The GOP’s Odd Silence On Economic Sabotage
Yesterday there was a lot attention being paid to Time journalist Mark Halperin saying that during Wednesday’s press conference on the debt ceiling Obama was “kind of a dick.” After the furor died down, I and many others realized that yet again we’re talking about the GOP’s hurt feelings rather than the GOP’s actions. It’s very frustrating to see how easy it is for the GOP to feed their storyline to the press corps hook, line and sinker. (I might argue that the GOP tactic of pretending to be easily offended delicate flowers is not a great tactic.) Steve Benen noticed something else interesting:
“[W]e need to start asking ourselves an uncomfortable question — are Republicans slowing down the recovery on purpose for political gain in 2012?” Schumer said. “Sen. McConnell made it clear last October that his number one priority, above everything else, is to defeat President Obama. And now it is becoming clear that insisting on a slash-and-burn approach may be part of this plan — it has a double-benefit for Republicans: it is ideologically tidy and it undermines the economic recovery, which they think only helps them in 2012.”
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I’d also note that Schumer made these highly provocative remarks, and as best as I can tell, has faced no pushback whatsoever. One of Congress’ most prominent Democrats has effectively accused Republicans of trying to sabotage the nation’s economy, and Republican officials aren’t expressing any outrage, and aren’t even calling for an apology. No shrieks, no cries, no apoplexy.
And why not? Because to do so would be to engage in the very debate the GOP is desperate to avoid.
Exactly. Where is the screeching and calls of how dare you? Republicans may be terrible on policy but they are geniuses on messaging and they have realized you don’t make a stink out of something you want people to ignore. Benen is right about this. More Democrats need to push this and harder. It would be really nice to see journalists ask this question but I won’t hold my breath.
When you do something unpredictable it unnerves your opponent. Obama caught everyone off guard by standing up to Republicans, even me. Paul Ryan was genuinely shocked when Obama didn’t get behind Ryan’s budget but instead attacked it as “ending Medicare.”
Obama is still shattering expectations and making everybody wonder what he is up to. Just yesterday there was some infobabe on CNN asking “Why doesn’t Obama just cave?” on the debt limit.
Suspecting them of sabotaging the economy for electoral gain is a good theory. But even in a general depression, the rich will still be rich. I don’t think they fear default, because they don’t expect their lifestyles to change one whit. They know that whatever money is left will flow to themselves. They don’t really care if half of America is eating in government soup kitchens.
I think they are seeking a fundamental realignment of the economy where they will still be rich while the general standard of living is cut catastrophically for most Americans. We really are most of the way down that road already. In that context, a default in 2011 is a minor speed bump.