Paul Krugman's Greatest Column (And That's Saying A Lot)
by tristero
Yes, there are many great Krugman's columns, but this one gets my nomination for the best ever. He's nailed down, with damning examples, the sheer depth of the contempt modern Republicans have for everyone who has to work for a living.
Forget the 47% stat - way too generous. It's the 99% these people despise and dismiss - and are not afraid to say so - over and over and over again. Here's a little taste, but it will take only a few minutes to read the entire thing:
Consider the Twitter message sent out by Eric Cantor, the Republican House majority leader, on Labor Day — a holiday that specifically celebrates America’s workers. Here’s what it said, in its entirety: “Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success.” Yes, on a day set aside to honor workers, all Mr. Cantor could bring himself to do was praise their bosses.
Wow. And then Krugman demonstrates this is not just one tone-deaf ghost-writer working for a hack. This rhetorical garbage goes right up to the top of the ticket:
Lest you think that this was just a personal slip, consider Mr. Romney’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. What did he have to say about American workers? Actually, nothing: the words “worker” or “workers” never passed his lips.
Wow. And there's more, much more because Krugman, unlike Mr. Kristof, has no compunction about connecting the dots. I don't want to spoil it for you!
Democrats would be crazy not to run with this (I know, I know...)
In any event, you can bet your sweet bippy that some Republican stratergy-ist has also read What Krugman Says and has sounded the alarum. And so, from now until November, we will be treated to the very amusing spectacle of two uber-elitists - Romney and Ryan - struggling against all their upper-class twit prejudices to utter that word that screams dirty fingernails and grimy overalls -"worker" - and like it.
(Edited to fix a scrambled cut-and-paste in the last paragraph.)