Paul Krugman's last two posts from his The Conscience of a Liberal blog are great. From yesterday we have the short but sweet, A Public Servie Reminder: Paul Ryan is a Con Man. In it, Krugman laments the "return" of Ryan-- as Joan McCarter notes-- as go-to-guy on the budget. Krugman is having none of it:
The fact is that Ryan is and always was a fraud. His plan never added up; it was never, contrary to what people who should know better asserted, “scored” by the CBO. What he actually offered was a plan to hurt the poor and reward the rich, actually increasing the deficit along the way, plus magic asterisks that supposedly reduced the debt by means unspecified.
That pretty much sums it up. Why the hell is this lying fraud going to be involved in negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff?
Krugman's post today, The New Republicans, cuts through the bullshit about a party that is "soul searching":
There has been a lot of talk since the election about the possible emergence of a new faction within the Republican party, or at least among the conservative intelligentsia. These new Republicans, we’re told, are willing to be more open-minded on cultural issues, more understanding of immigrants, and more skeptical that trickle-down economics is enough; they’ll favor direct measures to help working families.
Gee, that sounds swell!
So what should we call these new Republicans? I have a suggestion: why not call them “Democrats”?
Again, Krugman's having none of it:
[T]oday’s Republican party is an alliance between the plutocrats and the preachers, plus some opportunists along for the ride — full stop. The whole party is about low taxes at the top (and low benefits for the rest), plus conservative social values and putting religion in the schools; it has no other reason for being.
So what should we make of Republicans who appear to be on a self-examination path? Not much:
[I]t’s true that there are some Republican intellectuals and pundits who seem to be truly open-minded about both economic and social issues. But I worded that carefully: they “seem to be” open-minded; indeed, they’re professional seemers.
Yes, folks: meet the new party, same as the old party. Just more defeated.
*Thanks for the REC List! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!*