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Paul Krugman: The Party of Beavis and Butthead.

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Wetzelbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 12:40 PM
Original message
Paul Krugman: The Party of Beavis and Butthead.
Krugman's assessment of Jindal's response. -WB

What should government do? A Jindal meditation

What is the appropriate role of government?

Traditionally, the division between conservatives and liberals has been over the role and size of the welfare state: liberals think that the government should play a large role in sanding off the market economy’s rough edges, conservatives believe that time and chance happen to us all, and that’s that.

But both sides, I thought, agreed that the government should provide public goods — goods that are nonrival (they benefit everyone) and nonexcludable (there’s no way to restrict the benefits to people who pay.) The classic examples are things like lighthouses and national defense, but there are many others. For example, knowing when a volcano is likely to erupt can save many lives; but there’s no private incentive to spend money on monitoring, since even people who didn’t contribute to maintaining the monitoring system can still benefit from the warning. So that’s the sort of activity that should be undertaken by government.

So what did Bobby Jindal choose to ridicule in this response to Obama last night? Volcano monitoring, of course.


http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/what-should-government-do-a-jindal-meditation/
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thereismore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
1. The clincher quote:
The intellectual incoherence is stunning. Basically, the political philosophy of the GOP right now seems to consist of snickering at stuff that they think sounds funny. The party of ideas has become the party of Beavis and Butthead.
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Jackpine Radical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 12:57 PM
Response to Original message
2. I think a private company should take over volcano monitoring.
You know--like, one software dompany monitors the volcano that could take out Redmond--so if it happens, only they will be forewarned, and can pull out in advance, allowing their competitors (and everyone else) to disappear under the lava flow.
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lamp_shade Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
3. Hmmm....
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question everything Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:03 PM
Response to Original message
4. What is interesting how Jindal, Steele and Palin
claim that "government does not create jobs," yet all have been feeding off taxpayers money for years.

(Weren't Beavis and Butthead at the Oscar the other night? Could not figure what they were doing or saying)
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skeewee08 Donating Member (434 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:12 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. You mean, Larry ,Curly & Mo:-)
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Median Democrat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:08 PM
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5. I Appreciate Krugman's Pressure On Obama from the Left, But It Is Also Nice When...
...he addresses the attacks coming from the right, as well. The Republicans have become even more extreme in recent years, and with their control of such media outlets such as Fox, we can never underestimate the probability that they might return to power more extreme and incoherent than ever before. Remember the 1994 election.
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Wetzelbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:20 PM
Response to Reply #5
9. much different situation than 1994
Especially with regards to demographics. They are losing all the growing minority groups, specifically latinos, who are growing at a high rate. The old core constituency that they used to rely on, white males, isn't enough for them anymore. A black man from Chicago couldn't have gotten elected president even 8 years ago, let alone 15. The GOP needs more than good public relations to help them out. Bush devastated much of that attack dog credibility they had in the runup to the 1994 elections. Those Republicans didn't have control of anything before, but the current party had all the power in the world and they so screwed it up that it's laughable hearing them revert back to their same formerly successful themes. Those 1994 Republicans preached things like fiscal conservatism and responsibility and used hyperpartisan anti-government rhetoric, last night Jindal got laughed at when he did it. It just doesn't resonate the way it once did.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:13 PM
Response to Original message
7. Brilliant
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Jack Rabbit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:14 PM
Response to Original message
8. First, the good news for the GOP this morning . . .
Governor Jindal may have talked his way out of serious consideration for the presidential nomination last night.

Now, the bad news . . . Governor Palin has a clear shot.

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Wetzelbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. Mitt and Huck will probably give it another go
I guess if Palin and Huck split the hardcore types then Mitt might have a shot. He's not much of a politician though, that's for sure.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:21 PM
Response to Original message
10. Even David Brooks on Charlie Rose
emphasized what an "unmitagated disaster" Jindal's response to Obama's Presidential Address to Congress. He said Jindal's idea was "to do nothing" and create the days that no longer exist and the Public doesn't want it.
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:23 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Gerson in the Wash Post this morning praised it. Surprise surprise. nt
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. Everyone else was praising Obama..
what did gergen see in jindal's "nothing" response?
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:54 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Gerson, Bush's former speech writer that was hired by the Wash Post. Gergen liked it. nt
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Parker CA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 04:33 PM
Response to Reply #10
17. Brooks was spewing with negative commentary last night on Charlie Rose.
He was asked about Obama, and then said, Charlie, I've just got to mention this because it was such a mess, I know we're not there yet, but what was going on with Jindal? Blasted him for the majority of the time he was on camera. Very nice to see them eating their own.
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Yavin4 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 01:24 PM
Response to Original message
13. Krugman: "Hey, why bother having an army? Let’s just rely on self-defense by armed citizens"
Mr. Krugman meet Blackwater Xe.
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starroute Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 04:28 PM
Response to Original message
16. Santorum did try to privatize the National Weather Service
Googling turns up this DU thread on it from May 2005:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3590698

HamdenRice
Tue May-03-05 12:45 PM

Santorum and Republicans to privatize --get this-- THE WEATHER!

I read on the commondreams website that Rick Santorum has introduced legislation in Congress to privatize the weather. Yes, you heard correctly, they want to privatize the weather. The Commondreams report is clever, but does not quite capture how truly loathsome this proposal is.

The basic idea of the Commondreams report is that the National Weather Service would not be permitted to disseminate weather forecasts if such forecasts compete with any private sector company that gives weather forecasts. So if Accuweather forecasts operate in your media market, you will not be able to access taxpayer funded weather research from the NWS (presently available through various outlets like the web) because it competes with Accuweather.

Did I mention that Accuweather is based in Pennsylvania and has contributed to Santorum's campaign fund?

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Wetzelbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 04:47 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. I'd like to say I'm surprised
But not in the slightest.
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