Day: October 30, 2015

Grassroots "conservativism" with its radio shows and endless supply of outrage fodder is flourishing. The Republican Party, on the other hand, is a raging dumpster fire. With Jeb!'s campaign circling…

Paul Krugman's take on the debate:

At one point during Wednesday’s Republican debate, Ben Carson was asked about his involvement with Mannatech, a nutritional supplements company that makes outlandish claims about its products and has been forced to pay $7 million to settle a deceptive-practices lawsuit. The audience booed, and Mr. Carson denied being involved with the company. Both reactions tell you a lot about the driving forces behind modern American politics. As it happens, Mr. Carson lied. He has indeed been deeply involved with Mannatech, and has done a lot to help promote its merchandise. PolitiFact quickly rated his claim false, without qualification. But the Republican base doesn’t want to hear about it, and the candidate apparently believes, probably correctly, that he can simply brazen it out. These days, in his party, being an obvious grifter isn’t a liability, and may even be an asset.

Carson, Trump, Fiorina, Rubio and Christie were each caught in easily disprovable bold faced lies. Perhaps it's because Republican just lie with more frequency and daring. And that is because Republican voters want to be lied to. They do not want to live in a world where a black man with a funny name is not only President, but a rather successful one who has turned the country around from the disaster left from the previous Republican President. They do not want to live in a world where "coloreds" and women don't know their place. A world that has more orientation than straight, more religion than Christian.