POLITICUSUSA
Ron DeSantis has spent much of the last year congratulating himself on how he has handled COVID-19. The Florida governor has leaned in hard to the culture war aspect of the pandemic.
Not only has he made a huge deal of fighting against mask mandates, he went as far as fundraising off shirts that slammed infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The “big lie” is not unique to Trump but rather constitutes a long-standing Republican tradition and political practice that, far from distinguishing itself from Trump’s governance, in fact enabled and even created it.
Watching the senate, under the callous and inhumane rule of Mitch McConnell, fail to respond sufficiently and urgently to the dire suffering and needs of out-of-work Americans, largely denying their reality, brought to mind a scene from American author William Dean Howells’ 1890 novel A Hazard of New Fortunes.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman warned on Wednesday that the 2020 election will be the most dangerous for the country since the divisions preceding the Civil War.
Krugman took to Twitter to argue that President Donald Trump’s own attitude, combined with his supporters readiness to commit acts of violence, meant the next few weeks could be terrible.
“I wonder how many people are ready for just how bad the next six weeks plus are going to be,” Krugman wrote.
“This is going to be the most dangerous election since 1860, with substantial odds that America as we know it will be damaged or even destroyed.”
I wonder how many people are ready for just how bad the next six weeks plus are going to be. This is going to be the most dangerous election since 1860, with substantial odds that America as we know it will be damaged or even destroyed 1/
Paul Krugman doesn’t see how daily briefings on Covid-19 could possibly help Donald Trump win the 2020 election. The event is returning because the President thinks it will help him in the polls.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist took to Twitter on Tuesday to cast serious doubt on the usefulness of the briefings, both for Trump’s reelection chances and battling the virus.
“Somehow, I don’t think daily displays of willful ignorance and self-pity are going to jump-start Trump’s campaign,” Krugman wrote.
Somehow, I don't think daily displays of willful ignorance and self-pity are going to jump-start Trump's campaign 1/ https://t.co/JEX8ahUofZ
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) July 21, 2020
Krugman offered evidence of just
how badly the U.S. is doing
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman made the case this morning that Americans are very open to raising taxes on the rich despite protestations from billionaires — and many Republicans — to the contrary.
And his conclusions seem to be supported by numerous public opinion surveys conducted over the past two weeks.
The New York Times columnist wrote in a morning tweetstorm that a Washington Post article he cites shows that there has been a “profound shift” in the way that American voters view proposals to shift more of the tax burden on the rich. He points out that an increasing number of people are much more comfortable talking about it now than they have been for many years.
According to Krugman,
“Suddenly, taxing the rich is on the political agenda. Candidates are talking frankly about taxes as a way to limit inequality in a way we haven’t seen for decades. But why is this happening now? The WaPo says there’s a ‘profound shift in public mood’.”
Using charts showing tax rates, the prominent economist went on explain,
“The public has *always* favored higher taxes on the rich — which also makes nonsense of claims that Dems are moving too far left on this issue. But obviously something has changed. It looks as if the veto power of the 1% over taxes has eroded.”
He then posed a question to political scientists as to why attitudes have changed, before adding, “In a way the question is why soaking the rich wasn’t on the agenda before — at least explicitly.“
Suddenly, taxing the rich is on the political agenda. Candidates are talking frankly about taxes as a way to limit inequality in a way we haven't seen for decades. But why is this happening now? The WaPo says there's a "profound shift in public mood" 1/ https://t.co/LG8SyIvTTm
In a new column in the New York Times, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman asked a question that many others have asked about Donald Trump’s White House: Why are his top advisers sticking around when it is apparent that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has been gathering evidence of many different Trump crimes, and the president is probably on his way down?
According to Krugman, the individuals left working for Trump in the White House are the “worst and dumbest” of all the people he hired, and they literally have nowhere else to go because they are so incompetent.
In the column, entitled “Donald Trump and His Team of Morons,” Krugman had this to say about the current president:
“There have been many policy disasters over the course of U.S. history. It’s hard, however, to think of a calamity as gratuitous, an error as unforced, as the current federal shutdown. Nor can I think of another disaster as thoroughly personal, as completely owned by one man.”
Republican political strategist and campaign consultant Ed Rollins was on the Fox Business News program hosted by Lou Dobbs and stuck his sexist foot in his mouth as he attacked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The ancient right-wing operative dismissively referred to the 29-year-old Congresswoman as “the little girl” with a big “mouth.” It didn’t take long for the brilliant Ocasio-Cortez to fire back with a zinger that may go down in history as one of the all-time great comebacks.
In her response on Twitter she called Rollins a “walking argument” for a 100 percent tax on misogyny.
“GOP loves to insult my intelligence, yet offers *this* as their best + most seasoned opposition to my policy proposals.
If anything, this dude is a walking argument to tax misogyny at 100%
Republicans rob everyone the opportunity of real policy debate by resorting to this.”
GOP loves to insult my intelligence, yet offers *this* as their best + most seasoned opposition to my policy proposals.
If anything, this dude is a walking argument to tax misogyny at 100% 😉
Republicans rob everyone the opportunity of real policy debate by resorting to this. https://t.co/Yk3BTHbtxv
Paul Krugman warns that we should not "presume that Ryan and company have any idea what they’re doing."
"Prediction: if GOP health bill goes down in flames, Trump will deny that he ever supported it and place all blame on Congressional Rs."
Paul Krugman described the GOP's Obamacare replacement as, "It's not Obamacare 2.0. It's Obamacare 0.5 - a half-assed attempt to preserve ACA successes without spending nearly enough money"
Listing Trump's offenses, Krugman says "If he were a Democrat, impeachment hearings would already be underway...Our whole system is now tainted"
"The big risk is still that the media will start to normalize, and worse, become intimidated and obsequious. Don't let it happen!"
James Madison said representatives should be able to "withstand the temporary delusion" to "give time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection."
"Oh my God. These are spoiled children playing with loaded guns...Now they're trying to walk it back...How are we going to survive years of this?"
"A national 1 percent swing would have changed everything...it would have looked like a solid mandate for HRC"
"Corruption, scandals, gutting of ethics rules aren't new; they've been the GOP way going all the way back to Reagan. "
For the second time in a week Charles Schumer aligned himself with Trump in a portent the Democrat's opposition to Trump is faltering.
We know how we feel about the potential collapse of our own republic, and what needs to be done in answer to the threat.
"Budget director appears to be John Bircher and conspiracy theorist (but aren't they all?...Birchers want return to gold and silver, Mulvaney seems to agree."