Paranoia Strikes Deep, By PAUL KRUGMAN

[jefferson_dem]

Paranoia Strikes Deep
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Last Thursday there was a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to protest pending health care legislation, featuring the kinds of things we’ve grown accustomed to, including large signs showing piles of bodies at Dachau with the caption “National Socialist Healthcare.” It was grotesque — and it was also ominous. For what we may be seeing is America starting to be Californiafied.

The key thing to understand about that rally is that it wasn’t a fringe event. It was sponsored by the House Republican leadership — in fact, it was officially billed as a G.O.P. press conference. Senior lawmakers were in attendance, and apparently had no problem with the tone of the proceedings.

True, Eric Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican, offered some mild criticism after the fact. But the operative word is “mild.” The signs were “inappropriate,” said his spokesman, and the use of Hitler comparisons by such people as Rush Limbaugh, said Mr. Cantor, “conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful.”

What all this shows is that the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit.

The state of mind visible at recent right-wing demonstrations is nothing new. Back in 1964 the historian Richard Hofstadter published an essay titled, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” which reads as if it were based on today’s headlines: Americans on the far right, he wrote, feel that “America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive act of subversion.” Sound familiar?

But while the paranoid style isn’t new, its role within the G.O.P. is.

When Hofstadter wrote, the right wing felt dispossessed because it was rejected by both major parties. That changed with the rise of Ronald Reagan: Republican politicians began to win elections in part by catering to the passions of the angry right.

Until recently, however, that catering mostly took the form of empty symbolism. Once elections were won, the issues that fired up the base almost always took a back seat to the economic concerns of the elite. Thus in 2004 George W. Bush ran on antiterrorism and “values,” only to announce, as soon as the election was behind him, that his first priority was changing Social Security.

<SNIP>

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

[babylonsister]

1. Ha! "The GOP has been taken over by the people it used to exploit."

Too true.

[elehhhhna]

4. the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit.

succinct.

[Why Syzygy]

2. Most astute.

What all this shows is that the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit.

Karma, baby. Let the Democratic leadership take note.

[AndyA]

3. This just proves that Republicans are stupid people.

They protest things that ultimately would benefit them and their families.

I don't believe for one second that all the people who show up for these Hate Rallies are thrilled with their insurance. And the ones who are, probably haven't used it. They haven't experienced the notices saying so and so isn't covered. Or that this was pre-existing and won't be covered at all.

But when it does happen to them, I wonder if they'll even be smart enough to figure out they were protesting against their own well being.

Being straight, white, Christian, employed, and Republican seems to work for them. But many in this economy are discovering that employment can go away, and then things aren't quite as rosy as they were. Of course, they'll just listen to the radio hate jocks and blame it all on the Democrats, ignoring the fact that their very own dear Republicans are responsible for this mess.

Pretty pathetic.

[Kolesar]

6. "Their" motivation is to defeat Obama

Even if it harms them personally (as you pointed out).

[vaberella]

5. Really good article from Krugman. I like it, and I plan on reading the Hofstadter book. n/t

[Bleacher Creature]

7. He's right. I, like many others, have watched the GOP trainwreck with amusement.

It still makes me chuckle to see how far off the deep end they have gone, but it's terrifying that they may one day regain power in spite of themselves.

[Marsala]

8. They won't. Christie and even Coleman won by acting sane. n/t