Krugman: I guess the Blue Dogs really want to be in the minority.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

September 23, 2010, 3:21 pm
Tax Cut Fold
Paul Krugman


So the word is that given a chance to really put the GOP on the spot — the chance to force a vote on extending only the middle-class tax cuts, forcing Republicans to vote no in order to save their beloved tax cuts for the rich — Democrats will … punt.

I guess the Blue Dogs really want to be in the minority.


http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/tax-cut-fold/

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Exactly. I see Blue Dogs are non-conservative republicans caucusing

with our party. I don't understand why they just don't return to their true allegiance.

[laughingliberal]

2. K & R nt

[LoZoccolo]

3. I guess Krugman really wants to be a blogger and not a columnist.

I agree with him regarding the tax cuts but this hyperbolic rhetorical style seems to put him more in the class of the professional left than a respected journalist.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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

[flyarm]

13. + 1 million!!!!!!!!!!!!!! right on!

"five buck an hour DLC hogwash dispenser"

:spray: :spray: :spray: there went my coffee!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause::applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo::woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:patriot:

[leveymg]

9. Krugman is as close as America has to a "public intellectual", which had been

previously the preserve of the Brits and French. Think Dr. Johnson, Swift, Orwell, Honore France, Sartre, Camus, etc. probably best embody the tradition of the public intellectual.

Einstein sort of came close, on some issues, such as nuclear weapons, theology, racial integration and democratic socialism. Of course, he was accused of being a commie "foreign agitator," which earned him an FBI file. (This is going on your PERMANENT record, son.)

Of course, some Americans are unfamiliar with, confused by, and apparently hostile to such a figure. To which Albert responded:

[katandmoon]

12. Yes, how DARE he ever utter a WORD of criticism toward Obama?!

[LoZoccolo]

30. Is that why I said "I agree with him regarding the tax cuts"? n/t

[Occulus]

32. They've gotten really transparent, haven't they?

They're easy to spot, though. I added close to twenty- or was it thirty?- of them to my ignore list in one day, and didn't notice an appreciable change in the amount of coherent, thought-provoking content on this site.

Ergo, they're both incoherent and shallow. The ignore button is your friend, and for these types, using it makes DU better.

[Autumn]

4. They don't want to be in the minority,

they know we are going to vote for them, or bat shit crazy. Really no choice. It's a win win situation for them. I'm thinking after the election Bush's tax cuts will be made permanent. Political cover.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

7. No, it is lose-lose for them

Of the 44 House Dems who want to extend the rich-cuts I will be surprised if ten of them survive the elections.

The result of this fall will be blue dogs being replaced by republicans. The Dem caucus will be smaller and more liberal.

Why did Blanche Lincoln vote to keep DADT? Because she thinks it will help her win an election. Will she win that election? Hell no. She'll lose by 20 points.

These blue dogs are the most endangered and most cornered Dems and, rather than striving for principle or something creative, they will simply flail to defeat like crabs trying to escape the boiling pot by dragging the other escaping crabs back in.

[Autumn]

17. I am willing to bet that

it's a lot more than 44 House Dems who want to extend Bush's tax cuts, I just don't think they have gone public with it. That's just my opinion.

[carolinayellowdog]

31. Lincoln's Hail Mary pass is definitely lose-lose

America loses a historic opportunity to join the civilized world, Lincoln loses her reelection bid anyhow and now has two historic opportunities lost on her resume. Someone needs to write an expose about her career, as the layers of betrayal are deep and complicated enough to make for a very interesting book.

[leveymg]

5. Only in Congress. The Blue Dogs do, however, insist upon running (ruining) the Dem Party.

There's a direct connection between the two, as we've seen so many times in the last couple years.

Here's the deal. The activists in both Parties take control, and we'll give the corporate centrists their own Third-Party, where they can serve their lobbyist masters without having to worry about the rest of us. THAT's a GOOD deal for everyone, don't you think?

[flyarm]

8. I am IN!!!!!!!!!! Count me IN!!!!!!!!!! eom

[leveymg]

11. Here's membership card #002 . . . congratulations!

You do realize this will go on your PERMANENT record?

[flyarm]

14. I proudly accept membership card #002! and hell I have so many permanent records

and am on so many lists..what's one more? I wear those records like a badge of honor!

[leveymg]

16. You're in! The idea is to overwhelm the permanent recordkeepers.

Once there are enough of us, they'll just give up watching . . . B-) :evilgrin: :+ :7 :hippie: :toast: :smoke: :beer: :hi: :kick: :popcorn: :spray: :patriot: :hide: :yoiks:

[flyarm]

20. well I am damn proud to be #2! those boogers can't keep track of me now!

I move around too much!

[Cal33]

28. I hope the Tea Partyers will try to start a Third Party. Their chances

of success don't look good, but if they do succeed, it would be a
good thing for the Democrats.

[kenny blankenship]

10. Or they want to sink the Dem majority, then switch parties.

as has happened in the past.

[flyarm]

15. the only thing they will switch is where they get their paycheck from!

and it won't be from either Party..it will be from their corporate NWO masters!

[Buns_of_Fire]

19. The question might be, then, do we as a party dare risk sacrificing the majority

for one cycle to let the blue dogs find their natural level (below snake shit) and hope to vote in a real Democrat in 2012? Knowing the President has the veto power to (hopefully) watch the party's back until then (should he choose to use it)?

It's a long-term strategy thing, and Americans aren't into long-term anything, it seems. And, needless to say, it's a little risky.

[flyarm]

21. That is a private choice..I believe all our votes are the most private possession we have.

But this is one lady who won't hold my nose any longer.

[Buns_of_Fire]

22. I hear you! :-) nt

[leveymg]

25. The majority was sacrificed many months ago. I would suggest, HCR had a lot to do with it.

The American People watched that HCR sausage-making process very, very closely, and did not like what they saw. Blue Dog delay and compromise of that centerpiece legislation guaranteed the Party would lose the trust of the people. Lack of clear principles, party discipline, and legislative results. That's what did in our majority status.

[DefenseLawyer]

18. Politics is a fucking racket

They don't even try to hide it anymore.

[flyarm]

23. They never did hide it..it just took a little research ..it was all there for all to see.

one just had to look!

[Iggo]

24. No. They're a minority right now. A powerful one, but a minority.

If the republicans win, then they'll be voting with their ideological allies in the majority.

[flyarm]

27. Many of them will lose their jobs..when given a choice republicans will always vote for the repuke

not a facsimile.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

26. IMO BlueDogs crave survival in office too desperately to risk

passing up "campaign" cash from thousands of wealthy bidders for their vote on a $700 billion tax giveaway.

IMO they;d rather be in the majority than in the minority, but they'd rather be in the minority than have to go look for a real job.

[customerserviceguy]

29. They need to be eliminated entirely

Read something earlier this week on a news website, it said that the only Democratic House incumbents who mention HCR are the ones who voted against it.

Is that what we want the headline to be the day after the election? Do we want to read an article that says that 90% of the Blue Dogs who opposed HCR were re-elected, but only 40% of those in seriously contested districts won?

Dump the Blue Dogs. Even if a tea party freak gets the seat, it will put their stupidity on display for the next two years, and we can get a real progressive in that seat when President Obama is at the top of the ticket.

[McCamy Taylor]

33. I think they plan to switch parties to the GOP to give them a majority after the election.

They do not run as Republicans because they can not make it through the GOP's insane primaries. So Big Business backs them to run as Democrats.