Paul Krugman Must Read: Authentic ? Never Mind

[flpoljunkie]

Authentic? Never Mind, Rich liberals who claim they’ll help America’s less fortunate are phonies.

by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times

Let me give you one example — a Democrat who said he’d work on behalf of workers and the poor. He even said he’d take on Big Business. But the truth is that while he was saying those things, he was living in a big house and had a pretty lavish summer home too. His favorite recreation, sailing, was incredibly elitist. And he didn’t talk like a regular guy.

For example, the case of F.D.R. shows that there’s nothing inauthentic, in the normal sense of the word, about calling for ... policies that will hurt your own financial position. But the news media seem to find it deeply disturbing that John Edwards talks about fighting poverty while living in a big house.

<>On the other hand, ... Fred Thompson ... spent 18 years working as a highly paid lobbyist, wore well-tailored suits and drove a black Lincoln Continental. When he ran for the Senate, however, his campaign reinvented him as a good old boy: it leased a used red pickup truck for him to drive, dressed up in jeans and a work shirt, with ... Red Man chewing tobacco on the front seat.

But Mr. Thompson’s strength, says Lanny Davis in The Hill, is that he’s “authentic.”...

<>For example, Hillary Clinton’s credibility as a friend of labor is called into question, not by her biography or life style, but by the fact that ... her chief strategist — a man Al Gore fired in 2000 because he didn’t trust him — heads a public relations company that helps corporations fight union organizing drives.

And where do you start with Rudy Giuliani? We keep being told that he has credibility on national security, because he seemed so reassuring on 9/11. (Some firefighters have condemned his actual performance..., saying that rescue efforts were uncoordinated and that firemen died because he provided them with faulty radios. ... And the nation’s largest firefighters’ union has condemned his handling of recovery efforts...)

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/06/paul_krugman_au.html

[jwirr]

1. F. Thompson is "authentic"! We had one actor as president and now

they want to give us another shill for big business and the military industrial complex. Acting is the implementation of a false front that is believable. Thus old ronny played the role of FDR for his 8 years and everyone believed it was real. The last thing we need in the nation is another false front actor to lead the sheeple down the wrong path while making them feel good about it.

[spooky3]

8. Raygun was a better actor than he was a president.

[Vickers]

12. That's the very definition of "damning with faint praise" right there.

:P

[spooky3]

18. we're on the same (Raygun) wavelength!

:-)

[ProudDad]

50. Actually, he was a lousy "B" actor

but was "better" when compared to the rest of those "C" grade actors in politics.

[On the Road]

2. To Paraphrase George Burns,

"Authenticity is everything. Once you can fake that, you've got it made."

[blm]

3. Gee - now why would Al Gore not trust Clinton's people?

Enemy within?



This talk by historian Douglas Brinkley occurred in April 2004:


http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13354


Whom does the biographer think his subject will pick as a running mate? Not Hillary Rodham Clinton. "There's really two different Democratic parties right now: there's the Clintons and Terry McAuliffe and the DNC and then there's the Kerry upstarts. John Kerry had one of the great advantages in life by being considered to get the nomination in December. He watched every Democrat in the country flee from him, and the Clintons really stick the knife in his back a bunch of times, so he's able to really see who was loyal to him and who wasn't. That's a very useful thing in life."




http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward



Did Carville Tip Bush Off to Kerry Strategy (Woodward)

By M.J. Rosenberg |

I just came across a troubling incident that Bob Woodward reports in his new book. Very troubling.
On page 344, Woodward describes the doings at the White House in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the day after the '04 election.

Apparently, Kerry had decided not to concede. There were 250,000 outstanding ballots in Ohio.

So Kerry decides to fight. In fact, he considers going to Ohio to camp out with his voters until there is a recount. This is the last thing the White House needs, especially after Florida 2000.

So what happened?

James Carville gets on the phone with his wife, Mary Matalin, who is at the White House with Bush.

"Carville told her he had some inside news. The Kerry campaign was going to challenge the provisional ballots in Ohio -- perhaps up to 250,000 of them. 'I don't agree with it, Carville said. I'm just telling you that's what they're talking about.'

"Matalin went to Cheney to report...You better tell the President Cheney told her."

Matalin does, advising Bush that "somebody in authority needed to get in touch with J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State in Ohio who would be in charge of any challenge to the provisional votes." An SOS goes out to Blackwell.
>>>>>>>>




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg




Wonder why?


http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

[Totally Committed]

4. Why do ANY of us trust Clinton's people? ---

Or, either of the Clintons, for that matter.

I don't get it.

TC

[wyldwolf]

7. you know, if Kerry had only fought back, we wouldn't be in this mess

[dionysus]

9. if clinton hadn't gotten a blowjob, we wouldn't be in this mess

[wyldwolf]

11. you know, if Kerry had only fought back, we wouldn't be in this mess

[dionysus]

15. if gore had run last time, we wouldn't be in this mess :)

[wyldwolf]

17. Yeah... He would have been better than what we had.

[blm]

34. Unfortunately, even Gore would've had the same criminally negligent DNC

in place between 2001-2005, undermining him every step of the way back then, too. Gore likely KNEW SO, too.

[blm]

44. You believe it's Kerry's fault that Gore didn't trust Clinton's people in 2000? Interesting

grasp of timeframe you have there, wyldwolf.

[wyldwolf]

5. I remember the day when one's voting record and ratings meant something

For example, Hillary Clinton’s credibility as a friend of labor is called into question, not by her biography or life style, but by the fact that ... her chief strategist — a man Al Gore fired in 2000 because he didn’t trust him — heads a public relations company that helps corporations fight union organizing drives.

Ah, guilt by association or, you're known by the company you keep (especially among readers of Krugman and The Nation.)

Forget Clinton's solid Senate voting record on labor issues and he high ratings by labor organizations. Yep! She hired a pollster who isn't a friend of labor... kinda the same way Obama taking advice from Colin Powell destroys his credibility from now until forever on defense issues...

[Hippo_Tron]

51. Guilt by association is often faulty and usually I do agree with Krugman

But by guilt by association logic I'd have to judge Franklin Roosevelt not on his own merit's but on Joe Kennedy's merits because Joe Kennedy played a crucial role in his campaign.

[SaveElmer]

6. A journalist commenting on the authenticity of politicians...

Now that is ironic...

[dionysus]

10. you calling krugman a phony?

exceedingly weak

[wyldwolf]

13. I'm not, but he isn't always on the money... evidenced by that article.

[blm]

14. Krugman was one of the few journailsts to admit it was the MEDIA'S fault that Bush

had been built up so high after 9-11 because they thought the nation needed the appearance of a strong leader to succeed. Then they were loathe to challenge that image they knew had been built by them and had to dig in to protect it.

A category 5 hurricane proved unspinnable for even dug in protectors of the Bushboy's image.

[SaveElmer]

20. Based on this article...

Yes...he is being disingenous simply to fit a thesis...

I like much of Krugman's work, but once in a while he comes up with stuff like this...

[frankenforpres]

16. Krugman is a columnist

i dont know if that is the same thing as journalist




he is a damned good economist. Possibly a future nobel prize winner

[spooky3]

19. he's an economist--not really a journalist

edited to add link

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/KRUGMAN-BIO.html

[flpoljunkie]

21. Hit a nerve did he? Krugman tends to call 'em as he sees 'em.

[wyldwolf]

22. apparently, then, his vision is way less than perfect.

[SaveElmer]

23. Doesn't mean he sees them correctly...

When guilt by association has become the standard of judging ones commitment to an issue then I question the writers sincerity...

Seems like he had a predetermined thesis in mind, and cherry picked facts to support it, ignoring that which would show it to be wrong...

[flpoljunkie]

24. Or incorrectly...

[wyldwolf]

25. but in today's case, he did see some of this incorrectly

[flpoljunkie]

27. Your opinion--as an avid Hillary supporter, of course.

[wyldwolf]

28. In the reality-based community. Krugman obviously missed her labor record.

[flpoljunkie]

29. I doubt Krugman is unaware of Hillary's record.

[wyldwolf]

30. either that or he hopes his readers have.

[flpoljunkie]

31. Labor does have concerns about her loyalties--which they expressed just like week

June 5, 2007
A Top Clinton Aide Draws Criticism From Unions

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

The presidents of two large labor unions have written to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to complain that Mark Penn, her pollster and chief strategist, is chief executive of a public relations firm that is helping a company fight a unionization drive.

In the letter sent Friday, which a labor official released yesterday, James P. Hoffa, president of the Teamsters, and Bruce Raynor, president of Unite Here, wrote that they did not want to see Mrs. Clinton or the Democratic Party embarrassed by the anti-union activities of Mr. Penn’s firm, Burson-Marsteller, one of the nation’s leading public relations companies.

“If Hillary is pro-worker and pro-union, she will certainly take steps to rein in Mr. Penn,” Mr. Hoffa said in an interview. “He cannot serve two masters, working for a pro-union candidate and working for anti-union companies.”

In the letter, Mr. Hoffa and Mr. Raynor said, “It is with distress that we write you today,” adding that they valued Mrs. Clinton’s positions on many worker-related issues.

They said the public relations firm’s “activities in the effort to undermine workers’ right to organize at Cintas, a campaign our unions are involved in, is particularly disheartening.” Four years ago, the two unions began a major drive to unionize 17,000 workers at the Cintas Corporation, the nation’s largest uniform rental company. Cintas, helped by Burson-Marsteller, has responded with a vigorous — and thus far successful — effort to resist unionization.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/us/politics/05labor.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FC%2FClinton%2C%20Hillary%20Rodham

[wyldwolf]

32. two of them. And they, too, are being swayed by a "guild by association" argument.

Mark Penn didn't gain the strong labor voting record and ratings in the Senate. Clinton did.

[flpoljunkie]

36. I very much doubt that. Their concerns are not unjustified.

[wyldwolf]

37. I'm sure of it. The letter was prompted by the Nation article...

...the entire focus of which was Clinton's guilt by association.

[flpoljunkie]

39. Again, your opinion. Nothing else.

[wyldwolf]

41. It's a fact, and here is the proof:

Notice how the Nation writer discusses his piece on Clinton's hiring of Penn, someone said to be an enemy of labor.

Now, when the letter you referenced was written, notice this line: The Nation recently posted a story about Mark Penn...

Nowhere is Clinton strong Senate labor record mentioned.

"swing... hit ... going ... going... outta here!"

[flpoljunkie]

47. Nation article may have brought it to their attention, but so what? Gore doesn't trust him either.

[wyldwolf]

48. THAT is what I said. You said it was my opinion.

[dionysus]

49. lay down with union busters you wake up with fleas

*chips in for birdie*

[ProudDad]

52. Not just "run of the mill" union busters

but the creme de la creme of anti-labor activist law firms.

"Burson-Marsteller (B-M) is one of the largest public relations (PR) agencies in the world and also the most reviled due to its mercenary attitude in choosing clients and contracts, and its frequent run ins with activists for environmental and other progressive causes. When helping its industry clients to escape environmental legislation or sprucing up the image of some of the most repressive governments on Earth, B-M brings to bear state of the art techniques in manipulating the mass media, legislators and public opinion.

In spite of B-M’s claims that the best way to deal with problems is to put one’s own house in order, the usual effect of PR is to maintain the status quo. By manipulating public opinion PR diverts attention away from difficult issues and creates the illusion of change so that a company or government can go about business as usual without having to worry about its reputation. By lobbying government and creating Astroturf campaigns PR helps to maintain a legislative environment on which industry can avoid real change"

http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=392

Hillary should fire this prick ASAP unless she also buys into his pro-corporate evil too...

I'm hoping she gets rid of him on the off chance that she becomes president. We don't need another Dick Morris hanging around the White House.

On Edit: "The following have been clients of B-M and may still be (Burson-Marsteller no longer publishes lists of its clients):
ARCO, British Gas, Boots, BP Chemicals, British Nuclear Fuels, Cadbury Schweppes, Chevron, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz (now Novartis), Citicorp, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Deutsche Telecom, Eli Lilly, Fisons, Ford, Gallaghers, General Electric, Glaxo, Grand Metropolitan, Hoescht Roussel, Hydro-Quebec, IBM, ICI, Johnson &Johnson, Johnson Matthey, McDonalds, McDonnell-Douglas, Nutra Sweet, Ontario Hydro, Perrier, Phillip Morris, Pioneer, Proctor and Gamble, Quaker Oats, Repsol, Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer, Sainsburys, Scott Paper, Shell Oil, SmithKline Beecham, Tetra Pak, Unilever, Warner Lambert and Zeneca"

Oh, yeah, real progressives these...

[blm]

53. Vote records can be 'crafted' for appearance's sake. You may believe that

Hillary's vote for filibuster was sincere, but we knew that she was one of those, along with Schumer, who didn't want a filibuster vote at all.

Same with the Iraq withdrawal bill. She only voted FOR withdrawal timetable when she was facing too much difficulty for her past Iraq votes on the primary trail.

Krugman may not be as gullible as you wish.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LaPera]

33. Excellent...written by the best! Kick & reccomend.

[ieoeja]

35. One complaint.

"For example, the case of F.D.R. shows that there’s nothing inauthentic, in the normal sense of the word, about calling for ... policies that will hurt your own financial position."

Did liberal policies hurt the wealthy's financial position? Doesn't the spread of wealth ultimately trickle up? Don't the toys purchased by the wealthy get better faster because the consumer base for techonological advances is larger? Doesn't violent crimes, even against the wealthy, go down as incomes go up? Don't educated and healthy employees make more productive employees? Haven't big government programs wiped out diseases which used to plague even the wealthy? When the Tennessee River valley flooded did it only target poor people?

The reality is that EVERYONE benefits from Liberal policies.

[flpoljunkie]

38. Don't tell that to the Republicans. They refuse to let go of the inane "trickle down" theory.

[blm]

43. I agree. Throughout the 2004 campaign Kerry said alternative fuel technology and

serious environmental efforts would be profitable for this country and its economy.

[glitch]

45. Excellent point, apparently it's easy to miss, probably because it conflicts directly with greed.

FDR got it. Many in the top economic tier never have gotten it, so they too vote against their own long-term self-interest.

[tigereye]

40. lots of middle and working class people sail

just sayin....

[Nimrod2005]

42. We love Mr. Krugman...nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

46. God I love that man.

So, the Limo Liberal isn't a fallacy, as if we didn't know.

For those who don't know what that is, think of Candace Bergman <sp?> in Sweet Home Alabama.