Paul Krugman's latest piece focuses on economic populism and, in his opinion, one of the key reasons why George Allen lost and Jon Tester won. Krugman does a nice job of exposing the MSM's willingness to adopt the "right-wing caricature of a liberal" and takes a swing at Joe Lieberman who is deeply in debt to his corporate backers. NY Times Select is still free so I am posting large chunks of the latest Op-Ed piece which is free for all to read at -
http://select.nytimes.com/...
"Senator George Allen of Virginia is understandably shocked and despondent. Just a year ago, a National Review cover story declared that his "down-home persona" made him "quite possibly the next president of the United States." Instead, his political career seems over."
"And it wasn't just macaca, or even the war, that brought him down. Mr. Allen, a reliable defender of the interests of the economic elite, found himself facing an opponent who made a point of talking about the problem of rising inequality. And the tobacco-chewing, football-throwing, tax-cutting, Social Security-privatizing senator was only one of many faux populists defeated by real populists last Tuesday."
"Ever since movement conservatives took over, the Republican Party has pushed for policies that benefit a small minority of wealthy Americans at the expense of the great majority of voters. To hide this reality, conservatives have relied on wagging the dog and wedge issues, but they've also relied on a brilliant marketing campaign that portrays Democrats as elitists and Republicans as representatives of the average American.
This sleight of hand depends on shifting the focus from policy to personal style: John Kerry speaks French and windsurfs, so pay no attention to his plan to roll back tax cuts for the wealthy and use the proceeds to make health care affordable.
This year, however, the American people wised up.
True to form, some reporters still seem to be falling for the conservative spin. "If it walks, talks like a conservative, can it be a Dem?" asked the headline on a CNN.com story featuring a photo of Senator-elect Jon Tester of Montana. In other words, if a Democrat doesn't fit the right-wing caricature of a liberal, he must be a conservative." (AJC888 - I guess haircuts are true indicators of a person's political leaning)
"Last week's populist wave, among other things, vindicates the populist direction that Al Gore took in the closing months of the 2000 campaign. But will this wave be reflected in the actual direction of the Democratic Party?
Not necessarily. Quite a few sitting Democrats have shown themselves nearly as willing as Republicans to bow to corporate interests. Consider the vote on last year's draconian bankruptcy bill. Mr. Lieberman voted for cloture, cutting off debate and ensuring the bill's passage; then he voted against the bill, a meaningless gesture that let him have it both ways. Thirteen other Democratic senators also voted for cloture, including Joe Biden, who has just announced his candidacy for president.
The first big test of the new Democratic populism will come over reform of the 2003 prescription drug law. Democrats have pledged to repeal the clause in that law preventing Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. But the fine print of how they do that is crucial: Medicare reform could be a mere symbolic gesture, or it could be a real reform that eliminates the huge implicit subsidies the program currently gives drug and insurance companies.
Are the newly invigorated Democrats ready to offer a real change in this country's direction? We'll know in a few months."