I have been as annoyed by Tom Friedman (he of Friedman Unit fame) as many of us, in part I think because he is in many cases intelligent and reasonable, but simply cannot face those instances when he has been wrong, or at least can't admit it.
Well, his column on Tuesday(yeah, I know I'm late to the party--sue me, or better yet tell me that this is a wasted diary which has already been diaried before) is the single best thing I've read by him. He begins with a simple criticism of Sarah Palin's assertion that paying taxes is NOT patriotic (and, by implication, that not paying taxes is part of her patriotism).
But it's where he goes with it that is so amazing. He not only criticizes that kind of worldview, he eviscerates her, but also ANY CONSERVATIVE who supports her. He makes plain that their position is neither logically coherent, nor morally defensible, nor, of course, patriotic. It's truly a wonder to behold; look:
What an awful statement. Palin defended the government’s $700 billion rescue plan. She defended the surge in Iraq, where her own son is now serving. She defended sending more troops to Afghanistan. And yet, at the same time, she declared that Americans who pay their fair share of taxes to support all those government-led endeavors should not be considered patriotic.
Man, if Friedman would use his powers of observation, analysis and writing for good more often! You thought that was good? Check out the next paragraph:
I only wish she had been asked: "Governor Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?" That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.
But the rest of it is equally good.
There's really only one section that gets even better than this---the comments by readers. Organize them by recs and read some great stuff. Here are two samples:
I am foreign born. I don't understand Sarah Palin, I don't understand how a society can produce such Palins, I don't understand how such an individual can can reach this level and I don't understand how such an individual can reach this level at this moment.
This whole Republican anti-tax thing goes hand in hand with with what I believe to be the other headache left over from Reagan:
The idea that the welfare mother takes more from the government than the billionaire.
The billionaire doesn't exist without the government to enforce contracts, provide investment markets and banks and make the streets safe enough to enjoy their money. How many welfare mothers benefit directly from the SEC?
The $1000 a month or whatever it is these days is a pittance compared to the benefits the billionaire reaps from the government. I guess now we can add $700B on to the tab. With all those benefits should come higher taxation.
It's time Americans began to recognize the major flim-flam that is the core of Republican philosophy: the only alternatives to "tax and spend" are 1) tax and don't spend; 2) don't tax and don't spend; and 3) don't tax but spend anyway. The first two options cannot sustain a living democracy; the third option cannot sustain a living democracy for long.