Paul Krugman: The Centrist Cop-Out

[Hissyspit]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/opinion/krugman-the-centrist-cop-out.html?_r=1&smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto

- snip -

Some of us have long complained about the cult of “balance,” the insistence on portraying both parties as equally wrong and equally at fault on any issue, never mind the facts. I joked long ago that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read “Views Differ on Shape of Planet.” But would that cult still rule in a situation as stark as the one we now face, in which one party is clearly engaged in blackmail and the other is dickering over the size of the ransom?

- snip -

Which brings me to those “centrist” fantasies.

- snip -

So what’s with the buzz about a centrist uprising? As I see it, it’s coming from people who recognize the dysfunctional nature of modern American politics, but refuse, for whatever reason, to acknowledge the one-sided role of Republican extremists in making our system dysfunctional. And it’s not hard to guess at their motivation. After all, pointing out the obvious truth gets you labeled as a shrill partisan, not just from the right, but from the ranks of self-proclaimed centrists.

But making nebulous calls for centrism, like writing news reports that always place equal blame on both parties, is a big cop-out — a cop-out that only encourages more bad behavior. The problem with American politics right now is Republican extremism, and if you’re not willing to say that, you’re helping make that problem worse.

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[Vinnie From Indy]

1. This should be the number one story on DU

Cheers to PK!

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. K&R

n/t

[Hissyspit]

3. kick nt

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[smokey nj]

5. Kick!

[TheKentuckian]

6. It isn't a cop out, they are getting what they want.

If it wasn't what they want then they'd stop pushing the same bullshit that got us where we are.

They are nothing but the money counting, polished, and more civil sounding cousins of the Teabaggers.

[erodriguez]

7. More like good cop bad cop

The American people are being played. We are being forced to accept an unacceptable outcome.

[ProSense]

8. The snip is on point, but

Krugman always uses the President to burnish his own progressive credentials. He could have made his point without using the opportunity to call the President RW.

Mr. Bartlett has a point. The president, as we’ve seen, was willing, even eager, to strike a budget deal that strongly favored conservative priorities. His health reform was very similar to the reform Mitt Romney installed in Massachusetts. Romneycare, in turn, closely followed the outlines of a plan originally proposed by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. And returning tax rates on high-income Americans to their level during the Roaring Nineties is hardly a socialist proposal.

Why is he using health care reform as an example of RW policy? He not only supports the legislation and the mandate, but he also one referred to it a a big progressive victory.

"Guys, this is a major program to aid lower- and lower-middle-income families. How is that not a big progressive victory?"

Krugman cites Bartlett's piece, which I simply don't agree with.

[Pooka Fey]

9. K&R

[lukasahero]

10. I posted this on FB and Twitter this morning

It had to be said.

[Maven]

11. K&R

[TriMera]

12. K&R. n/t

[gratuitous]

13. This third way "centrist" nonsense wouldn't even get off the ground, let alone fly

If it wasn't doing precisely what someone who works out of the Oval Office wants.

[Cowpunk]

14. K&R X 1000

Dingdingding. Nailed it.

[Scurrilous]

15. Kick

:kick:

[bvar22]

16. Centrism....because it is so EASY!

Centrism....because it is so EASY!
You don't have to STAND for ANYTHING,
and get to insult those who DO!
:party:






Me & Jim Hightower feel the same way about "Centrists".
"The only thing in the Middle of the Road
are Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos."--Jim Hightower