Paul Krugman, NY Times: Facts Are Enemies of the People

[kpete]

… So we’re just supposed to believe the president if he says, falsely, that his inauguration crowd was the biggest ever; if he claims, ludicrously, that millions of votes were cast illegally for his opponent; if he insists, with no evidence, that his predecessor tapped his phones. …

… But this isn’t really about whose analyses of health policy are most likely to get it right. It’s about Trump and company attacking the legitimacy of anyone who might question their assertions.

The C.B.O., in other words, is in the same position as the news media, which Mr. Trump has declared “enemies of the people” — not, whatever he may say, because they get things wrong, but because they dare to challenge him on anything.

“Enemy of the people” is, of course, a phrase historically associated with Stalin and other tyrants. This is no accident. Mr. Trump isn’t a dictator — not yet, anyway — but he clearly has totalitarian instincts. ...


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/opinion/facts-are-enemies-of-the-people.html?mtrref=www.dailykos.com&gwh=A88FD943C4531567C2C0017F1C9BA3AD&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion