Quote Of The Day
Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.
Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.
Embarrassing, to say the least. Everything about Republicans seems staged – and staged badly. And while the tea parties are worth a good laugh, I have no idea what they’re supposed to accomplish.
Seriously, what is the point?
Tags: krugman, Republican Crazy
Krugman is right that Republicans acted this way before, however they were tempered by their saner members. Now all the saner members have left and they’re left with the core.
I think the tea parties are all about public relations; perception is reality, and all that. If enough media coverage happens, maybe some people will pay attention to the ‘baggers and latch onto the ‘Obama is bad’ meme.
Well, they seem quite desperate to depict these events as grassroots, even though they’re being heavily advertised by Fox News. I’m not sure why – do they want this to look like the electorate is rebelling or are they desperate to continue to cling to the “Fair and Balanced” tagline for Faux News?
And at least two right-wing lobbyist “think tanks” , Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity, have been working to help organize these things — including writing press releases, setting up websites, and coordinating conference calls — while trying to give this thing its “grass roots” gloss.