October 10, 2018

How can the NYT think this photograph is an illustration of "The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics"?



The article, from 2 days ago, is "The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics/Republicans are an authoritarian regime in waiting" by Paul Krugman. (The phrase "The Paranoid Style" is an invocation of the 1964 essay "The Paranoid Style in American Politics" by Richard Hofstadter.)

The photograph — which is a nice photograph by NYT photographer Damon Winter — shows anti-Kavanaugh protesters. The signs make that clear. Perhaps the idea is that "paranoid" Republicans characterize Democratic protesters as crazier than they really are. The only slightly "crazy" sign is the one that shows angry-face Kavanaugh wearing one of those hats that hold 2 beer cans with a tube feeding beer into the hat-wearers mouth. The protesters' faces look not crazy but — if I had to choose one word — concerned.

I haven't read a Paul Krugman column in a long time, but because the headline/photograph combination raised a question for me, I'm going to read to get my answer.

Krugman begins at a level that I consider rash. He calls Kavanaugh "a naked partisan who clearly lied under oath." This is why I don't read Krugman. It's red meat for readers who are hungry and know what they want. The Supreme Court's "moral authority" is "for the foreseeable future," "destroyed."

If there's one person who should not use the phrase "the foreseeable future," it's Krugman. It's alway a silly phrase. We're not psychics. We don't see into the future. But Krugman is famous for writing, the day after the 2016 election, that the financial markets will never recover from the election of Donald Trump. He should know he got burned and be careful.

Back to this new column. Krugman accuses Republicans — based on their performance during the Kavanaugh hearings — of "contempt for the truth" and "a rush to demonize any and all criticism." He sees Republicans as susceptible to "crazy conspiracy theories" because Kavanaugh accused the Democrats of making "a calculated and orchestrated political hit" and seeking "revenge" for Hillary Clinton's loss of the election. Kavanaugh's statement, according to Krugman,  was a "completely false, hysterical accusation." Completely false? That sounds... hysterical.

Trump made things worse, Krugman says, by "declaring, falsely (and with no evidence)" that some anti-Kavanaugh protesters were getting paid. How can Krugman know that the President has no evidence? How can Krugman know that it's false to say they were paid? Does Krugman have evidence conclusively proving that the protesters were all self-funding? I'd like to see an investigation into the inner workings of the protests, and I do think there shouldn't be accusations without evidence, but criticism of the accusers should model proper concern for evidence, or everyone seems to be putting partisan fervor above scrupulous adherence to the truth.

Midway through the column, Krugman shifts from saying that the GOP uses the "paranoid style" to the announcement: "the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting." In Krugman's analysis, when those who hold government power use the paranoid style, it's evidence that they're going for authoritarianism. Krugman lists some things — evidence? —  "investigations," "scandals," "tax cheating," "self-dealing," "possible collusion with Russia," and then asks "Does anyone doubt that Trump would like to go full authoritarian, given the chance?"

Well, of course, many people doubt that Trump would like to go full authoritarian! Why did Krugman write a question in such an extreme form that any intelligent, fair person would have to answer yes? Is he paranoid?

I'm not quick to guess paranoid. I think it's more likely that he's angry, cynical, tired of losing, and aware of his readership. In other words, he's deeply entrenched in the very sort of political discourse he's hoping to critique. It's paranoid when they do it. Uh huh.

His last line is another look into the "foreseeable future": "If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention." Be scared! Be very afraid! Be terrified... of the way those other people are spreading fear!

And I still don't know why that's the right photograph. I can only guess that the idea is: Look at these very real, sincere faces. Surely, they paid their own expenses.

ADDED: With an eye out for paid protesters stories, I found "Trump apparently misunderstands ‘Fox & Friends’ joke, makes baffling tweet" (WaPo), which tries to understand a Trump tweet that says "The paid D.C. protesters are now ready to REALLY protest because they haven’t gotten their checks - in other words, they weren’t paid! Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious - less professional than anticipated by those paying (or not paying) the bills!" WaPo puzzles:
In a literal sense, it’s true that the protesters didn’t get checks, because as far as anyone knows they had not expected any payment. But Trump’s tweet seems to be an elaboration on the original fiction, rather than a retraction of it. As best we can discern, he’s saying the imaginary benefactors of imaginary paid protesters have skipped out on their imaginary obligations and left the imaginary paid protesters with imaginary unpaid wages.

It’s a weirdly specific scenario to conjure out of thin air. We can’t even find any fake news articles to support it....
Some Trumpsters theorized that Trump deliberately said something wrong to trick some protesters into admitting that they did get paid. But "the dominant theory" is that Trump heard Asra Nomani, a guest on “Fox & Friends,” say, "People have sent me lots of messages that they’re waiting for their check." Later, she said it was sarcasm, but whether it was a joke or not, Trump apparently didn't think it was a joke.

244 comments:

1 – 200 of 244   Newer›   Newest»
David Begley said...

“But Krugman is famous for writing, the day after the 2016 election, that the financial markets will never recover from the election of Donald Trump.” And Krugman is a so-called economist. That’s why he should be fired. He totally got that wrong.

tim in vermont said...

Sometimes they really are out to get you.

Michael Bromwich first rose to prominence as Bill Clinton’s DoJ Inspector General from 1994–1999. In 2010 he became Obama’s Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (ie. offshore drilling; the agency was created in the wake of Deepwater Horizon). Earlier this year he headed up legal representation of disgraced former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. And now he is Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyer.

Oso Negro said...

I wonder how Krugman speaks privately. I am sure he is toning things down for public consumption and choosing his words carefully.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

But Krugman is famous for writing, the day after the 2016 election...

Strictly speaking, I believe he was speaking, and it was the night of the election, not the day after.

Pookie Number 2 said...

And Krugman is a so-called economist. That’s why he should be fired. He totally got that wrong.

All economists get stuff wrong. Krugman should be fired because he’s intentionally dishonest.

Shouting Thomas said...

And, I had been thinking that Trump has won decisively, and that it's time to extend an olive branch to the left and enjoy the peace and prosperity.

Peace, full employment, prosperity.

So, the world hasn't been morally purified. Do we have to fight the Holy War against the bigots until every last one is dead or denounced?

Krugman is on a moral crusade. When I had kids, I decided to give up my notion that the world must be morally purified before I might condescend to be happy. I decided to be happy in the moment, now.

Why Trump-ism works isn't something that I can fully explain. The explanation is not altogether rational. Why isn't it good enough that Trump-ism works?

Let's be happy. It's a great era to live in the U.S.A.

Ann Althouse said...

He's saying if you raise questions, you're paranoid.

Just accept what I'm telling you, even though you can see on the surface that my assertions go beyond what I can know. I'm just trying to make you feel that the wholesome good people don't ask questions. They don't ask if CBF had political motivations. She just rose up out of private life, because as a matter of civic duty she had a truth to tell. And the protesters too felt genuine outrage and came to Washington to shout their true feelings straight from their heart. Only fascists think anything else.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Looks like I was wrong. He had a column, with a timestamp of 12:42 am.

tim in vermont said...

I thought that people stopped listening to him when he defended using his column to grift money from Enron. The company formed to take advantage of government green energy policies.

TreeJoe said...

I was listening to NPR last night (who had Joan Walsh on) and now reading this article this morning....

In both cases, there are now standard assertions being made:

- Kavanaugh lied under oath
- The accusation against kavanaugh was not investigated and was credible
- Kavanaugh's behavior was not an ordeal and he was wrong to get emotional about it
- The GOP has totally alienated women through this process
- There is a republican mob

These are now prima facie points in mainstream press.

I'm watching this process and I still can't believe people behave this way and take these stances. No metrics, no measurement, no attempt to demonstrate or reference facts.

Conversely, there is no apparent attempt at self analysis. Which is perhaps more troubling.

If your answer is always you were right but ineffective and you simply need to do MORE to make your point, then invariably you will justify and perform acts of violence in the process of making sure you achieve your ends.

becauseIdbefired said...

Sleepy (?) Ann: check your headline. Grammar hounds would not be happy:


"How can the NYT think this photograph an illustrates "The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics"?"

Kate said...

The Earth will be underwater from climate change in THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

Pence will throw gays into a gulag in THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

The Left's platform is mostly Madame Blavatsky predictions.

zipity said...

Color me shocked that ANYONE bothers to read Krugman.

There are far better fantasy writers out there to read.

Larry J said...

Shouting Thomas said...

And, I had been thinking that Trump has won decisively, and that it's time to extend an olive branch to the left and enjoy the peace and prosperity.


Given what the left has been doing, perhaps they should be the one to extend an olive branch. They're the ones who have gone batcrap crazy since the election.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

As for the photo. My first impression was that the front row people were Kavanaugh supporters and the people behind were counter-protesters.

The flag and Justice statue says Republican to me. Justice is blind. Leftists disagree with that.

jwl said...

Economists are modern day astrologists, they think that they can see into the future and tell us what going to happen.

Henry said...

(The phrase "The Paranoid Style" is an invocation of the 1964 essay "The Paranoid Style in American Politics" by Richard Hofstadter.)

I think it's time for a new political essay. That one is a dead letter.

* * *

It's enlightening to read some of those old 1960s essays instead of just invoking. B y Hofstadter's hammer, I smite thee! Jeez Louise, Krugman, try a new bag of tricks.

A lot of the thinkers back in the 1960s were more anarchistic, skeptical, regional, gun loving, and fun than their killjoy progeny will every allow again.

Freeman Hunt said...


- Kavanaugh lied under oath
- The accusation against kavanaugh was not investigated and was credible
- Kavanaugh's behavior was not an ordeal and he was wrong to get emotional about it
- The GOP has totally alienated women through this process
- There is a republican mob

These are now prima facie points in mainstream press


This is what I'm seeing too. What the hell.

Lewis Wetzel said...

I've heard that Krugman's wife, the academic & hard-left political activist Robin Wells, writes most of Krugman's columns for him.

Anyhoo, Krugman is in that stack of people that show that the Left has gone insane. Not Krugman personally (though maybe he has), but he is one of those fellows held in high esteem on the Left even though he has been wrong about almost everything.
Kind of like Biden. Biden voted against the first gulf war (the good one), and voted for the second gulf war (the bad one). Yet people on the Left still think of Biden as some wise old man of foreign policy.
About a decade ago Krugman caused some merriment among real economists by claiming that low European GDP growth rates weren't very important because EU 2% growth wasn't really that much different than yankee GDP growth rates of 3%, thus indicating that krugman had a poor understanding of the effects of compound interest.

AllenS said...

Kavanaugh lied about what, exactly? Now, prove it.

iowan2 said...

I need some help. I don't have a poli sci degree, hell I don't have any degrees. Can someone tell me what authoritarianism looks like and how President Trump, and Republicans are going that direction?
I consider myself informed on current events and todays political climate, but I get left cold with the authoritarianism label. I can place zero meaning in the term as it pertains to the USA, today. If you're talking about Executive power, OK. But President Trump is not more so than Obama, and the Legislature can shut down the President, and up to this point, SCOTUS is supporting President Trump. My point is, if I can't figure out the term, 95% of the voters, are also clueless. I think that extends to media talking heads and writers like Krugman. One on one, Krugman could not defend his authoritarianism claim.

Rick said...

In other words, he's deeply entrenched in the very sort of political discourse he's hoping to critique.

He believes his Nobel and the NYT imprimatur normalize his extremist positions influencing his readership into more radical and antagonistic positions. He's probably right.

Henry said...

I'm just trying to make you feel that the wholesome good people don't ask questions.

That's a bonkers statement.

Well-behaved women don't make history.

The Crack Emcee said...

"This is why I don't read Krugman."

This is why no one reads Krugman.

AllenS said...

Pretty sure that Krugman has a following, and eats up everything that he says.

Gahrie said...

I do think there shouldn't be accusations without evidence, but criticism of the accusers should model proper concern for evidence, or everyone seems to be putting partisan fervor above scrupulous adherence to the truth.

Unless of course you are accusing a man, especially a Rightwing man, of sexual abuse. The you always believe the woman.

Rick said...

jwl said...
Economists are modern day astrologists,


It's a mistake to consider Krugman an economist at this point (or for the past two decades or so). He's a polemicist trading on his prior accomplishment for credibility. This is why he now makes assertions contradicted by his prior writing such as that massive minimum wage increases do not effect unemployment or available hours.

Bob Boyd said...

Intentional dishonesty is fundamental to Progressive-ism.

daskol said...

So the photo is asking: does this look like the angry mob your paranoid GOP is warning about?

Matt said...

We have the worst elites to have ever elited in Western world. The media proves this every single day without fail.

tcrosse said...

It's odd to see Krugman's name without the epithet "Former Enron Advisor" in front of it.

gg6 said...

Well, the NYT has never been known for its brilliance w/ photographs. But these faces do indeed look like dismal, paranoid Liberal millennials....maybe there's a MAGA plant in the photo department?

Night Owl said...

"And I still don't know why that's the right photograph. I can only guess that the idea is: Look at these very real, sincere faces. Surely, they paid their own expenses."

Imagine if they used a photo of hooded Antifa rioters? It wouldn't seem so paranoid to be worried about those thugs.

traditionalguy said...

We are watching a public mental breakdown. The NYT is displaying personality disassociation.
They can no longer live in the realty Trump uses as a foil to expose their failures. And Trump laughs at them! And they go Total Self Pity. And Trump laughs some more, and has Kanye West over for lunch so they can laugh together.

The Crack Emcee said...

"We're not psychics."

But, as I keep pointing out, that IS how Democrats "think", and I find it bizarre to live in a time (2018) when it has to be pointed out A) "We're not psychics" and B) Democrats, as numerous and popular as all our one-named celebrities, like Oprah, Hillary, Ellen,, Madonna, Gwyneth, etc., "think" otherwise.

Where are our journalists to challenge them and set them straight- publicly?

We're not going to get them out of this downward spiral until we break the spell.

daskol said...

Deranged columnist, understatedly concerned protestors.

GRW3 said...

This is another progressive/leftist projection rant, where they speak from the assumption the Republicans in general and Trump specifically are running from their playbook.

Replying to TreeJoe's excellent summation of demohacks points:


- A difference of opinion is not a lie (or a crime). This particular nonsense has been acid to truth for quite a while in DC.
- No investigation that does not come up with disqualifying information will ever be sufficient.
- Judicial temperament is for the bench, not the dock.
- Not so much, lots of women have fathers, husbands, brothers and sons and are terrified by the prospect some harpy could ruin their lives with unprovable accusations
- Really, show us a picture of a Republican mob. Trump crowds yelling at Acosta? Oh, please, the same people asked for autographs, a fact of which there are pictures. There are also plenty of pictures of left wing mobs.


Jersey Fled said...

You pretty much have to be dishonest to be a liberal. Even to yourself.

The Kavanaugh talking points are just more proof.

TrespassersW said...

I haven't read a Paul Krugman column in a long time, but because the headline/photograph combination raised a question for me, I'm going to read to get my answer.

Was your question "Is Krugman still a crank?"

Because the answer is "Yes." Supported by your analysis. His "arguments" (being generous with that word) are disingenuous, question-begging, and unsupported by evidence (for starters).

Ralph L said...

One question is are the elite leftists actually paranoid or just stoking the paranoia of their followers? Delusional or cynically dishonest?

daskol said...

I think they're really freaked out, Ralph.

Night Owl said...

Either Krugman is indeed paranoid and is projecting, or he is using the playbook that says always accuse the other side of that which you are guilty. I suspect the latter. The left always accuses the right of being authoritarian, yet we have Hillary saying there will be no civility until they win.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger Ignorance is Bliss said...
. . .
Strictly speaking, I believe he was speaking, and it was the night of the election, not the day after.

Just after midnight after election day: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/opinion/election-night-2016/paul-krugman-the-economic-fallout

Some choice quotes:
"It really does now look like President Donald J. Trump, and markets are plunging. When might we expect them to recover?
Frankly, I find it hard to care much, even though this is my specialty. The disaster for America and the world has so many aspects that the economic ramifications are way down my list of things to fear.
Still, I guess people want an answer: If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never."

"So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight. I suppose we could get lucky somehow. But on economics, as on everything else, a terrible thing has just happened."

Krugman once said that he went into economics because he admired Isaac Asimov's character Hari Seldon. Seldon perfected "psychohistory", the science of predicting the future with mathematical accuracy.
As I wrote in an earlier comment, Krugman's predictive powers in his area of specialty are terrible. This is the guy who predicted that the internet was no big deal.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Krugman accuses Republicans — based on their performance during the Kavanaugh hearings — of "contempt for the truth" and "a rush to demonize any and all criticism." He sees Republicans as susceptible to "crazy conspiracy theories""

As long as Democrats are behind the scam of alternative medicine (the original pushers of "alternative facts" in America) and Republicans are pushing the scam of supplements under DSHEA, both hold contempt for the truth, demonize criticism, and spin crazy conspiracy theories to justify themselves.

I consider talk, like Krugman's, a smokescreen over such facts.

A pox on both their houses.

Wince said...

Given the targeting by the Deep State, the mob harassment and the eleventh hour confirmation hit job, I'm reminded of the old saying:

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you."

For the record, the anti-Kavanaugh protesters in the photo look...

Butt hurt: (adj) overly or unjustifiably offended or resentful.

Darrell said...

1400 women called the FBI in the last couple of months (they say), more like the last couple of weeks (I say), reporting that Bret Kavanaugh raped them. People can't be allowed to forget this.

Gahrie said...

One question is are the elite leftists actually paranoid or just stoking the paranoia of their followers? Delusional or cynically dishonest?

I think they're simply hysterical.

Sydney said...

I’ve long suspected that the New York Times’ photoneditors intentionally undercut the writers. At least some of them.

Original Mike said...

Krugman is just doing what he is paid for. He gives the NYT what they want.

mezzrow said...

I had lunch with a very liberal friend yesterday. She's a grant writer who has made her career in administering services to the disabled until she retired. Lovely person.

We talked about her latest trip to Cassadaga and the influence of Venus in retrograde on her social life this week. She was on the alert so she could avoid old boyfriends. I was friend zoned decades ago, therefore I didn't count.

None of this Kavanaugh business even came up.

tim in vermont said...

Who could be more of fixer than the IG appointed by Bill Clinton to oversee the FBI. Sgt Schultz could do that job. He was a parked political operative.

Lewis Wetzel said...

iowan2 said...

I need some help. I don't have a poli sci degree, hell I don't have any degrees. Can someone tell me what authoritarianism looks like and how President Trump, and Republicans are going that direction?


I think that the argument goes like this:
Trump has criticized the press. Hitler criticized the press. Hitler was an authoritarian, therefore Trump is an authoritarian.

But of course the "argument" is nonsense.
During the cold war, Soviet and Eastern European dissidents often criticized the Western press, Did that make the dissidents authoritarian?

The Crack Emcee said...

"If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention."

I'm aware, things that "might" happen also "might" not, so I don't waste my time on them.

That people like Krugman - basically a man scared of his own shadow - are allowed to write columns, as though they're someone Americans should listen to (in the land of the free, home of the brave) is embarrassing.

He should move to Yurp where his attitude is a way of life.

n.n said...

It constructs a juxtaposition of "The Paranoid Style in G.O.P. Politics" reported in trusted sources like the NYT/mainstream, independent/moderate, civil rights groups, and Hollywood, and an photographic scene depicting left and right standing shoulder to shoulder without violence, harassment, stalking, etc. So, maybe, maybe Krugman takes a hit for exaggeration, but the persistent risk is reduced, and there is little progressive risk, when all these trusted authorities take turns to to uphold the diverse narratives. Tomorrow, or today (it's a numerically diverse organization) NYT/Krugman will report on "right-wing" Nazis and Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming/carbon forcing unprecedented weather events in appeals that will cover all their basis.

SGT Ted said...

Accurately observing and describing the Democrat lefts increasing use of intimidation, threats of violence, actual violence and mob rule to get their way means you're paranoid.

Right.

narciso said...

Back in the w era, he told Spiegel he feared getting sent to gitmo.

Mr. D said...

More projection than a 20-screen multiplex.

narciso said...

It was Jane Mayer who pointed Soros as the two wan Kenobi against w in 2004.

gilbar said...

you all are missing the point! Krugman (like Friedman) LOVES Authoritarian regimes.
They both wish (and Hope! (and Pray! (to Gaia!))) that the United States will Quickly become an Authoritarian power (and then quickly morph into a Totalitarian one).
The dems Were his horse; now he's trying to hedge his bet by hoping the repubs run too

Darrell said...

Lots of people wish they could speak narciso.

rehajm said...

I'd like to see an investigation into the inner workings of the protests...

I believe this was already posted here but WSJ had a working guide to the resistance that begins to unwind some of the cash flow connections:George Soros's March on Washington

Spreadsheet

narciso said...

See Tom Friedman who started his career slandering a pro Israeli militia and sings songs to the Chinese ruling council.

JohnAnnArbor said...

There's more projection there than an IMAX theater.

One party wants the Court to follow the laws and Constitution as written. The other thinks that's a TERRIBLE idea. Who do you want making decisions?

Henry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tcrosse said...

Lots of people wish they could speak narciso.

It's a dialect of n.n.

Darrell said...

Don't be a fuckhead and vote Democratic.

Henry said...

I figured out that the wholesome good people is Althouse's mocking summary of Krugman's column. It derives from Krugman's insistence that the question of what he did to Christine Blasey Ford, a question that remains unresolved because the supposed investigation was such a transparent sham.

The investigation was a sham, of course, but Krugman doesn't say why. It is impossible to pursue that line without questioning the accuser.

The Crack Emcee said...

Darrell said...

"1400 women called the FBI in the last couple of months (they say), more like the last couple of weeks (I say), reporting that Bret Kavanaugh raped them. People can't be allowed to forget this."

The only way, this is true, is if they're looking at his photo and feeling butt-hurt.

n.n said...

Accurately observing and describing the Democrat lefts increasing use of intimidation, threats

Who to believe? Who do you want to believe? What have you done for me recently?

With time, with incentive, these memories will fade, and the missing links will be inferred (i.e. created, recovered, manufactured). Krugman is an economist. He knows the numbers game.

Saint Croix said...

Look at these very real, sincere faces. Surely, they paid their own expenses.

LOL

George Soros: "Hey, I can't keep paying for all these damn protestors."

Paul Krugman: "That's okay, George. I'll drum up some free labor. I'm an economist!"

narciso said...

Their only hope to defeat dark overlord w, Mayer got her big break in the gossipy landslide making too much about Iran contra.

Now once upon a time, Soros was Anakin perhaps in the 70s and early 80s against the east bloc then power corrupted him like gollum.

madAsHell said...

Henny Penny is wrong again!!

Kevin said...

Krugman's Paranoid Style
with apologies to Psy

A girl who looks quiet but rages when she rages
A girl who puts her hair and resist sign down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself in university degrees is more sexy than a girl who sees through it all
A sensible girl sees through me

I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but gets crazy when he writes
A guy who tweets crazy when the weekly column drops
A guy with Nobel Prize rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Krugman's Paranoid style, Paranoid style
Krugman's Paranoid style, Paranoid style
Krugman's Paranoid style

Eh- Sexy interns, Krugman's Paranoid style
Eh- Sexy interns oh oh oh oh

AllenS said...

I have to give narciso credit, when he/she comments, I read that comment 3 or 4 times in a row before I move on.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

LOL - Krugman is a laughingstock.

and a Hillary Clinton apologist.

n.n said...

tcrosse:

It's a dialect of n.n.

I write plainly and consistently, with evidence and logic. What is your question?

Kevin said...

Do you think Krugman got inspired there would be TWO Nobel Prizes in Literature next year before he cranked out this masterpiece?

You know, goals...

Darrell said...

narciso often presents very informative links and interesting insights. Dismiss at your own peril.

mccullough said...

Krugman’s job is to keep stoking the Low Information Readers of The NY Times. The people who think they are smart. The people who think they are smart think Krugman is smart.

Krugman is an economist who doesn’t write about economics (because like all economists he’s wrong half the time — no better than a coin flip).

An Intellectual is someone with an expertise in one area who writes about everything else.

Krugman is upset that Trump is much smarter than Krugman. Light years ahead of him.

Both are dishonest. Trump is successful. And funny.

Bob Boyd said...

I've seen the Nobel and the damage done
A little smarter now than everyone
But Mr. Krugman's like a setting sun

narciso said...

It's easy to spell out the conventional wisdom it's available in 1,000 places, the truth is like eastern European samizdat.

Caligula said...

Well, of course, many people doubt that Trump would like to go full authoritarian!

Well, actually, I suspect all American presidents have wished they had just a little more power than the Constitution gives them. Certainly many have pushed the boundaries of executive-branch power as far as possible (FDR may be the best example here, but there are plenty more).

There is, however, essentially no evidence that Pres. Trump has been particularly aggressive in expanding the powers of the presidency. And so Krugman presents, what exactly, to support his thesis? Accusations against Trump's style and demeanor?

It's become hackneyed to point out that Krugman is (and has been) a hack for a long time, offering little beyond argument-from-authority (the Nobel! apparently nullifies any need to marshal facts and logic to support one's arguments). Yet it's hard not to see some projection here as well, as some of Krugman's allies have lately been promoting some of the worst excesses of FDR et al. Such as suggestions that when Democrats again have control they should nullify Trump's appointments to the Supreme Court by (what else is new?) packing the Court.


n.n said...

Look at these very real, sincere faces. Surely, they paid their own expenses.

That may well be a humorous insight, but it doesn't stand on its own. It's like the missing links in recovered memories, where some links are dropped and others added through inference, prejudice, or incentive. Krugman/NYT are playing the odds. It's not a zero-sum game, and NYT persists as a trusted authority.

Freder Frederson said...

I'd like to see an investigation into the inner workings of the protests, and I do think there shouldn't be accusations without evidence, but criticism of the accusers should model proper concern for evidence, or everyone seems to be putting partisan fervor above scrupulous adherence to the truth.

Talk ab out creeping fascism. Why would you like to see an investigation of the "inner workings of the protest"? Even if the ridiculous assertion that Soros is paying all these protesters is true. So what? He is an American citizen, and thanks to a conservative Supreme Court, he can spend as much money as he wants on political activities. Does the first amendment only apply when it is Koch or Adelson paying for political activity?

Original Mike said...

Years back I worked closely with a group of scientists and engineers from a Silicon Valley startup. They virtually lived in my lab for weeks at a time, so we got pretty close. One day when several of us were together I made reference to Krugman’s crazy column that day and I got jumped on. “I love Krugman”, “Krugman’s so perceptive”, etc. I couldn’t believe it. I knew they were liberal, but the column had beed deranged. A day a two later one of them said to me privately, “Krugman’s column today was nuts”. But he wouldn’t say it in front of the pack (and he was their leader!). It looked like a herd mentality to me. Their status in the group required them to sign onto whatever was being peddled by the NYT.

narciso said...

Now when 100 actors swore an oath to Obama, when school children were taught to sing to Obama Krugman was silent.

Big Mike said...

Krugman is an economist who doesn’t write about economics (because like all economists he’s wrong half the time — no better than a coin flip).

@mccullough, Krugman is not merely an economist, he is a Nobel prize-winning economist, and he hasn’t been right on anything, as far as I can tell, since early in Obama’s administration. Go figure.

Otto said...

"If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention." Be scared! Be very afraid! Be terrified... of the way those other people are spreading fear!"
Projection of the typical atheistic Jewish mindset, pleading with the gentile NYT readership to have the same.
Note the weakening of the left's position as a result of Trump's presidency, before it was out and out "this man is hitler" to now "please, please believe that he is hitler"

MBunge said...

Glenn Greenwald...yes, that guy...says that Trump, Brexit, and the rise of populism around the world is a direct response to the failures of the established elite.

Krugman demonstrates those failures are rooted in a lack of accountability. No matter how smart and educated you are, if there are no consequences to being wrong then you will start to become wrong more and more often. If you are allowed to ignore reality, everyone eventually retreats into fantasy.

Mike

mccullough said...

If we didn’t have Intellectuals like Krugman, we wouldn’t have Trump as president.

n.n said...

privately, “Krugman’s column today was nuts”. But he wouldn’t say it in front of the pack

#MeToo is one aspect. Another is playing the odds in time (e.g. memories fade and are recovered, circumstances change) and interests (e.g. profit, fame, rights and rites, justice and social justice).

Fernandinande said...

Paul Krugman doin' the Gunk Maul Rap.

AllenS said...

Freder Frederson said...
Even if the ridiculous assertion that Soros is paying all these protesters is true. So what?

I don't know anyone who is saying that Soros can't spend his money paying protesters, the problem has been pushed forward by the media that the protesting has been nothing but spontaneous. That is what people are upset about.

Bay Area Guy said...

If I were back in junior high school with Paul Krugman, I would give him a wedgie.

CWJ said...

"If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention."

Everywhere I go in KC, I see new construction, formerly empty storefronts being filled, and "Now Hiring" signs. None of this was evident during the Obama years "new normal."

Only in Kruggman's mind could this be terrifying.

narciso said...

Astroturf an unrepresentative image of a popular movement, also Soviet front groups in the 1980s

MadisonMan said...

Althouse, that last line is great!

narciso said...

A whole empire was built on the Jones memo, halperin and heileman got two books and a,movie out of it, Nicole Wallace got her slot at msnbc, they feed Steve Schmidt table scraps.

TrespassersW said...

you all are missing the point! Krugman (like Friedman) LOVES Authoritarian regimes.

Good point! Krugman goes all starry-eyed fanboi over Communist Chinese authoritarians. They get stuff done without all that nasty mucking about with [ugh!] elected representatives and legislation.

SeanF said...

Gahrie already mentioned it, but I feel the need to pile on.

Althouse, did you actually type, "I do think there shouldn't be accusations without evidence," with a straight face?

narciso said...

Conversely there was a,show time about a guy who made him into a,living poster board for Obama, that treacle date movie which no one went to See, not for lack of trying

n.n said...

the protesting has been nothing but spontaneous. That is what people are upset about.

Is it? Is the issue distortions forced by big business/big government, big oil/big green, big money/big charity, big press, big billionaire, big whatever interest? I think they are a given, and they are ever monolithic blocs, so they appeal to a diverse (numeric and color) audience.

Amadeus 48 said...

I guess Krugmann thinks the best way to illustrate the paranoid style is to practice it.

Whatever. He has been thrown out of better places than the NYT.

narciso said...

So by contrast Michael Doran one of the leading middle East experts couldn't get tenure at Princeton u because he had worked in the bush white house and was really critical of wahhabism, he was one of the first that really called attention to this Grichenko fraud.

How do I know about Friedman because an Israeli stringer widlanski examined the notes of his interview with geagea the militia leader.

Matt Sablan said...

"the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting."

-- And yet Democrats still have jailed and threatened more journalists with government force than Trump, who has tweeted at them meanly, but not tried not throw any in jail on -- heh -- Trumped up charges.

Ken B said...

Down with these conspiracy theories! They were cooked up by the Russians!

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

BK probably did lie, at least about boof, FFFF, and Renate Alumnius, and I don't care. He never should have entertained those clown questions, or been asked.

DeepRunner said...

Krugman needs to get rid of his tin foil hat and just accept that the far left (as with all extremes) is veering off a cliff politically. Used to be that Krugman was an interesting read. Now, like many shrills on the left, he is a cliche of a caricature of a parody of a stereotype.

#DemocracyDiesInIlliberalism

Ken B said...

Down with these conspiracy theories! They were cooked up by the Russians!

Seeing Red said...

Talk ab out creeping fascism. Why would you like to see an investigation of the "inner workings of the protest"?

So it can be taxed.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

BK probably did feel up Blasey, but its unprovable, it's such a minor incident from so long ago, and I don't care.

Matt Sablan said...

"BK probably did lie, at least about boof, FFFF, and Renate Alumnius, and I don't care."

-- Eh, I don't see why we should believe he lied about those. At least two of those, he's been corroborated on what they meant by other people. And, frankly, the Renate Alumnius thing he should never have answered because the Senate had no business asking about some random woman's dating history.

narciso said...

Unlikely they were both bmoc ford wouldn't have merited a second look but she could mine material from his books and articles.

Hey it worked with Roy Moore just embellish a detail or two,

Matt Sablan said...

"BK probably did feel up Blasey, but its unprovable, it's such a minor incident from so long ago, and I don't care."

-- I doubt he did. There's not even a smidgen of proof; I can't say he did something on such a thin reed.

Nonapod said...

Krugmann is perhaps the stupidest person at the NYT, and that's a pretty low bar. Deconstructing one of his columns is akin to deconstructing an episode of Dora the Explorer. At first I thought it must indicate a slow news day? But, no, there's a Category 4 storm about to grind into Florida. But a hurricane isn't something that's something to discuss or debate, really. It just is.

Matt Sablan said...

"Hey it worked with Roy Moore just embellish a detail or two,"

-- I remember at the start of this saying, "Maybe he signed her yearbook," and then, well, a yearbook turned up. I'm kind of glad I never got my highschool yearbook because the art teacher lost my receipt.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Paul should watch this

narciso said...

Only to blame Scott and desantis by proxy and climate change everything has to have an agenda, sigh.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Even if the ridiculous assertion that Soros is paying all these protesters is true. So what? He is an American citizen, and thanks to a conservative Supreme Court, he can spend as much money as he wants on political activities.

And in America we like our political spending to be above-board and out in the open, so if these are manufactured "mobs" of professional protesters, many of us would like that reported, but the DNC-Media has an interest in keeping us ignorant of their machinations "behind the scenes." You're not curious. Fine for you. But you generally fall on the side that cries about "dark money" and wants to know how and where the Koch's are spending their money. As usual, "dark" money is only interesting to progressives when it is spent by their enemies. Unfortunately, they consider all "normal" Americans their enemy because we won't vote for their Venezuela dreams.

I don't need to know who all the donors are, but I do like to know what "organization" (and there are about 50 organizations the Open Society funds to disrupt public events) is paying these braying idiots, because I like to distinguish political theatre from people are truly grass-roots like the Tea Party.

Art in LA said...

Does the left still eat red meat? Maybe there needs to be a new idiomatic expression ... ;-)

narciso said...

As rush explained it once when w was present there had to be turmoil over every little thing, Soros steyer lewis created that impression. When Obama was present there had to unquestioning adoration any criticism had to be deemed unnatural mentally deranged ( that was David weigels whole shtick)

Rick said...

1400 women called the FBI in the last couple of months (they say), more like the last couple of weeks (I say), reporting that Bret Kavanaugh raped them.

Do you have a link to the original reporting on this? I looked for it the other day but couldn't find it.

robother said...

The difference between Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and the Republicans: he makes that paranoid style WORK!

Jupiter said...

If Krugman sold his stocks right after the election, it's no wonder he's in a foul mood.

narciso said...

So scaife had to be the only reason that Clinton was criticized because every other outlet fell in line, update koch as you well know professor, adelson who the justice department went after vanderslip that fusion went after. Mercer now

Matt Sablan said...

"I don't need to know who all the donors are, but I do like to know what "organization" (and there are about 50 organizations the Open Society funds to disrupt public events) is paying these braying idiots, because I like to distinguish political theatre from people are truly grass-roots like the Tea Party."

-- Why not? Republican donors have been leaked before. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, after all. I see no harm in knowing who is paying for political advertising/grandstanding.

Matt Sablan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

Even if the ridiculous assertion that Soros is paying all these protesters is true. So what? He is an American citizen,

They have even admitted it but said it was money to pay for fines after being arrested.

We are seeing a Red Guards replay with Washington and Lee U taking down paintings of the men it is named for.

If they dig up Nathan Bedford Forrest, they will be right in the model of the Red Guards and the French Revolution, where former French kings were dug up and the remains destroyed.

Matt Sablan said...

The GOP is so paranoid about Democrats inciting violence against them. By the way, can someone take one for the team and kill Kavanaugh?

Matt Sablan said...

Also, let's go yell at them at dinner. But, no. We're not inciting any mob action.

BrianE said...

There's nothing more authoritarian than a mob.

StephenFearby said...

Real Clear Politics (Sept 4, 2018)

Three Texas Doctors: We Saw Protesters Paid In Cash To Disrupt Brett Kavanaugh Hearing On Line To Enter

"Author and commentator Adam W. Schindler interviews three Texas doctors who traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. While waiting on line, they say they witnessed protesters being paid in cash to cause trouble in the hearing and in the public line to get in, Tuesday on Capitol Hill..."

Adam W. Schindler
[Photographic] Proof [that at least one of] the protestors paid off in line [was later arrested in the hearing room].

https://twitter.com/andaluzuelo/status/1037312969477120000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1037312969477120000&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.realclearpolitics.com%2Fvideo%2F2018%2F09%2F04%2Ftexas_doctor_i_saw_people_handing_out_cash_to_protesters_in_the_line_for_kavanaugh_hearing.html


https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/09/04/texas_doctor_i_saw_people_handing_out_cash_to_protesters_in_the_line_for_kavanaugh_hearing.html

narciso said...

That's not the way it works gop or tea party donors are harassed their auto dealerships are shut down their place of business is targeted by osha doj they are drowned in audits

Oh sorry Matthew I missed the sarcasm.

Matt Sablan said...

Also, the point of the picture is to try and normalize the protestors. Notice them? They're white. Young. They're NORMAL. They're not like those crazy protestors in, was it Seattle, chasing down a car and harassing a homeless guy. They're not the crazy screaming protestors you saw on C-SPAN. They're normal! They're calm! They're White, God Damn It, Like Them You Rubes. -- The NYT, maybe.

FIDO said...

Deconstructing one of his columns is akin to deconstructing an episode of Dora the Explorer.


Dora actually finds things. Krugman couldn't find his ass with both hands.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Why not? Republican donors have been leaked before.

This issue is "settled law" so to speak. Being able to donate anonymously is an American right, and goes back to the case of NAACP v Alabama (LINK) when the racist Democrats in charge wanted to know who was funding the NAACP. Like today, the mobs wanted to know whom to target for harassment and violence in order to stop the societal change they disapproved of. ANY loss by progressives at a ballot box or Senate hearing or random vote anywhere is ripe for revisiting. As Russ Feingold said on Althouse's recording, "It isn't over until WE win."

Bonus question: Why is PP v Casey "settled law" but Heller "needs to be revisited"? "Citizens United"?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

So I am not advocating that "donors" be revealed, but that "Organizations" who pay "protesters" and run advertising be identified.

Michael said...

Krugman's a mug. If he were a genius he'd be Klugman.

FIDO said...

The Classics teach us everything. Once again, my favorite Philosopher/Scientist was Thales of Miletus. "If you are so smart, why aren't you rich?"

And it goes back to Plato.

Krugman hates Trump because Trump is rich, even through Krugman thinks he is smarter. Trump nails supermodels despite how he looks. Krugman looks like that creepy guy with a camera in the bushes. And yet, if Trump is no better looking than Krugman, why aren't women allowing a smart, woke, Nobel prize winner to grab them in tender areas?

Trump has ENORMOUS influence...and he's had enormous influence for decades. Krugman has to rant and rave to make himself be heard outside the NYT.

Academic Envy is real. Plato wanted to be Trump too. No 'real riches' but absolute power. The fact that Plato didn't mention supermodels was he was probably gay, though according to one account, he died while a flute (undisclosed) was being played by a slave girl.


Krugman has skittery eyes.

narciso said...


Why don't you drown so you can prove your innocent


https://www.weeklystandard.com5/eric-felten/a-conspiracy-so-vast

Tom Grey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tom Grey said...

All Trump haters must be terrified.
Since Trump is getting such Fantastical, Incredible results - he must have a magic wand! Makes me feel like singing, too. A bit.

(Krugman logic song)

Now we've got Trump, my normal life is so wonderful
A miracle, oh it's beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees, they've started singing so happily
Oh joyfully, playfully watching me!

Before they'd sent me away to teach me how to be sensible
Logical, oh responsible, practical
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable
Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical

You had to watch what you say or they'd be calling you a radical
Not Liberal? Fanatical, criminal
You had to sign up your name, just to feel you're acceptable
Respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable
Oh, take it take it yeah...

Won't you please (oh puleez) tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
Please is Krugman wrong again? Krugman wrong again? Krugman wrong again?
Oh, oh, oh oh.
--

To have a normal, wonderful life today in America is easy -- but you have to
#WalkAway
from those who suffer:
Democrat Derangement Syndrome

tim in vermont said...

Maybe his wife writes it because they don't trust him anymore after he sold the space for $50,000 to Enron.

Ken B said...

FIDO
That kind of resentment explains so much of the Left; they are affronted and resentful that a plumber or a pipe-fitter has the same vote as a professor or a poet. And that the plumber might earn more.

Michael K said...

Thales of Miletus. "If you are so smart, why aren't you rich?"

And he got control of all the olive presses and got rich.

BJM said...

Well, the media got the "GOP seize-pounce" talking points memo of the day.

Obviously the media doesn't think we see through their coordinated messaging.

The most hilarious thing I've seen today is CNN censoring the word mob and replacing it with the "m-word".

Keep it up and the GOP may gain seats in both houses next month.

tim in vermont said...

Ha, Tom Grey helped me figure out why Mickey Kaus seemingly randomly quoted a lyric from Walk Away Renee.

Howard said...

You guys won, but love maintaining that Butt Hurt 'tude 24/7. Trump feeds off of your FUD, so keeping to going must be what stands for patriotic behavior and obviates the need to actually do anything.

Martin said...

Thanks to Althouse for doing the dirty job of reading a Krugman column, so I didn't have to.

rehajm said...

Academic Envy is real

Despite airs, economic envy is the one that infuriates them most. Those bankers!!! Even amongst their peers it’s clear. Last year we started seeing a meaningful increase in the number of new Porshe sightings around Hanover. Turns out the profs had successfully fought for egalitarian pay packages consistent with their peers in Cambridge, New Haven and New York. Pay no attention to the substantially higher cost of living in those places, however...

Sebastian said...

"Krugman is famous for writing, the day after the 2016 election, that the financial markets will never recover from the election of Donald Trump. He should know he got burned and be careful."

Progs never get burned. Krugman knows his true-believing audience. Progs don't need to be careful. Except insofar as their in-group absurdity turns off the moderate middle and causes them to lose elections. So, entertaining fisking aside, the question is whether and when the Althouses decide that Krugman illustrates that the left is detestable scum that should not come close to power.

AllenS said...

Howard said...
You guys won, but love maintaining that Butt Hurt 'tude 24/7. Trump feeds off of your FUD, so keeping to going must be what stands for patriotic behavior and obviates the need to actually do anything

What? You don't think that Trump is doing anything?

tim in vermont said...

Not a violent mob, oh no!

href=https://mobile.twitter.com/keithellison/status/948657342308147202>https://mobile.twitter.com/keithellison/status/948657342308147202

tim in vermont said...

mobile.twitter.com/keithellison/status/948657342308147202

Phone don't like hot links

tim in vermont said...

By "do anything" he means further the liberal economic agenda, shame on Trump.

stevew said...

Krugman articulates Democrat projection. It is he an his ilk that are the authoritarians.

-sw

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Kieth Ellison(D) abused his girlfriend.

Hack-D press uninterested.

William said...

I'm surprised that Krugman has not yet been outed by the #metoo movement. That shifty, sidelong glance does not indicate someone who is at peace with his libido. This is not a man that you would want coaching your girl's basketball team.......I have read on the internet that Paul Krugman likes to dress up as Santa Claus and ask children to sit on his lap. I'm sure you've read these allegations also. These allegations are credible, or, anway, plausible. I would like a congressional investigation to determine whether or not Paul Krugman is a child molester. If Krugman has nothing to hide I'm sure he wouldn't mind a full scale investigation into all of his sexual encounters from middle school on.

Qwinn said...

Howard: Yes, we "won", insofar as Kavanaugh got confirmed. But the Left's attempts to prevent it were utterly despicable, and short of a possible shellacking in next month's election, they pay no price for it. At all. They got to fundraise, they got to smear an innocent man, they get to call every decision he makes illegitimate, they get to try to rewrite history even as we speak still claiming he perjured himself... and what did conservatives get? Exactly the same thing they would've gotten if the Left hadn't sunk to such abominable lows - Kavanaugh confirmed. So spare me the "you won, so stop being butt hurt" routine. Fuck you. War.

Seeing Red said...

That group must be fun to be around. RME

Trump is doing stuff, just not the stuff Howard wants.

tcrosse said...

Howard said...
You guys won


We won this round. But the fight isn't over.

Comanche Voter said...

Shorter version of our host's critique of Krugman: "It is always a waste of time to read what this silly putz has to say".

Howard said...

Blogger Qwinn said.... Fuck you. War. Is this crying wolf or a cry for help?

Rick67 said...

His last line is another look into the "foreseeable future": "If you aren’t terrified of where we might be in the very near future, you aren’t paying attention." Be scared! Be very afraid! Be terrified... of the way those other people are spreading fear!

It's at this point one has to pull out the rather tired refrain, that how is this any different from how Democrats speak and act when they have power? And he neatly contradicts himself and exposes how much he projects onto others.

William said...

Anthony Weiner is scheduled for early release in May. Yay! I'm sure he will not be hounded by the femimobistas when he dines out. Nor should he be. However, I think all Republicans in attendance should rise up and give him a standing ovation when he enters the restaurant. I think we should thank this man for his good work in subverting the Hillary campaign. I think even more than Bill he revealed the aspirations and goals of the men in Hillary's orbit.

Ken B said...

Why would they be waiting? They have had both houses and the presidency for almost 2 years. Why wait until after midterms they might lose?

Chuck said...

Another beautiful post by Althouse. Brava.

Jupiter said...

Mike said...
"So I am not advocating that "donors" be revealed, but that "Organizations" who pay "protesters" and run advertising be identified."

Many of the activities of these groups are illegal. The people who finance them are crime bosses, and should be RICO'ed.

Ken B said...

It is naive to ask why they publish Krugman. He is in fact the echt NYT columnist, the apotheosis of what they want: he puts a patina of intellectual prestige on raw contempt and hate.

Howard said...

tcrosse: the fight is never ending. because of that, the left is in constant chicken little hysteria and the right is perpetually butt-hurt. The Masters push the cult members buttons like marionettes on a string and they do their dance. Pavlov tolls for thee

Michael K said...

Aw, Howard. Have you been asleep ? Did you fail to notice the economy taking off ?

Unemployment s the lowest since 1969.

Labor shortages are pushing wages up.

And here is Howard worrying about somebody being "butt hurt."

Comanche Voter said...

I'm going to have to wash my mouth out with soap. Krugman is a silly putz--BUT he does have a Nobel prize. OTOH so does Obama.

hombre said...

It is clear now that the Democrats are merely an arm of the media complex. If there is to be a “blue wave” now it will be because the mediaswine have pulled out all the stops in their partisan assault on Trump AND Republicans. They provide the talking points and the supporting fake news and hearsay from anonymous sources for the use of Democrat politicians and mobs.

The Media Research Center found that 92% of network news was anti-Trump and less than 10% of the Kavanaugh coverage focused on his denials and evidence contradicting his accusers. 1984 is here.

Ted Cruz and Martha McSally are behind in formerly reliable red states. Their opponents are the worst kind of Democrats - if it is even possible to make that distinction any more. Multimillionaire celebrities, whose wealth renders them immune from the destructive governance of Democrat buffoons urge their compliant groupies to vote with their genitalia. Even if Republicans hold on through this election, they are not competent to counter the onslaught. Democrats have never been lower, dumber or more thuggish. So what? The
media either conceals this or apologizes for them.

And Republican political consultants may be Democrats!

Howard said...

Dim Mike once again makes my point for me. Why is it, doc, that insecure people like yourself are so arrogant? Overcompensation?

narciso said...

Actually they aren't but synema should way behind she invited the blind sheikhs soon to convicted lawyer to speak.

elkh1 said...

Evidence? There were 8X10 papers, with printed phone numbers, recruiting "activist" for $15/hr, sticking on tree trunks in the Berkeley neighborhood that I visited. Should have kept one to send to Krugman.

Michael K said...

Blogger Howard said...
Dim Mike once again makes my point for me. Why is it, doc, that insecure people like yourself are so arrogant? Overcompensation?


Howard, I was not the one complaining. You seem to be easily triggered. Do you need a safe space ?

You should probably be on that loneliness thread.

Robert Cook said...

"Biden voted against the first gulf war (the good one), and voted for the second gulf war (the bad one)."

They were both bad ones.

Michael K said...

Ted Cruz and Martha McSally are behind in formerly reliable red states.

McSally is ahead now in AZ. Her support from Kelli Ward fans was slow to form as they accuse her of being a RINO. She isn't. She just represented a swing district and had to sound moderate to win that district.

The question is whether Lea Martinez.Peterson will be able to keep the district R.

It helps that the D candidate is an obvious carpet bagger from Flagstaff and is staying in her son's apartment in Tucson until the election. Somebody saw her shopping in Flagstaff last week.

tcrosse said...

The Masters push the cult members buttons like marionettes on a string and they do their dance.

I'll have to sew a new button on my marionette.
Meanwhile, in states where there are actually two parties, we have an election to attend to.

Howard said...

Mike: do you pack a carpet bag for your long lonely trips to Los Angeles AFES?

narciso said...

My own wannabe congressman is a study in cluelessness, he's being carpetbombed by Soderberg on pec and has firing back with pea shooters. Gah

Friendo said...

Krugman is a retard

Michael K said...


Blogger Howard said...
Mike: do you pack a carpet bag for your long lonely trips to Los Angeles AFES?


No, my wife and I listen to audiobooks. I recommend Robert Caro's "Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent."

I recommend all of it, but that volume is the best. Hillary is the female equivalent of Johnson. Almost as corrupt.

We have listened to the entity biography a couple of times. I hope he lives long enough to finish the last volume on the Vietnam War.

You should read more, Howard. It would help you a lot.

Michael K said...

"entire biography" Autocorrect is weird.

Anthony said...

On the one hand, reading anything Krugman writes is a horrendous waste of time.

On the other hand, he's so easy to fisk I almost feel sorry for him and the dopes who read him.

But on the other other hand, he should be fisked and mocked mercilessly. For everyone's own good.

So thank you for that.

JAORE said...

What Krug does not know could fill volumes. And often DOES fill pages of the NYT.

Yancey Ward said...

Krugman writes for a specific audience when he writes for the NYTimes, and that audience lacks pretty much any ability to think critically. He does this shamelessly, and it has made him wealthy. Is it that stupid to do so?

wholelottasplainin said...

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the shrieking harpy who accosted Flake on the elevator works for Soros, and is paid ONE HUNDRED, SEVENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS per year. That's 3K more than Flake is paid.

Q EFFFIN D.

johns said...


Reading Krugman is like watching a train wreck, you just can't help yourself. He is impervious to admitting he was wrong, and he is wrong 11 out of 10 times that he makes his sweeping predictions. Here is a favorite, from the foreword to his "The Age of Diminished Expectations" in 1997:

"We have entered an era in which economic progress has become a doubtful thing...In the first edition of this book, I coined a name for this new era: the age of diminished expectations. The name has caught on, and is now widely used even by people who didn't read my book [just imagine!!]...although Americans now freely admit that something has gone wrong, there is still great confusion about what the problem is...[and the answer ain't tax cuts and deregulation]"

Krugman is a unique and wonderful read, because of his breezy arrogance and his blindness to the facts. There is no other.

Chuck said...

Jay Elink said...
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the shrieking harpy who accosted Flake on the elevator works for Soros, and is paid ONE HUNDRED, SEVENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS per year. That's 3K more than Flake is paid.

Q EFFFIN D


Got a link? I don't disbelieve you; I have heard the same elsewhere. It's just that it is such a great story I want it to be well-sourced.

Thanks for mentioning it!

stlcdr said...


"the G.O.P. is an authoritarian regime in waiting."

Any day, now; any day...[strokes white cat sitting on lap].

Earnest Prole said...

I suspect for regular readers, Krugman's writing is like slipping into a warm bath.

madAsHell said...

he is wrong 11 out of 10 times

This is Spinal Tap wrong!!

Sam L. said...

The NYT is insane, that's how!

exhelodrvr1 said...

The GOP is the authoritarian regime-in-waiting?

he has completely lost it!!

Sam L. said...

Well, Paullie "The Beard" Krugman is insane.

johns said...

madAsHell said:
This is Spinal Tap wrong!!

at least Spinal Tap played music

exhelodrvr1 said...

"obviates the need to actually do anything."

Howard, compare Obama's first 21 months with Trump's first 21 months. Who accomplished more?

wholelottasplainin said...

Chuck asked for sources regarding the elevator woman:

I can't find anything on it by J. Christian Adams, but he may have been reporting this about Ana Maria Archila:

https://www.lifezette.com/2018/10/want-to-get-rich-be-a-professional-left-wing-protester-like-flakes-elevator-gal/

"Archila (pictured above right) is one of eight officials making two and three times, or more, above the U.S. Census Bureau’s median average U.S. household income of $60,336 working for the tax-exempt nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy (CPD). Thanks to her encounter with Flake (above left), she is likely the most famous of the eight.

Archila is thus among the leaders of one of the Left’s best-funded activist groups, making a way of life in organizing, funding and leading protests on behalf of a host of left-wing causes and campaigns across the country.

She received total compensation in 2016 of $178,071 as co-executive director, according to CPD’s most recent publicly available tax return, which also lists her as its principle officer."

“George Soros is one of the largest funders to the CPD. Soros provided the CPD with $130,000 from the Foundation to Promote Open Society in 2014 and $1,164,500 in 2015. Soros provided an additional $705,000 from the Open Society Policy Center in 2016,” according to the Washington Free Beacon."

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