Krugman: Flags Versus Dollars

[unfrigginreal]

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: November 7, 2003

Howard Dean's remarks about the need to appeal to white Southerners could certainly have been better phrased. But his rivals for the Democratic nomination should be ashamed of their reaction. They know what he was trying to say — and it wasn't that his party should go soft on racism. By playing gotcha, by seizing on the chance to take the front-runner down a peg, they damaged the cause they claim to serve — and missed a chance to confront the real issue he raised.

A three-sentence description of the arc of American politics over the past 70 years would run like this: First, Democrats and moderate Republicans created institutions — above all, Social Security and Medicare — that provided a measure of financial security to ordinary working Americans. The biggest beneficiaries of these institutions were African-Americans and working-class Southern whites, and both were part of the moderate-to-liberal coalition that dominated American politics until the 1960's.

But the right opened an increasingly effective counterattack, with a strategy that included using racially charged symbolism to get Southern whites to vote against their own economic interests. All Mr. Dean was saying was that Democrats need to understand and counter this strategy.

<snip>

Mr. Dean wasn't suggesting that his party adopt the G.O.P. strategy of coded racial signals, and by and large African-Americans — my wife included — understand that. What he meant by his flag remark was that Democrats must make the case to working Americans of all colors that the right's elitist agenda isn't in their interest. And he's right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/07/opinion/07KRUG.html

[dajabr]

1. On behalf of Kergepwards...

DOH!

:dunce:

[ThorsteinVeblen]

2. Fuck those Democrats that betrayed their priciples

and are too stupid to realize that Dean is trying to lead us out of a morass.

[fabius]

3. Krugman Rocks!

And I sent him an email to tell him so!

[mgc1961]

4. Paul...

is right. Edwards killed me with that "Don't come down here and tell us what to do you Yankee carpetbagger" shtick. I can't recall, but did he begin his attack by reminding us yet again that his Daddy worked in a mill for 35 years?

:boring:

[wellst0nev0ter]

5. Well Color Me Blind

I didn't know his wife was black when I first saw the picture. And to think as a black guy myself, I'm supposed to know these things.

Still pretty though :)

[papau]

9. Very pretty pretty wife - Krugman and Thurow are 2 economists I

trust.

And they both have the good fortune of nice wifes - although I can not find a picture of Gretchen Thurow on the net

[Wetzelbill]

10. That's Krugman's wife!

He gives hope to quasi-geeks like me, that's for sure.

Dean's biggest problem is he gets impassioned and says something a little off the wall. His heart is in the right place even if his wording sometimes isn't. My favorite Dean foul-up was never really caught. He said that Iraq needed more "Muslim speaking troops." Oops. He's still a good candidate and a good guy.

[JeebusH]

6. difference between Dean and Miller is ...

Dean wants to confront poor Southern Whites of their misconceptions about the Dem. party and Miller just wants to enforce those misconceptions

only thing Dean did wrong was of poor phrasing

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. What I don't get

is why Kerry is still bashing Dean over this. The Times, in a regular news article today, quoted Kerry extensively. Personally, his remarks came across as vindictive and desperate. My husband, who at one time was seriously interested in backing Kerry, has told me these remarks have really turned him off. Of course, Mr. Kerry is free to criticize if he wishes, but I don't see this as really helping his campaign.

[realFedUp]

8. not really helping his campaign

either he's getting bad advice or he condones this
kind of nonsense or both.