I've just read Paul Krugman's brilliant piece of writing,
The Great Revulsion, which appeared both in the
NYT Select and in truthout. Luck would have it that Kossack ChurchofBruce
already beat me to reading Krugman's article and writing his own analysis about it, from a regional standpoint.
On the flip is my own. I wish I could've read COB's article in time to rec it, but the time for rec'ing had already expired. (Kudos COB!)
From
Krugman's article:
When movement conservatism took it over, the Republican Party ceased to be the party of Dwight Eisenhower and became the party of Karl Rove. The good news is that Karl Rove and the political tendency he represents may both have just self-destructed.
Two years ago, people were talking about permanent right-wing dominance of American politics. But since then the American people have gotten a clearer sense of what rule by movement conservatives means. They've seen the movement take us into an unnecessary war, and botch every aspect of that war. They've seen a great American city left to drown; they've seen corruption reach deep into our political process; they've seen the hypocrisy of those who lecture us on morality.
And they just said no.
One thing that struck me was how beautifully, and in a reasonably brief article, Krugman got to the heart of the problem of "movement" conservatism in the Republican Party and its elevating absolute power over all else--
even and especially above the good of all American people.
This is going to sound awfully partisan of me; but I have to add that Krugman's article underscores a HUGE difference between modern-day Republicans and Democrats. Although I've heard Karl Rove's frightening wish for a "permanent Republican majority" being repeated over and over like the goals for a Thousand-Year Reich, not once have I heard from any Democrat, not even Howard Dean or Bill Clinton, that our goal should be to institute a "permanent Democratic majority."
Besides the obvious practical notion that nothing is ever permanent, we Democrats and progressives just don't think that way. We wanted a majority in Congress because we wanted checks and balances back in our government, and we wanted a government that was responsive to all Americans--of all religions, races, demographics, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
It's not, nor it should ever be, about getting or keeping power for ourselves and hoarding it from the Republicans--it's about making Americans' lives better and making America a better place to be. May we always be true to this mindset, and this course of governing action.
Rock on, Harry and Speaker Pelosi. We've got your back.