, so you better start fighting back now. For the use of every tool there is a purpose, and in this case it is for the purpose of stoking fear to get out the vote, obviously. Essentially, you need to put women back in their place. Hmmm!
If it wasn't clear before, it is now perfectly clear. White men are afraid of and against everyone who is not a white man because all of "them" present the possibility of an attack on their hierarchical status. This includes the little brown children in the desert.
The Rapepulcian Party may be tending towards authoritarianism, being already a minoritarianism, but in the mean time, it is hard to believe that their thinking, their thoughts, their ideas, their commands, or their actions could become any more ugly than what are now witnessing.
6
The problem with these well meaning articles is they do not offer solutions for the Deems and Independents.I hear no rallying cry from any leader Deems in the country to break up this distopian future that is around the corner-months from now. In addition, the press seems to be aiding the GOP by showing so much footage about the GOP.
7
Trump is not worried about the mid-terms, I suspect the fix is already in. We're trying to figure out how to get our family out of the country.
4
On October 6, McConnell called people opposing the Kavanaugh appointment "the mob." Two days later, predictably, we have Trump saying, "You don't hand matches to an arsonist. And you don't give power to an angry left-wing mob."
Rather rich, considering all the angry right-wing mobs we saw on display during the 2016 election cycle.
In any event, I expect to hear a lot more about the mob threatening the very fiber of American culture and society over the next 28 days.
5
@Patricia
One thing we liberals can do is embrace the moniker "angry mob" just like the conservatives embraced "deplorables."
I'm part of the angry mob and proud of it. I may even make a T-shirt.
@Patricia And the mob in the 2010 cycle, which started all of this.
Democrats can and will prevent legislation if they gain the house. Why bother.
1
Republicans are evidence-deniers.
3
After reading Kavanaugh's opinions as a judge on the DC Circuit, I thought he was a capable and fair judge. The kind of judge you'd think should be appointed when Republicans hold the presidency, the senate and the house.
If this was not a political hit job, what is?
4
When are we going to redirect blame from Trump--face it, he is what he is--to the 40 percent plus of Americans who think this is all OK? The great irony is New America was blueprinted on 9/11 by a handful of suicidal losers who waged that their actions they could sow enough fear to subvert our form of government. Well it worked, and it did so on the scared ones, the timid ones, the wimpy ones, the ones who never miss a chance to display the American flag and extol the infallible greatness of America.
7
For Krugman, the GOP is an authoritarian regime "waiting to happen."
For Latinos, it's not only happened, but gone way beyond authoritarian. Read y7our own newspaper, Dr. Krugman.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/us/migrant-children-family-separation...
9
I agree, Mr. Krugman. Some may not wish to accept the fact authoritarian white nationalism does not equate to democracy. The delusion lies in denying the left-hand side of the equation exists and the right-side will somehow be preserved exclusively for them. Authoritarians rising in a democracy do not announce they are anti-democratic. Their playbook of misinformation, propaganda, false blame, and attacking democratic institutions is easily recognized. It amazes me daily Americans support a president promoting a system that promises oppression, suppression, suffering, injustice, inequality.
I initially observed democracy not working for Republicans with Newt Gingrich in the 1990’s. Gingrich seemed like he wanted to burn it all down and rewrite the Constitution into something sounding like the failed Articles of Confederation. To achieve what Gingrich was suggesting required a democratic process to power and a plan to move the goalposts in that process. I think Republicans have achieved this. This is not some conspiracy theory, look at the evidence.
Today, Republicans have rejected foundational democratic values and ideas. This puts everything Americans have stood for in my lifetime in jeopardy. Constitutional rights, equal rights, civil rights, voting rights, human rights with social and economic benefits will be eliminated for lust for power, greed, and anti-democratic control. This is not hysterical conspiracy theory; look at the evidence.
12
Why do you say "possible collusion with Russia"?
Trump publicly invoked Russia to hack H R Clinton's email server, after which Russia tried to hack the account. This was collusion, plain and simple. When a US candidate for office publicly invokes a foreign entity to hack their opponent's email server, this is treason.
13
I have a novel idea for a column that Dr Krugman should consider--instead of constantly berating Republicans as being just plain evil why not focus on Democratic failures? That would make a refreshing change of pace. Here are some questions and topics to think about;
Why did Barack Obama abandon Merrick Garland five minutes after nominating him to the Supreme Court? Could it be that Obama underestimated how strong Republican opposition would be? Mitch McConnell outsmarted Barack Obama with some absurd story about how lame duck presidents can't nominate Supreme Court justices. That's why Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh are now on the Supreme Court.
How did the Democrats lose their reputation as the party that genuinely cared about ordinary people?
Look around the map. Democratic strongholds are solid only in the North East and the Far West. Why can't the Democrats make any progress in those crucial Mid-West battleground states?
Why are the Democrats perceived as the party of elitist wimps? How did Democrats become these spineless cowards who haven't got a clue.
Should make a great column
3
@sharon5101 It wouldn't hurt the Democrats to have a few bullet points about what they want to accomplish. They could hoodwink a few more voters if they included the words America, Americans and jobs.
One other thing. On MSNBC, this morning, a young fellow spoke, how 2 years after Hurricane Mathew, there were people waiting for the federal government to come in and "save" them. 58 years after JFK's inaugural address, it might be time for a history lesson.
A great many lies here buddy. President Obama did not abandon Garland. McConnell did not outsmart President Obama; McConnell subverted the Constitution. That you can't tell the difference no doubt explains why you think it's ok for a partisan like kavenaugh to rule on cases for people he has already declared he despises. As for peddling this kind of rubbish watch Fox and read Wsj.
2
In Trump world, conspiracy theories are their truth. As you pointed out, that is a common denominator of authoritarian regimes. The regime is not in waiting. They have all three branches of government, courtesy of Senator Collins who deceived the country to side with old white men who hate women.
8
If democrats take one or both parts of the Congress, what will they do? What have they ever done?
Let me make a prediction. They'll start by making noises about "seeking common ground with this president and our friends across the aisle" after which they'll capitulate and get bullied into the corner they've occupied since the 1960s.
Republicans may be evil but democrats are useless.
3
In a room of such educated, reasonable, and passionate people, I'm sure you all have heard the term "echo chamber." Well, this looks like one of them. Comment after comment of Trump, GOP, Kavanaugh bashing. Why don't people just start being honest? Republicans and Democrats are both: hypocritical, dishonest, and corrupt.
It's the plague of human nature to be prideful and selfish- political party affiliation doesn't make one except from that. You name a few corrupt Republicans, and I'll start naming few corrupt Democrats.
I guess it's a good thing our public schools are no longer citing the "Pledge of Allegiance." We are no longer a nation "indivisible" at all. America the Great will fall just like every other empire in history. That's because we are destroying ourselves from the inside out.
6
You're confounding subjective opinion and proven fact.
You first take the hypothesis that human nature is essentially bad, and then, without any fact-checking, attribute the same amount of lying and corruption to all politicians indifferently.
Facts prove you wrong on two levels:
1. As Darwin already observed but neurologists have now proven, human brains, just like most mammal brains, are wired both for negative emotions (which, when they dominate the brain for quite some time, result in negative brain states and subsequent negative behavior) AND compassion. Whether it's negative emotions or compassion that will determine your actions in life depends mainly on the extent to which you've had the occasion to get a serious training in compassion tools, which allows the compassion networks in the brain to grow bigger and take the lead.
2. Obamacare has been debated publicly, including numerous Senate hearings, for almost a year and only written into law when the CBO confirmed that its latest version would indeed achieve the goals that its authors told us they wanted to achieve. Today, it insures 20 million more Americans, which means saving an additional 40,000 American lives a year. Soon, thanks to Democrats, half a million lives will be saved. The GOP wants to "replace" this with Ryancare, WITHOUT Senate hearings and neglecting CBO reports, and notwithstanding the fact that it would destroy the HC of 30 million Americans.
Cynicism never helped us move forward, remember?
5
@Ariel There is no 'we,' and until one can be established, the self-destructive aspects of the species will dominate.
Wow. Your piece makes an argument how the GOP has a problem with the truth? This is after the scurrilous hit attempt by the Democrats on Kavanaugh? I suggest in the future to go after an issue that freshly stares you in the face, independent of bias.
4
@HozeKing Indeed, where does that coastie professor get off thinking she has a right to share knowledge of her imagined assault so many years ago? I do have to admit, though, laying the supposed groundwork, years ago, with her therapist and friends -- that was a masterstroke. Thankfully, 'we' saw right through her ruse and got our cream-of-the-crop beer lover on the court. Full speed ahead. This entire shameful episode has been one devil's-triangle approach to politics.
2
@HozeKing
You're actually proving Krugman's point you know.
There has been NO proof at all of the idea that Dr. Blasey would have lied, and even Trump himself called her "credible".
So no, you cannot possibly use her witnessing as evidence that the Democrats are lying, you see?
1
@bill we tried demonizing beer in the 20's and that didn't work out too well. Thanks for playing, though.
Brings up thoughts of Niemoller's poem. Will Americans be as deaf to as Germans were? We will find out in 4 weeks. It can happen here and almost did in the late 1930's.
The authoritarian republicans are counting on the ignorance and apathy of the American voter to repeat a minority takeover of a major industrial nation. Prove them wrong. Take a friend to the polling booth in November.
Kick the criminal republicans out of office in November.
18
First, the Republicans in Congress capitulated.
And now, the Supreme Court has been taken over thanks to the new Justice who seems to believe the law does not apply to the President as long as he is President.
So far, the economy has been holding up. If it were to keel over, this demagogue will waste no time pointing to all the non-whites as the reason and God knows what is going to happen.
Well, we don't need God, we just need to look at history.
It is not just authoritarianism, it is fascism waiting at the door.
9
The beauty of authoritarianism for followers is that it makes the world a simple place. You have the strong leader to protect you, and you have enemies to blame for everything that goes wrong. All it costs you is giving total loyalty and obedience to the strong leader.
Authoritarianism builds on two of the strongest human emotions: fear and anger. Once those kick in, rational thought takes a back set. Any spare brain cycles get used up rationalizing the inherent contradictions in authoritarianism.
It's a closed world for closed minds.
And Donald Trump is king of the world.
11
why are california and new york deep blue ? because their white population is less than 65 percent. texas and arizona are 75 to 80 percent white and deep red. when the white population drops to 60 percent or less in swing states, in a few years, the GOP will be only found in history books. Trump's white identity politics is going to accelerate their demise by decades
5
@observer Stopping or slowing immigration is all about slowing down this change. More laws to suppress voting will be put in place.
@observer Sir, you have alarmingly low opinion of non-White voters. Surely some, probably most, non-White voters contribute substantially to their communities. And, there are more than a couple of White slackers in every group.
I would suggest the reason Blue states are in such dire straights, is their tax policy.
These are the last years of the republic.
Take your children away while you still can, my friends.
God help us all.
8
To my simple, slightly partisan mind the SCOTUS lost all "moral authority " with Bush v. Gore.
I believe we have reached Dante's Ninth Circle having blithely pass through the other eight.
11
GOP is now reaping the remuneration for systematically destroying education and infusion of religion in almost everything including education and public policy, besides promoting crony capitalism that serve few rich elites at the top.
Now basic understanding of "truth", logic, & science is at its lowest among American adults & college graduates, than ever before. Both quality & quantity of American education is deteriorating fast mainly since Reagan era. It's despite of USA having the highest budget in education & research, and also the most expensive in the world with average college tuition fee beyond most middle class Americans with our student debt already crossed $1.5 trillion, i.e. about 10 percent of American GDP.
Illiteracy rate is growing. It was about 14 percent about 6 yr ago. Last yr data put it to be 20 percent.
Now USA is the worst among 35 developed countries with highest percentage of college graduates denying science of evolution (about 38 percent), worst even in our own recent history. These ignorant graduates believe in the fairy tales of "intelligent design". Most of our policy makers are not much different either. There is not a single Congressman to represent the largest (25%) (non) religious group of the US population who do not believe in God, while evangelicals with only 23% of population became the king makers.
Ignorant and religious fundamentalist electorate favor GOP for long and they are determined to keep it that way.
15
There is too much over-reaction to Trump and his antics. We will be fine. Life has a way to bubble up the truth and bring forth justice. We have to be patient and educate people on the important dangers like his disregard for climate change and the environment, his corruption and abuse of human rights, his destruction of institutions like the EPA, FBI, his lack of a plan for health insurance, etc. Leave Kavanaugh alone for now, and forget about his tweets and false statements. Let him brag and bully. Let us stay focussed on the big things.
1
@SP. I am wondering if people thought this way in 1930s Germany....
4
@SP
I think the problem is that putting Kavanaugh on the Court and controlling Congress means that Climate Change will be denied in public policy. Corruption, at least in the GOP, will be ignored and education, prisons, health-care, military,... will be turned over to for-profit corporations who do not answer to the voters.
Just look at the Kavanaugh hearing: the FBI investigation was a sham while McConnell ordered an investigation into Dianne Feinstein to determine if she leaked the letter from Dr Ford. - She did not, a journalist stepped forward and took responsibility for that. -
Trump recently said "Democrats have become too dangerous and too extreme to govern...". If Trump acts to outlaw the party or imprison leaders of the party who will stop him? Congress will not. And now the Supreme Court is less likely to stop him. Kavanaugh believes in very broad presidential powers. This makes Kavanaugh dangerous. It makes Trump even more dangerous.
1
"And now senior figures in the Republican Party, which controls all three branches of the federal government — if you had any questions about whether the Supreme Court was a partisan institution, they should be gone now — are sounding just like the white nationalists in Hungary and Poland."
We Americans love to think we are special. Exceptional if you will. We even have an ideology for which our collective egotism is named. Maybe at some point in history that idea had merit. Historical worthiness, however, is no guarantee for future prominence. We claim our mantle of "greatness" by standing on the heads and shoulders of our forebearers, but it seems we take our stature for granted. Forgetting the costs paid for our liberties by those who came before, we give them away because we can't be bothered to vote. This has led us to where we stand today. Not exactly where Germany was in 1933, but the parallels are much, much closer than we would wish to admit.
8
The Republican leaders lie to divert attention from their very bad conduct. They cultivate hatred and anger in the public to gain force of arms to maintain power.
I just can't get upset about their lying. It just comes naturally to them and paranoia is the key to creating a smoke screen for those leaders to hide behind.
After all, we all know the political elite own the Television networks they use to instigate that hatred and violence. Trump is an expert at it, perhaps even trained how to excite an audience during his television career.
Everyone watches Television and gets all excited and paranoid. Republicans made it an art. What can you say? It's just blatant lies they tell.
3
Corrupting the Supreme Court or stacking it with extreme conservatives amounts to the same thing. The mid terms may save us from the worst of this nightmare but McConnell will still be in place and just as powerful unless we also take the Senate. That will leave the Octobabies still in place and McConnell has already stated that if another SC vacancy occurs Trump will be able to appt another even in his last year. Disgusting.
What is on my mind now though: Rosenstein spent time with Trump on AF 1. Now, according to Trump, they are best friends. The reality may be that Trump has threatened Rosenstein and his family, Putin style. This may effect Mueller's effectiveness. If that is true, then the coup has taken place.
5
If you've been paying attention it's obvious Trump wants a Dem Congress. And if you think the conspiracy theories are crazy today wait until his daily rants are aimed at the Dems who are denying the policies of Dear Leader. That's his plan for winning 2020.
1
FOX NEWS and Trump have been yelling Fire in a crowded nation. Conservatives always seem to want to live in the past. But they do.
5
With Kavanaugh pushed into office the Ruspublicans now think they have legitimacy for their take over of the government. Kavanaugh`s outburst was claimed to be a righteous emotional response to an unwarranted attack on his integrity when it was a premeditated attack used to deflect the truth. Now we have 5 ultra partisan members, I can`t call them Justices, of the Ruspublican Party ready to spew whatever legalese needed to back up the transition to a single party system designed to provide and serve the international Oligarchs. All you have to do is follow the Ivanka and Russian Oligarchs party and plot for profit, the new international Aristocracy.
2
Paul is 100% correct. Normal America underestimated trump and pals in 2016 and look what happened. This supreme court act is a great example. OK so you want a right leaning judge however this guy? the good old boys club just keeps on growing. We must get out and vote DEM next month.
6
Glad you're finally waking up Paul! Those of us who saw this coming urged you to get behind Bernie and the new wave. But you doggedly stuck with Hillary. Thanks.
4
@Steve: Paul’s waking up? When are you fantasists going to wake up to the fact that Sander’s phony campaign promises suckered the politically clueless, divided the Democratic Party, and brought on Trump’s election. The totally unelectable Sanders and his clueless band were and are Trump’s dream allies.
The time to be afraid started when we elected Ronald Reagan in 1980. The time to be disgusted began when the Supreme Court handed the election to George W. Bush. Now, unless enough people vote to toss the GOP out of office, it's a matter of time and how much power the GOP can accumulate through intimidation, lies, and abuse. Too many people believe the lies spread by the GOP and too few are willing to look at what the GOP is doing to them to undermine their quest for better lives for themselves and their children.
The Democrats have not helped themselves. In fact both parties have contributed to the decrease in living standards in America by favoring corporations over citizens. In fact, in America there doesn't seem to be a place for the average citizen. We know who we are. We're the ones who do not own stock, who were not born on third base, who cannot afford to be in need of more than a brief visit to our doctors, who know that our next paycheck can be our last, and who worry because there is no social safety net in place that will keep us going if we can't work for any reason.
But we continued to elect people like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, George W. Bush, and Ted Cruz to national office. We believed the lies about tax cuts and welfare queens. We never thought our country would turn on us. Guess what, it did and that was the plan all along.
7
"What we’ve learned in the past few weeks is that there is no gap between Trump and his party, nobody who will say stop in the name of American values." Yes, Krugman hits the nail on the head.
The few Republicans who speak -- Susan Collins, Brett Stephens, Flake, even Gerson -- only speak out on an issue here or there, but then backtrack to support their usual bad policies when it comes to a vote or to public support. Even David Brooks supported Kavanaugh ("They fall into predictable party-line formation and then invent post-hoc, bad-faith rationalizations to give cover to their ideologically driven positions --Drank too much! Bad temperament! Bad yearbook entry!" -- that is, give him a break, and both sides are equally wrong).
Krugman is right, but does not go far enough. These people are worse than authoritarian. How worse? Just think of their leader; Yuck! No pretense even of being respectable. And then think of Obama and what we might be able to accomplish as a nation if we had more leaders like him and a Congress willing to work with him or her.
11
Perhaps, as a first step to accepting the reality of this nation today, we should simply agree to discontinue to use the nomenclature of the "Republican Party." That entity no longer exists as we once knew it. It is now the "Trump Party." And with that, all associated entities should change as well. Jettison the "RNC" and replace it with the "TNC." Retire the "R" designation and replace it with a "T."
Since this group wildly adores their "Dear Leader," I can't think of a more fitting tribute they could bestow upon him. And, if we're lucky, this new party will go the same way as Trump Airlines, Trump University and Trump marriages.
8
According to Trump backed up by Mitch McConnell et al., protesting is a profession. I submit that under Trump and the Republicans lying has become a profession. Lying to Congress used to be a felony, no longer. Lying on the Senate floor has become routine.
9
It’s time for Democrats to start putting out their own stories.They don’t even have to be crazy conspiracies,the Republican plans are crazy enough.”The Republican plan to take away your right to use birth control”....this sort of thing.Simple stories rather than detailed responses to Trump’s lies are what the electorate needs to hear.Stop analyzing Trump....go after him and his enablers.Simple, outraged statements.Right now I don’t see any Democratic candidates capable of this kind of rhetoric.I listened to Kamala Harris last night....too many big words.The new politics requires us to get simple and loud.Without that,the media won’t cover our candidates and we’ll lose once again.
8
@Iamcynic1 ------ 100%!!!
The Kavanaugh confirmation has revealed an obvious contempt for what is good and true and an equally obvious delight in the exercise of raw political power by two of the three branches of our national government. Is it not time to recognize this government for what it is: a fascist dictatorship?
8
The Republicans have used gerrymandering, voter suppression, they have bullied, encouraged racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia and sold out and divided this country for votes and power. They embraced an uninformed vulgarian who is a hector to lead their Party to electoral college victory in the 2016 election with a little help from his friends in Russia. With the Supreme Court now secured for generations to come, they are in control of this country. To quote Omar Khayyám: "The moving finger writes, and having written moves on. Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit, can cancel a line of it".
250
@Diana -- which means that we Dems MUST win in November. GET OUT AND VOTE...
1
@Diana
I don't agree that there's nothing we can do to reverse their control of this country, which Diana implies at the end. We can
try to stay informed about the not-so-visible undercurrents by checking Politicco, Buss Feed, etc. and then taking action, obviously by voting, campaigning, speaking out.
It also helps to remember our history; we've had greater divisions during the Civil War, for example, which still motivate some people today. We've had significant influxes of immigrants since the 1800's -- the Germans, then the Irish,
then the Italians, and some of us may remember the often
vicious attitudes toward them.
We need to never forget the basic ideals of this country and
get out and fight for them, tooth and nail, and never stop fighting.
Diana: "Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it."
But the next line is not yet writ. VOTE. Organize.
1
Right you are. The Republicans do not care for what the country needs or the majority wants, just what they want -- their guns, their morality, their money, their laws, their news, their wars, their land, their air, their health, their culture. An authoritarian like Trump can deliver all this by eliminating pesky impediments like gun control, reproductive rights, fair taxation, diverse judiciary, independent press, nature preservation, climate change controls, universal healthcare, and multiculturalism. He has already started on their behalf. If the rest of us do not stop them using the last vestige of democracy, the elections, we are done and dusted.
414
@JJ
What those people don't realize is that if Trump, or someone like him, were to seize power a lot of those rights would disappear. A tyrant can't have guns out there floating around and the the first time the evangelicals opposed him their favor would disappear.
@JJ "... their guns, their IMmorality, ..." Fixed that.
@JJ
You can be sure that if the "Base" ever catches on to the fact that most of them will be victims of the incipient oligarchy just as much as the hated "Libs," gun rights, somehow will also disappear.
In waiting? They may have not taken up arms against citizens or shut down newspapers, but they have established dominance over our political lives. And they have been systematatically dismantling whatever they don´t like, regardless of the pain to citizens except the rich perhaps, to the country, to the planet. They don´t even need force. They don´t need a majority. They just keep taking what they want and leaving the mess for us. I wish some of them could be sentenced to live in a poor neighborhood on a poor person's salary. I wish some of them could be compelled to clean up a horrible oil spill, or drink the water which has been polluted by the wastes of fracking or turned down at a job because of color. I could go on....
568
Their paranoia is just a ruse they use to either sow doubt or rouse their loyalists. None of the guys holding the real power actually believes it, but as long as enough of the constituency believes it, it is a useful tool. They only believe in money and power and it is obvious ,has been obvious for decades, they have no bottoms to which to sink. The ends justify the means. Although admirable, the high road has no meaning, or untility with these guys. Often a punch in the nose is the only thing some people understand. The Democrats sure could use a guy like Larry Flynt again. Or billboards with Daniels,McDougal, and all the other women il douce accosted or paid off. I was actually surprised,and still am, that all candidates aren't using the gop debate tapes against all the candidates. I am surprised that barely a mention was made of the "Central Park Five " was made when the self righteous reoublicans were blathering about "innocense until proven guilty" nonsense. The Democrats need to get down in the dirt.
7
@Tim Lynch: The Republicans have already snapped up all the most talented pernicious dirt-bags in the US with a political bent.
1
Attempts to delegitimize your opponents are the central tactics in all political fights. Truth may occasionally intrude upon these arguments but well-spun fantasy is the more typical fusillade launched to gain political advantage and to rouse one's partisans. The one-off complaints of Kavanaugh and Grassley in the heat of a vicious conformation battle hardly rise to the level of sustained fantasy and paranoia that Hofstadter's piece richly documents. As for the proposition that the GOP is an authoritarian regime in waiting this seems merely rhetoric (of the same type you criticize) meant to delegitimize your opponents and to appeal in the same way to like-minded partisans.
46
@Frunobulax What you say may or may not be true, but there are millions of citizens who will hear the kind of accusatory language coming out of the Republicans' mouths and not hear it as typical political hyperbole, but will hear it as truth.
1
@Frunobulax
Yes, there are fine people on both sides.
BTW, Is that smoke that I'm smelling from the Colesseum? Never mind. Do you know Boil 'em Cabbage Down, Frunobulax?
1
@Frunobulax for evidence of the paranoia you seek, read the article: "About that conspiracy theorizing: It began in the first moments of Kavanaugh’s testimony, when he attributed his problems to “a calculated and orchestrated political hit” motivated by people seeking “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” Hofstadter would approve this example.
My grandparents did not get out of Poland in time; my father and his uncle did. What country will take American refugees running from American Fascism? Not a rhetorical question: I'd like to know, for the sake of my children.
877
@Steve I was just thinking about writing to some kind of government agency in Quebec, about how one goes about becoming a Canadian citizen. Then again, I have relatives in Norway, perhaps that could be an alternative. I have never really considered this kind of move before.
1
@Steve: Rich people who can bring lots of money have the most options, just as was the case as fascism metastasized across Europe between the world wars.
1
@Steve I've looked and looked for an alternative, but found no country that will take us, unless it is a failed state type. In some cases, being a rocket scientist type might work. Also being filthy rich seems to work. In addition, finances become a big issue. If you keep your American citizenship, you pay American taxes. If you drop your citizenship, you then have issues with Social Security (gone if you're retired), pensions, and IRAs.
So I'm with you: if anyone knows how to immigrate successfully, please let us know.
I used to wonder why people, especially Jewish people, in 1930s Germany, did not leave. Now I get it. I totally get it.
2
It's been clear for a minute that the Republican leadership will not save us from Trumpism and its authoritarian strain. The answer lies in the ballot. When it is all said and done, we, as a people, get the government we deserve. Let's go out in droves and reclaim our country.
8
@Latif: Too many of us simply never matter simply for living in the wrong places. The whole deck is stacked in this fakest of all pretenses of democracies,
2
Dr. Krugman: Another timely, insightful column, for which I thank you. I'm glad you mention the late Richard Hofstadter, whose essay and books are well worth reading in our present crisis. I often wonder what Hofstadter, from his perch at Columbia U., would think of today's America and this horrible GOP regime that imposes such criminal activity on the American people, whose only intent is to loot the treasury and destroy lives.
5
"Republicans are an authoritarian regime in waiting"
In waiting? I'd say that controlling all three branches of our government means that they aren't waiting for anything.
The parallels to the rise of European Fascism in the 1920s, '30s, and into the '40s when it was apparently only forced underground 'til its world-wide resurrection in recent days, are truly frightening.
The reality show that is the Trump administration and it's supporters remind me of nothing so much as a bad re-write of "The Producers." It is a grift and a con on a national scale. At least that guy in Deutschland actually did put the coal miners back to work .
5
@Richard Green: They've been waiting for the control of the federal judiciary they are now consolidating.
1
@Steve Bolger Seems that their wait is over. I do wonder if Roberts is enough of an institutionalist to at least control some of apparatchik Kavanaugh's worst impulses. Unfortunately, I have little hope. This particular set of "umpires" has a strike zone that only allows for an "outside" call to the left of the plate ...
People seem unmotivated by fear.
Apparently not by fear of impending lock-step Fascism or climate catastrophe, anyway. If fear won’t get people moving to the polls, what will motivate them? A good question for an Economist to ponder in their next column?
3
@Paul: I will vote knowing it won't have any relevance or impact whatsoever.
1
And let's not miss one of the real shockers in this mess. Former Justice (injustice) Kennedy was essentially bought and paid for. Justin Kennedy (the judge's son) signed off on a billion in loans from Deutsche Bank (a well known source of laundered money) to dump. If anyone should believe in conspiracies it's the dems and independents. The GOP took control of all institutions and systematically disenfranchised many of us.
7
The United States has been clearly hijacked by hardened enemies of democracy. And unfortunately there are absolutely no foreign allies possessing the political weight to do anything to bring Americans back to their senses. The world is in big trouble.
5
Who's waiting to be dictators, republicans (Note not capitalized)? They have subverted every possible good to their acquisition of power. It is not even done with subterfuge any longer. McConnell just said publicly he would seriously consider a supreme court pick in 2020. This statement after the hypocrisy of blockading Obama federal judges and Merrick Garland! Vote November 2018.
7
It seems at every “rally’ we see Trump with an angry crowd behind him. The angry mob yells: Crucify him (her), Crucify him, crucify him.
It is Hilary or John McCain, or Dr Ford. Each week like Pontus Pilate he puts someone on the cross for the angry mob and his Rebulican Party lackeys to execute.
Progressive Chistians are standing up now. We can no longer be silent. Glad to see a group of them on a Bus Tour to promote democratic candidates in swing districts. I have for the first time gone door to door to get out the vote in a swing district near me.
Hope that other Christians who have been embarrassed to say that they are social activists because of their faith can join our voices to take back our faith while doing good works for “the least of these”
8
Krugman suggests that we all be terrified. On the environment, I would agree. Naked partisanship though it was to place Kavanaugh on the Court, Krugman's cries are equally partisan in the opposite direction. In fact suggesting you be terrified! Perhaps he should have added "...if you're a member of the liberal fringe."
1
Don’t you realize that it is the GOP that is going to cause the ruin of the environment? You really do need to be terrified my friend.
Unfavorable election results will be challenged by Trump. He'd sooner destroy our Democracy and incite a civil war than be defeated. His ego hurts that badly.
This could be our last chance for the public to assert itself. Think Germany 1932.
Or perhaps we are at the dawn of a great awakening under his magnificent leadership....
6
Haven't doubted for years that the GOP is aiming for their own '1000 Year Reich.' And will do whatever it takes. If they lose this November they're likely to declare election fraud (they'll have some pre-rigged proof somewhere) and seize power outright (national emergency anyone?). Or, perhaps wait until 2020 ... not sure. One thing certain: Trump will never leave office as long as he's breathing (notwithstanding the 2-term amendment). And however they do it, SCOTUS will endorse it. As will the FBI, the military and every police department in the country. Because we already know where they stand.
3
I do think we are closer to totalitarianism than many think.
And we may not be able to rely on what may even be a likely blue wave taking over the House in a month. There are, unfortunately, too many ways to hack an election in which far too many precincts have no verifiable, auditable paper trail of votes. And, as others here have mentioned, even if the results do turn the House blue, Trump and company may well refuse to accept that and say there were "voting irregularities" that bear suspending the election results. And, of course, you know most of his supporters and the Republicans would go along with that.
I have been writing about two things almost continuously the last few weeks:
We may want to start our best minds on an assignment to draw up a plan for a peaceful partition of the US into several independent states--it's very hard to see us staying together, and easy to see a Civil War II, with very confusing fronts and guerrilla actions, as it's not just a red state/blue state divide, with no safe enclaves. And no one would profit from that except the oligarchic weapons manufacturers.
And, if we truly want to fight for our right to live in a more progressive environment, the more comfortable may just have to risk more-- including their property, their limbs, and lives. We need to absorb the lessons of the civil rights and anti-war protesters and put our bodies where our mouths are. People may get hurt. Some may die. But better than Civil War II.
7
@Glenn Ribotsky: a "peaceful partition of the US into several independent states": I would suggest that we have been headed toward a regional form of federalism and away from a federation-of-states structure for some time. This change may be achievable without a bloody revolution. Red multi-state regions and blue multi-state regions (5-6) already exist on most political and social issues, as well as on priorities given to governmental responsibilities such as education, health care, worker-industry protection/regulation, and the environment. Is it time to restructure, peacefully if possible, for the sake of more harmony and less divisivness?
1
The answer to what to do about Trump can be found with the whole of Republican voters - or at least to those who are paying attention.
The strong Republican enclaves of New Canaan, Darien, Wilton, and Greenwich here in CT. all voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Thus well-educated, well-off, and well-informed Republicans - in the privacy of the voting booth - made the sensible decision to choose Clinton over Trump.
Such a scenario could happen anywhere.
What is needed is a STRONG MESSAGE conveyed to the GOP that enough is enough.
A simple and meaningful solution is for all well-informed Republicans of good conscience to change their political registration as Republican to Democrat.
Or register as an Independent, depending on strength of conviction.
(Independents should consider becoming Democrats.)
Perform this simple but meaningful maneuver and do it now before the November elections.
Later on (post Trump) register again to whatever is preferred.
Or become an Independent.
It is all a matter of choice based on prevailing circumstances.
But this time around Trump must be crippled.
Put the threat of your vote where your good sense, your conscience, and your heart happen to be.
Send the GOP and the Trump Administration a message that even they can understand.
Enough is enough.
Patriotism can take many forms and can be effective through simple acts of protest.
Change your registration today.
11
This thing seems to have a life of its own. It feels unstoppable. Lemmings in a herd racing to the edge.
Trump is a master at manipulation. The soil of fear and loathing out of which he grows has been composting for decades. Deregulation of the media has allowed the steady drumbeat of intolerance and belittlement to mascaraed as news. The internet has allowed it to metastasize.
If the vast majority can't see through his game, fail to grasp the grave danger to our way of life, fail to repudiate his way in the election then perhaps we deserve the terrible results he will surely deliver.
9
@Nathan Jay Trump got the White House with just under 46% of the popular vote and many people were voting against Hillary rather than for Trump. Nearly 11 million more people in total voted against Trump than voted for him. His diehard supporters represent a minority within the minority. Do not despair, at least not completely. We shall rise from this better than before.
1
The GOP isn’t an authoritarian party in waiting, it’s an authoritarian government in practice. It’s myriad “dark state” conspiracies, it’s actual actions in congress and it’s leader and practiced authoritarian in Trump has it operating and fully functional at this very moment. What is truly frightening though it that 30-40% of this nation are fully behind this sort of focused authoritarian leadership. It’s exactly what they desire to see their government...the more necks that are stepped on the better from their point of view.
14
@Coastal Existentialist.... "point of view" attributes to them more rationality than they possess. Identification with a bully in chief is a gut-level instinct. Observe the faces of the crowds at Trump rallies. They enjoy his beating up on women, immigrants, Democrats, the press, any and all who can be construed as opponents.
The explanation is psychoanalytic. As long as that 30-40% derive gratification from cheering on their "authority figure," the national neurosis will strengthen, and the oppression will increase. The resistance must increase more quickly: Vote....
I love taylor swifts music 2500 percent more!
8
Let's not forget the real culprit: The GOP base. They are the oxygen that fuels the GOP's authoritarian in waiting regime. They not only accept, but insist on, war against everyone who is not on their side
The GOP behaves the way they do because their base demands it.
16
I couldn't agree more. Mitch Mconnell is as terrifyingly evil as mr trump. The presidency and the supreme court are equally partisan. There are no longer any checks and balances on the power of the presidency and he is shamelessly supported by senators in his party without regard for morality or ethics.
Mark my words, if the current president wins a second term he will fight for a third term and win.
18
@phoebe. A Democratic House and Senate would supply the Constitutionally provided checks on the power of both the executive and SCOTUS. Vote...
The simple truth of this column will deeply annoy the power-hungry reprobates of this country’s right wing party.
Let them be annoyed.
Let them enjoy their absolute power, all the while blaming the powerless for the nation’s problems.
Let them try to destroy the country with their power, as it is their blind requirement to do.
And let them know that eventually, at some point in the not too distant future, democracy will make a stand.
And when it does, the world will eagerly await the outcome of the crisis.
4
The question for too many Americans these days is, do we go with brown shirts and armbands, or basic fascist black? If things continue as they are, that may be the only thing we'll get to choose.
16
Remember the electioneering catch of phrase when Clinton was POTUS? 'It's the economy, stupid!' Unfortunately, those were the good old days. Until and unless the Democrats change just one word in that, things will lead to Krugman's awful prediction.
"It's the psychology, stupid!"
4
Trumps has not sent Ms Clinton to Guatanomo, Erdogan style, at least not yet. And he his not planning to promote coal for extermination camps.
But "remember Germany". The German business and "elite", thought they could tame Hitler into reason. And the German people folowed Hitler blindly into catastrophy, believing his "deutchaland uber alles". Sounds familiar?
Let us hope that only economic and social disasters for almost all americans, exept the "1 %", will be the only consquences of the Republican party and its electors "policy" will bring to the US, and not a third world war.
The first one was supposqed to be the "last war".
It did not happen. But a third world war will certainly be the last with the destruction of the world as we know it.
People of all countries, may not get" united" as per the communists slogan , but they sure should beware and act before it's to late.
People, especially the Republican politicians and their supporters...
7
It is time for states and/or regions of the country to seek a peaceful separation from one another while maintaining economic ties through free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. If some portion of the country wants to live in the 1850s or the 1950s, so be it. Just don't take the rest of us with you. There needs to be serious discussion of this option. Ah but I repeat myself from prior posts.
11
@Lucien Dhooge And how do you think Atlanta's going to go in that split? People shouldn't have to choose between their homes and the rule of law.
Trump is a parody of Mussolini
16
@Ben Daniele Alas, a dangerous parody.
1
For all you Krugman supporters, remember he was the guy who predicted the fall of the stock market if Trump was elected.
2
@Greatnfi: “Krugman supporters.” What an interesting phrase. I dare say most of NYT subscribers are Krugman readers, some of whom frequently find his writing to be incisive and informative. As for financial predictions, my theory is that the market was understandably nervous about the advent of a chaos president who ran on wildly impractical campaign promises. But when it soon became obvious that this administration would deliver nothing but standard pro-corporatist, pro-wealth Republican policies along with its rabble-rousing rants, the market calmed down and continued the growth started in the Obama years.
@Barbara OK Krugman readers. Still, he was WRONG. And the sky is not falling.
I wish Democrats had focused most on Kavanaugh’s partisanship and temperament, both black and white reasons for disqualifying his nomination. For too many people the allegations of sexual assault were always going to be an unprovable gray area, and it gave them an easy out and may lead to a Republican surge at the polls..
13
I’m terrified of what will happen if the Democrats don’t retake Congress in November, and just as terrified of what may happen if they do, and Mueller brings indictments against the Trump kids and the Trump organization and names Trump as an unindicted coconspirator (he’s a by-the-book guy—he won’t indict a sitting president). Trump denounces it as an attempted coup, fires everyone involved, arrests those who resist, and declares a national emergency that requires the suspension of Congress and blocks the installation of the Democratic majority. McConnell & Co.support it, the Roberts-Kavanaugh Court ratifies it as a legitimate use of executive power, and we’re off to the authoritarian races. Paranoid fantasy? I hope. I have no doubt that Trump would want to do it—the question is who would have the guts to stop him if he tried?
12
The Republican Party has made a pact with the devil. They know that Trump wants to be a dictator but have cynically figured that in a dictatorship you don't need two parties to ram legislation through. If they support him they can get rid of the Democrats. Who needs a democracy when you can stay in power permanently with a one-party system? Rather than expand their base to be more inclusive in the face of changing demographics, they have circled the wagons and embarked on a program of white minority rule. Trump is key to realizing this ambition, and the Kochs and their cronies will bankroll it. So they will go along with him. In the end, Trump may be dispensable, but by then they will have realized their ambitions.
6
What I will never understand is how the men and women of the republican party are now in complete lockstep with your president. It is beyond me that all but a few, (rarely, and on their way out the door) have stood up to him based on moral ground alone. I suppose the obvious answer is when you have a morally bankrupt president, (who has rabid followers) it may be best to stay silent and ride the economic wave. I have thought for sometime that those republicans in office in Washington are in fear of their president, but have an even greater fear of crossing their (now Trump's) constituents. Nothing is theirs anymore, it all belongs to Trumps now, so they must mimic him or get out of politics all together, it's do or die.
So, it will be left to the voters to turn this around, but if there is no sense of urgency, or if they do not see the real threat to your democracy, then I wonder if there is a way back.
5
Michelle Obama was excoriated when she famously declared during her husband's presidential campaign that "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Her comment, at once understandable but inartful and even inflammatory in some respects, was held up as being un-American.
Now, Donald Trump has turned hope into a four-letter word. While doing so, he has demonized those who would appeal to our better angels, while his own party and supporters dance the stomp with the devil.
All the while, Trump traffics in conspiracy theories, outlandish though they may be. The one conspiracy that is credible, however, is his own effort, aided and abetted by his cynical and self-interested party and blind-eyed evangelicals, to deprive Americans of long fought for rights that have heretofore been taken as a given.
Donald Trump has, indeed, turned up the dial on paranoia in this country. Stacking the court, controlling both houses of Congress, and turning the White House into the playpen of an angry, small-handed, emotionally vindictive child, provides more than ample justification for the paranoia.
With all three branches of government buying into and turning their own blind eye toward Trump's paranoid conspiracy theories, decent Americans who treasure their hard-fought-for rights are entitled to a little paranoia of their own. After all, even paranoids have real enemies.
8
The best thing we can do, a week before mail in ballots arrive, is BEFRIEND our relatives that are Republican, our neighbors with oversized flags on their porches. If they stay wrapped up in their digital cocoon, they can fantasize about the rest of us. If we offer them a cup of coffee, it takes out the venom spewed online. Make sure that cousin, that grandparent, that neighbor on the corner knows you are a nice person, and they will be much less likely to vote. Beyond that, make sure those around you actually fill out their ballots, drop off their ballots in the free collection places, or put stamps on them and get them in the mail. Take your nice to lunch, and tell her to bring her ballot. Vote.
2
The prepositional phrase, “in waiting,” in the title of this essay is not accurate. The Republicans are an authoritarian regime right now in real time. We are unsure what other evidence you need to clearly identify what is exactly happening.
13
Ironically, this column reads like a conspiracy theory.
Does it define a grave threat to your security, and imply that action must be taken against those whose beliefs are anathema to your own?
Does it warn of dire consequences if those who would oppress you are allowed to continue unabated?
Does it ask you to be very afraid, not only for your personal safety but indeed for that of the very fabric of society?
I hope this is a reassuring thought: what Trump lacks --- what every one of his political allies lacks but which every authoritarian regime absolutely requires in order to seize total power --- is the wholesale backing, support, and loyalty of the military.
Absolutely none of our military's leaders, let alone those on the cabinet, support this assclown who has temporarily and *legitimately* occupied the White House. We can all feel relieved that Trump utterly lacks the strategic thinking, long range vision, and nuanced ability to negotiate and compromise that would be required to pull off an actual coup in our country.
His time will end, in 2 years or 6, and we will move on, and eventually this will all be yet another blip in the history of our young and still-evolving nation. Some things will have changed for the better, some for the worse, and we will continue to do that slow, 3-steps-forward-2-steps-back dance of cultural evolution that will, generation by generation, slowly inch towards greater well being for all.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
3
@Gregory Of course T can replace all of these who disagree with him, he's the C in C.
1
So I suppose, ultimately, this means war. But let's start out with voting, the least violent and most legitimate of our options.
5
I thought one of the more interesting responses to Brett Kavanaugh's nomination process came from Senator Susan Collins: she always seems to position herself in the ambivalent zone when controversial issues arise, and quickly becomes the center of attention - like Murkowski, or Rand Paul - because they may (in theory) withhold the one vote necessary to accomplish the Republican goal of eliminating Obamacare, or confirming Brett Kavanaugh, or whatever.
She's Miss "Will I, Won't I," and it's so much fun to be getting so much attention. And she's so sober, so responsible, a voice of reason in the partisan snake-pit of the Republican Senate.
But her performance on the Kavanaugh thing was the height of her dissembling art. She skillfully performed her usual dog-and-pony act: "Oh, it's so important women who have been sexually assaulted speak out, and we must listen to them" (But in the end, I don't take them seriously on the Kavanaugh issue.)
"I did go through the motions of being a politically-correct women's advocate for dramatic purposes. And then I voted Kavanaugh into the Supreme Court for the next 35 years based on some unsupportable Catch 22 premise that allows me to be a loyal Republican stooge. Ain't I just the cutest little dickens in the Senate!"
8
Republicans have always been in it for the long game. Every president leading up to Trump has been nothing more than a purposeful tool on the road to an authoritarian regime. In Trump, they see certain and complete victory. The incompetence of Democrats in fighting them is staggering.
5
What might an "authoritarian" Trump-molded GOP look like? How about Jeff Sessions, eager to be readmitted to the inner circle, triggering a federal attack on pseudo-legal marijuana markets? The legalization states are all Democratic strongholds. What candidates do the pot businessmen contribute to? Maybe they'll be a little short of cash by 2020. Pot supporters, of course, could appeal... all the way to the Supreme Court, heh, heh. And like Reagan and the air-traffic controllers, quashing this drug advocacy would set a tone. And maybe a vast expansion of anti-drug, loyalty-pledged DEA agents? Or, to save
money, might there be a role for volunteers?
Trump could be stopped in his tracks by a blue wave in less than a month. His soap-opera, circus, tilt-a-whirl Presidency has revealed a lot of problems afflicting American democracy. Chief among them is a democracy where a majority often vote not to vote. "They're all the same."
3
I worry more what Trump & his clan will do if/when the election results on Nov 6 will give control of one or both houses of Congress to the Democratic Party.
Will he try to delegitimize those results?
Claims are already being aired that the Chinese are meddling on behalf of the Democrats. Watch for those claims to be front and center, and eventually, claims that Democratic victories are suspect.
Always accuse your opposition of the things you are guilty of.
5
The admonition is exactly right --we need to focus on the immediate meaning of the Kavanaugh confirmation. The analysis is persuasive—the Republican response was frightening because it shows all the hallmarks of authoritarianism. But the conclusion misses the point. We should worry not about what happens if the Republicans win the midterms, but rather if the Democrats win. The confirmation hearings demonstrated that the Republican goal is only about winning power, regardless of the costs to the nation, and they are willing to use authoritarian tools to accomplish this. If the Democrats win, Republicans will not accept losing. This is not a conspiracy theory—it’s a simple and logical observation, based on the evidence laid out here. We should ask now what we will do then.
8
Man, I wish someone was paying me to protest.
I wouldn't be so broke.
Doing this on my own dime, thx.
17
I have often written, publicly, regarding truth, as I observe it to be, both politically and spiritually.
Yesterday, a military-like helicopter, with two cycling overhead “wings” on either end of its long metal torso, flew very close to my home (and close to other homes nearby). This helicopter, with its red and green lights flashing, stayed over homes in my cul de sac for approximately 20 minutes. This happened twice yesterday - once in the afternoon about 4 p.m. and, once again, last evening about 9:00 p.m. My neighbors and I shared our observations by text. We were wondering
what had precipitated the actions of this helicopter, which we thought to be "strange.”
I called the local police who knew nothing about this event. I called a local TV station and that person, likewise, knew nothing about the helicopter. I researched online under the word “helicopters” for one that looked similar to the one I had observed.
That kind of helicopter is, evidently, used by the U. S. military. I do not presume to know what had generated that unusual event twice yesterday above ourhomes, but its occurrences left my neighbors, and myself, unnerved.
If we, as American citizens, forfeit our First Amendment freedom to express publicly what we perceive to be truth because of fear of military retribution, then God help what America has become. It is my belief that only the Holy Spirit can redeem our souls and our once great nation.
3
@Elizabeth Hartley Filliat, it has long been my belief that God provides the signs but we provide the legs. We must see the signs and move in their direction. The signs I see are excruciatingly bright LEDs demanding action to preserve our country and, by extension, the world. We are indeed on the precipice of fascism, one shaky step from toppling over, and must act now to try to stop it in any way we can. As 12-step folks know, half steps avail us nothing. (Proof: Jeff Flake at the Kavanaugh whitewash - if he had taken the full measure of courage, he would have voted then and there to never let Kavanaugh's nomination out of committee.)
The Trumpists will try to overwhelm and/or undermine the election on 11/6. We must unite immediately and vigorously to prevent that. Pray? OK, if that works for you, but then take action like our country's survival depends on it. Work for the good guys, then vote Democratic and only Democratic this year. These are the signs the God of my understanding is showing me. I am following them.
"He attacks the news media as enemies of the people."
He might just as well use the term, "enemy of the state," which is often the expression used by leaders of authoritarian regimes.
8
For some time, I've been warning and writing that right-wing parties in democracies are twisting the machinery of democracy to undermine and eventually destroy democracy, morphing it into a majoritarian ethno-nationist state with little or no protections for minorities and little to no respect for the rule of law when the law gets in the way of their agenda. I call this phenomenon (small-d) democratic fascism, and it is a worldwide movement led by Putin and, perhaps, now also Trump to a lesser degree. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/welcome-era-rising-democratic-fascism-i-d...
14
@Brian Frydenborg, not a new phenomenon. Hitler was elected initially, too.
I am terrified about where we are in the present. To some extent I blame the American education system. Trump and his supporters have built a world outlook based on ignorance, xenophobia, racism, greed and paranoia, which could have been prevented if they had had a good education .
12
This truly chilling (and right on the mark) column makes me very fearful about the future. And my question is, where are the strong voices of Democrats who will stand up for all Americans disgusted by the shameful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh? What's so disgraceful about the dominance of Republicans right now is that they only represent about 19% of the American population--but want to rule, not represent the other 81%.
Are we such a lazy people that so many of us can't make the effort to vote? It is critical that voters get out on election day and make their wishes known--otherwise, we are going to regret it for the rest of our lives!
9
I think you haven't listened to Hillary Clinton very often about the great right wing conspiracy. Oh, and how is Enron doing?
1
I recall that, during the Bush II administration, top GOP leaders openly stated that their goal was to systematically reduce the ability of the Democratic Party to be a meaningful political force and create an environment where the Republicans would be the permanent majority party. I admit I am paraphrasing, here, but the jist of it was exactly what Dr. Krugman has stated. The 2006 mid-terms and the election of Barack Obama were detours in a path intended to accomplish one party rule.
The only thing that is surprising, or perhaps it isn’t, is that the leader that seems to be accomplishing it the quickest is a chiseling, silver-spoon trust baby who has consistently over hyped, over-promised and under delivered for his entire business career.
The two great motivators in American history can be roughly summarized as “God” and “greed.” Religious freedom motivated the settlement of New England; the chance to strike it rich motivated the settlement of Jamestown. The two motivators have come together in this time cataclysmically. The uncompromising drive of the wealthy class to make and keep everything they can lay their hands on, combined with the obsessive hypocrisy of the Religious Right in substituting political gain for biblical compassion in language and actions that would leave Jesus weeping over the city, has created the new Republican Party.
And I weep for the American Experiment. And, yes, I’ll vote next month.
12
Bravo, Professor Krugman! And thank you.
7
If we forget that many GOP voters are biblical fundamentalists we miss a key point. Fundamentalists think in binary terms and see the world as a scary place that will be healed only through an angry God's intervention. Nuance is beyond someone who thinks this way. Krugman is onto something but if there is no serious focus on the psychology of fundamentalism, we don't have a thorough exploration.
10
In waiting?
My 11-year old neice tonight recited Emma Lazarus' poem and I wept.
My country champions dictators. It supports rule by torture and warfare aimed at civilians if its leaders fete the Trump family.
My country leads the destruction of the environment for which it will be blamed in years to come as millions suffer, die, lose their homes and endure famine and war brought by climate change encouraged by us.
My country's leaders abhor democracy, cheer minority rule and repress voters and subvert democracy for personal gain. The Republicans revel, they actually celebrate a minority imposing laws, the repeal of legal and environmental protections and Supreme Court Justices against the will of the majority of Americans .
My country's "conservative" leaders bankrupt the country for small, short-term gains.
My country separates families and casts blame on immigrants and refugees.
The greatest country in the world does not even pretend to champion freedom, democracy, the will of the people or the health of the planet. What stupidity to spend such hard earned honor and the trust of the world for a few oligarchs.
13
Trump and his Republican party need to portray their corruption as a war against anything that short-circuits rationality and relies on delusion expressed as moral righteousness. It smells like paranoia but it's really just more distraction by distress and duress.
Sociology conspires against progressives when it comes to political intensity whereas Republicans have the bully gene critical to petty tyranny.
Progressives are multi-cultural, democratic, inclusive, informed, consensual, egalitarian, and complex. We have 25 generals.
Republicans are patriarchal, rigid, conforming, homogenous, fear-ridden, predatory, xenophobic, racist, punitive and simple. They have 1 general.
In a word, progressives fetishize purity, Republicans thrive on hypocrisy.
The right wants power to expand and shield its privilege and wealth. It's the rule of, by and for the rich. They win because of their faux rage, absolute certainty and wilful suspension of disbelief.
Progressives lose because we live real lives, see all sides, tolerate ambiguity and tend to optimistic complacency.
Their easy button is single-minded selfishness. What we have is a rubik's cube of diversity and difference. They like hollow point bullets. We prefer untampered ballots. They win when others lose. We win when everyone does.
This is more than paranoia. It's public health crisis, an outbreak of Republican virus that's resistant to remedy because of mutated Trump cells.
Get your blue shot before November.
9
"When people on the political fringe blame shadowy forces — often, as it happens, sinister Jewish financiers — for their frustrations, you can write it off as delusional."
But this is exactly what has changed in American politics - the fringe in no longer fringe. Fringe opinions didn't used to be widely dissematnied and in fact fringe people often kept to themselves because they knew they would not be tolerated, but might be embarrass a bit. But Fox news, along with the internet, has made fringe beliefs mainstream. The internet is just a tool, but it allowed these fringe people to find each other and develop a community that reinforced, and perhaps even spread, their views. Fox news is much more insidious, because it has actively promoted fringe views and paranoid conspiracies as if they were respectable media topics. Perhaps in the beginning it was just a commercial ploy to play to these interests, but it rapidly became a purveyor of right wing fringe thinking.
6
I agree that one of the most insidious tactics that Trump uses and that the GOP now embraces is the idea of paid protesters. In her shameful speech, Susan Collins also talked about "special interest groups" that immediately opposed the Kavanaugh nomination. Well, the millions of people who recognized Kavanaugh for the terrible political hack that he is and the people who turned out to protest over the weekend are just plain Americans. We don't need to get orders from George Soros or anybody else to try to stop Trump and the Federalist Society from stealing our rights. The good news is I don't think this idiotic tactic works outside the Fox News bubble.
9
Do we have a democratic system? Who controls our government?
Charles Blow, in his Oct. 8 article, “Liberals, This is War,” painted a picture of liberals and conservatives at war within a democratic society. I disagree. This is not a war within a democratic system where liberals and conservatives are matched against each other. It's a war between systems--a democracy in one corner and an oligarchy in the other. The oligarchy has already achieved major victories through its attack on Obamacare; its insertion of trickle-down economics into our tax laws; its anti-unionism (Gorsuch); and the appointment of Kavanaugh (over Garland).
Then, who rules?--not politicians like senator Lindsey Graham. In an October 7 commentary, Frank Bruni—in connection with the Kavanaugh fallout--observes: “His [Graham's] fight for Brett Kavanaugh has completed his transformation into the president’s slobbering manservant.” Bruni suggests that Graham seeks the attorney general job. Regardless, he and a mass of others like him will never join the select group. Among many things, his/their compromise--"slobbering"-- is self-defeating.
With the many articles about rich, white, prep-school, Ivy League boys/men coming out of the Kavanaugh mess--a description of privilege that matches Trump's--I suggest that they offer a guide to the top of his list. Trump favors the group to which he belongs--in short, privileged, rich, conservative, older, white men. They form the oligarchy.
3
We do not and have not had a "conservative" Supreme Court but have a Republican Supreme Court. My only question is when will the media start reporting the truth and calling the court what it is and has been since at least Bush v Gore, the enforcement arm of the Republican party.
7
Krugman writes about Kavanaugh:
"He’s a naked partisan who clearly lied under oath about many aspects of his personal history; that’s as important as, and related to, the question of what he did to Christine Blasey Ford, a question that remains unresolved because the supposed investigation was such a transparent sham."
But in reality we don't know what happened 36 years ago.
One possibility is that Christine Blasey was unpopular as a high school student, so unpopular that she developed psychological problems as a result. Such psychological problems might have caused her to misconstrue an encounter with Brett Kavanaugh. Or perhaps what she remembered involved another one of the popular high school students who may have kept her out of one of the cruel high school cliques.
The passage of time makes memories unreliable. In reality we simply do not know. It may be that the truth is unknowable at this point.
By the way this is a primary reason for statutes of limitations. A few weeks after the events occurred, it might have been possible to sort out what happened.
How is it that Krugman "knows" that Kavanaugh lied under oath.
Let me remind the gentle reader that many convicted of rape have been exonerated after DNA evidence came to light. In these cases, the woman was typically CERTAIN of her assailant.
And if the truth is unknowable, a satisfactory investigation is IMPOSSIBLE no matter how long the vote for confirmation is delayed.
1
@Jake Wagner
So you believe her, but she's wrong? I thought conservatives did not believe Blasey Ford and that they believed she was lying in an effort to torpedo the Kavanaugh nomination.
You're right that there's no proving what happened and that eyewitnesses are often mistaken. It seemed to me she was quite sure what happened and who her assailant was. She knew who Kavanaugh was before the incident and after.
I would have voted against Kavanaugh because he lied about his drinking and showed himself to be partisan and angry in ways that a Supreme Court justice should not be. In other words, I think he torpedoed himself. Fortunately, for him, the GOP was able to muscle him in there anyway.
4
@Jake Wagner - Republican men will keep making such excuses. The key is to understand the women. I hate to say this but it is hard to conclude otherwise: the GOP senators know that their women (the so-called Republican women) would actually condone sexual assault if in return they can get tax breaks and abortion control and kill LGBT rights etc. Perhaps these Republican women might draw the line if it was a provable physical assault on them themselves or on their daughters - but given how these women have been behaving since before the Nineteenth Amendment more than a century ago, I would gainsay they would condone that as well. So, Dems had better give up on trying to persuade these women (including senators like Ms Collins) to become less regressive; for them, there is a biological need to be "put in place" by their fathers and husbands.
@Jake Wagner: Krugman is saying the demonstrably false statements Kavanaugh made about his personal history should not be brushed aside. It is never OK to lie under oath, even about seemingly trivial things. Kavanaugh lied about the meaning of terms used in his yearbook. He lied about his relationship to Renate. Not under oath, but pernicious, he also lied when he claimed “No president has ever consulted more widely . . . to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination.”
This isn’t just a failure of a political party but of our education system to prepare citizens that can recognize, appreciate and respond to these threats to our democracy.
12
Is it being "paid" to be recruited to fly...all expenses paid... from Alaska to DC in order to lobby Murkowski and to urge her to vote against Kavanaugh? Last Friday NPR's "All Things Considered"--certainly not a component of Republican strategy--interviewed an Alaskan woman who was in DC with all expenses paid by the ACLU for just that purpose. She described herself as part of a group being subsidized by the ACLU and jokingly complained that they were required to share hotel rooms with each other.
@JPE
No. The ACLU facilitated assault survivors to plead their case against Kavanaugh to their 'Senator. This seems a far cry from being paid to protest. Lobbying ones representative in the senate is something virtually every interest group does.
@JPE
Was she supported by the ACLU in her desire to protest or was she a mercenary protester, a fighter with no interest in the fight only there for the money?
Are student protesters whose parents still support them 'paid' protesters?
If Trump and the Republicans persuade 35% of the electorate that if Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker then MS13 will take over the streets, then they will win: the 35% will vote and half the remaining 65% won't.
1
Not yet in practice, but well practiced, with no shame or remorse for their offenses against what they perceive to be an existential threat posed by the liberal, heathen blue state. Any self-reflection on their undemocratic means is not in their world view, wiping away safeguards and giving way to extremes. Moderation is not a virtue. Authoritarianism is not a vice. Collusion with Russia and tax cheating are justifiable means of combating blue.
Authoritarians if given full rein are highly deleterious to advanced primate societies overall.
But yes Evolution - blindly but methodically - made ingrained authoritarian oriented individuals! Must be good reason.
We fledgling primates survived better in primitive tough times if they had individuals that instinctively would rally around a "leader" and live and die for the "causes espoused "without question; individuals that were hyper-sensitive to minute differences and hyper-intolerant of them.
Yes nuanced thinking often secondary in primitive very brutal unforgiving environments. Having individuals with ingrained "anger", "paranoia", "irrationality", "intolerance" - whatever you'd call these traits in our animal cousins and our primitive forms - helped primitive primate survival.
So Evolution selected for about 30% of us to be authoritarian oriented over millions of years.
BUT 30% NOT 100% because Biological Evolution "found" that higher ratios quickly diminished survival odds.
And Social Evolution as intellect progressed "found" empathy, compassion, cooperation, diversity, nuanced thinking, tolerance ultimately advanced species' survival rates.
It "found" authoritarians in control devastating in long run - we need to heed!
The GOP is an authoritarian plutocratic enterprise. It is existentially dangerous to social modernity and our survival.
The D Party is imperfect but NOT existentially dangerous. It is the only existentially right choice today.
1
So true. It's just a matter of time, particularly under pressure from the current investigations, to impose some sort of Trumpian Regime. He will use the powers of Presidency to single out enemies and recruit roughnecks to intimidate the remaining democracy-leaning public. Who will stop them? Hopefully we will by voting in Democrats in November. Otherwise, we better be armed and ready.
Our greatest weakness is the belief "it couldn't happen here". Yes, it can.
2
Let's begin with the simple premise that Trump is the criminal that he seems to be. Then consider that the Republican Party has fallen in behind him and is prepared to follow him wherever he leads. Finally, remember that Trump's criminal activities are in danger of being proven, a threat which endangers not only his presidency, but also imperils his business empire. The GOP will also suffer similar consequences. So what will happen in November? The party of Trump must pull out all the stops to make sure the mid-terms will not bring the sea change that will put them out of power. This will include turning a blind eye to more Russian interference. A Blue Wave? We might hope so. But it is more likely to turn out to be a pink tide.
2
I agree that conspiracy theories are a tool for the Republicans. But I'm not so sure those at the top of the party are not also delusional. Partly because if you say something enough times you begin to believe it and partly because believe in a conspiracy is easier to live with. Stop and think what it must be like for the leaders of the Republican when they see millions and millions and millions of Americans against everything they do and believe. Someone who is not crazy or power mad would stop and think what that means. So much easier just to think the protesters are paid.
2
It is important that the quest for power is recognized for what it is - and that people who would resist understand that the normal checks and balances of our country may be swept away as so much air, if the Republicans come to realize that no one will oppose them. A bunch of women shouting (as they saw it) is nothing. What they fear is white men with guns, that and only that. If they believe they have the military on their side, we can expect the American gov’t to topple.
4
What is so impressive about Republicans, is that they get their base to believe Democrats are doing what in reality the Republicans do.
Think back to the Tea Party and their astroturf organization with supporters being trained to disrupt town hall meetings?
Then there was Chuck Grassley saying their going to pull the plug on granny.
2
"Well, think of what Trump and his party might do if they retain both houses of Congress in the coming election."
The signs are clear and point to the GOP retaining control of Congress for the next several years. The remake of the Federal judiciary, already well underway, will be complete by the start of Trump's second term. The GOP controls the majority of state houses, county governments, municipalities and school boards.
The sad fact is that the Democratic Party has been rendered irrelevant and a Blue Wave in November represents nothing so much as magical thinking.
Democrats need to do something to combat the takeover of the US by the ultra-right. Hyperbolic and hysterical rhetoric by NYT's opinion writers does nothing to aid this however.
It would be impossible for an authoritarian regime to exist without
also controlling the press. Wouldn't we read about the imminence
of such an event in this newspaper if there were even the slightest
evidence that it was on the horizon?
@Charles Packer
Marginalizing the press is proving pretty effective among the mob supporting Trump. "Enemies of the people", "Fake news", etc. If it's not coming from Pravda (Fox), or one of the screaming heads (Rush Limbaugh), it's not true.
2
@br
"Marginalizing" is not even close to actually being in control of the press. As long as there is no actual control, authoritarian government is logically impossible.
When the elderly with dementia attack their loved ones loudly and angrily accusing them of various acts (taking their money, things, etc) and no longer trust anyone we weep for the person who would never have acted "that way" (read paranoid) in their right mind. With the paranoia of the Republican Party we have reason not to weep, but to be, as you conclude professor, scared. It is difficult to watch an elderly person's mind deteriorate. It is difficult to believe all members - most well educated - could sell their souls and act like demented elderly individuals. Yes, it is a time to be very scared of what the Republicans and Trump might do to our nation in a short time if given 2 more years. Their anger and distrust of everyone and their devotion to the "money people" makes this political party anti-American. Voting this year is a must, not an option.
1
But do not minimize the impact of racism, the single-most important issue behind Trump's success. Unfortunately, O'bama's election (probably the most intelligent President in the past 100 years) so infuriated certain voters that they would accept anyone who campaigned on a platform of racial separation. Until we figure out how to deal with racial issues we are doomed to irreconcilable national division.
4
A brief history of the Republican party:
Lincoln: Government of, by, and for the people.
Reagan: Government isn't the solution, it's the problem.
Trump: The solution to the problem is government of, by, and for me.
24
@617to416
Well said
1
Mutual respect and tolerance, even in the midst of disagreement, and a willingness to compromise cannot be legislated. Yet, they are attitudes and values that, when eroded, lead to the demise of democracies.
What do you think the current state of this country is regarding these essential values?
Self-proclaimed "patriots" who claim to love the Constitution, but believe compromise and tolerance are forms of surrender and are unnecessary, please consider reading about the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia that established this republic.
We need voters and leaders who, in the midst of disagreements, embody the essential values of respect, tolerance, and a willingness to compromise for the sake of this nation. Consider the alternatives...
8
Our country experienced a coup in 2000; with the (losing) GOP candidate awarded the presidency by the GOP leaning Supreme Court. Barack Obama's brief interregnum was met with complete opposition by the frustrated rebels; who are now permanently ensconced in power and will not relinquish it peacefully. I predict that our country now is in a slow, but rapidly accelerating decline into a permanent oligarchy on the level of the FSU.
16
Within the past few days some have brought up the idea of stacking the Supreme Court. I'm not at all sure that's the right course of action. Instead, the power of the Supreme Court -- and thereby, the importance of who the justices are -- can be curtailed by implementing a means for the Legislative branch to override Supreme Court decisions. The Canadians have a means for Parliament to override Supreme Court decisions; it's very rarely used, but it exists. This seems to me a glaring oversight in our system that depends on checks and balances, since there's nothing counterbalancing the power of the Supreme Court.
5
@Livie
The Democrats have tried repeatedly to overturn Citizens United through legislative action,
4
Paul - to fix this you have to understand where the support is coming from. I hate to say this but it is hard to conclude otherwise: the GOP senators know that their women (the so-called Republican women) would actually condone sexual assault if in return they can get tax breaks and abortion control and kill LGBT rights etc. Perhaps these Republican women might draw the line if it was a provable physical assault on them themselves or on their daughters - but given how these women have been behaving since before the Nineteenth Amendment more than a century ago, I would gainsay they would condone that as well. So, Dems had better give up on trying to persuade these women (including senators like Ms Collins) to become less regressive; for them, there is a biological need to be "put in place" by their fathers and husbands.
5
Thanks again Dr. K, it's nice to see someone calling this for what it is, a slow motion coup. It's very scary.
19
In a word, gop sells fear not solutions
15
For those who think the unemployment rate is the end all be all in terms of economic health, remember that the debt ceiling limit was suspended for one year back in February 2018. From January through August 2018 according to the Treasury Department "Borrowing from the Public" is $969 Billion. The US is essentially leasing luxury autos with poverty level incomes. Republicans and Democrats are responsible for this suspension though the Trump 2018 Tax Cuts are the main culprit and no Senate or House Democrat supported it. I don't remember any politician criticizing the debt limit suspension or the media commenting on it. Maybe it occurred during a Trump news cycle event which drowned it out.
5