KRUGMAN-Conservatives Asking: "How Did We Get Here" & My God What Have We Done?"

[kpete]

Same Old Party
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: October 8, 2007

There have been a number of articles recently that portray President Bush as someone who strayed from the path of true conservatism. Republicans, these articles say, need to return to their roots.

Well, I don’t know what true conservatism is, but while doing research for my forthcoming book I spent a lot of time studying the history of the American political movement that calls itself conservatism — and Mr. Bush hasn’t strayed from the path at all. On the contrary, he’s the very model of a modern movement conservative.

...........

Above all, people claim to be shocked by the Bush administration’s authoritarianism, its disdain for the rule of law. But a full half-century has passed since The National Review proclaimed that “the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail,” and dismissed as irrelevant objections that might be raised after “consulting a catalogue of the rights of American citizens, born Equal” — presumably a reference to the document known as the Constitution of the United States.

Now, as they survey the wreckage of their cause, conservatives may ask themselves: “Well, how did we get here?” They may tell themselves: “This is not my beautiful Right.” They may ask themselves: “My God, what have we done?”

But their movement is the same as it ever was. And Mr. Bush is movement conservatism’s true, loyal heir.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/opinion/08krugman.html?ref=opinion

[Redbear]

1. Love the Talking Heads reference

Conservatism - Same as it ever was.

[skypilot]

3. Meet the new boss.

Same as the old boss.

[TomClash]

16. Letting the days go by . . .

. . . let the waterboarding hold me down . . .

Oops, I changed that lyric a little.

[EVDebs]

18. "...and you may ask yourself..." LOL ! Trouble is, conservatives don't even think to ask !

[applegrove]

2. Krugman never misses a beat.

[groovedaddy]

4. There might be a few who are asking those questions

but most are still in the "stay the course" camp.
IDIOTS!

[Lasher]

5. 'Conservative' is a Bizarro World label in this case.

Think about it, just what is it they are conserving? Jobs? Soldiers' lives? International respect? The nation's solvency? The Constitution?

[Tesha]

10. Their funds. Their privilege. Their power. Same as it ever was.

> Think about it, just what is it they are conserving? Jobs?
> Soldiers' lives? International respect? The nation's solvency?
> The Constitution?

Their funds. Their privilege. Their power. Same as it ever was.

Tesha

[AlinPA]

15. Conserving ignorance. nt

[Iris]

20. same...as...it...ever...was

you got that right

[blogslut]

6. sigh

Krugman and the Heads in one article. I am in love. :)

[Arugula Latte]

7. Aaaaand ... Why do the batshit -crazy nutballs still have the megaphone?

[Tesha]

11. They bought it and paid for it since about 1970 or so. (NT)

[starroute]

17. The movement conservatives really took over the GOP in 1980

The GOP before then was basically old-line Eastern financial establishment. There had always been a more radical component, based in Midwestern industrialism and in the closely allied California John Birchers, but they didn't control the party.

A combination of factors changed things in the 60's and 70's -- the appeal of free-market economics to the young conservatives of the day, the shift of Southern racists and religious conservatives from Democratic to Republican, the appearance of wealthy funders like Scaife who aimed to turn back the threat of 60's radicalism by supporting groups like the Heritage Foundation.

That was the "movement" phase of movement conservatism, when they still didn't know if they wanted to stick with the Republican Party or stay pure and independent. Even right after Watergate, things were still in flux. It was only with Reagan that movement conservatism decisively took over the GOP, and since then, they've gotten more and more rigid in consolidating their power and excluding any alternatives.

Somewhere along the line, they also made common cause with the Nixon-era dirty tricksters like Karl Rove -- presumably as a result of George H.W. Bush joining the Reagan camp. The result was the worst of both camps -- dirty politics with a totalitarian slant. That's what we've been suffering under ever since.

[grasswire]

8. your title is wrong -- please change it.

Krugman asks the questions, not Republicans. You are giving a false impression.

"...conservatives may ask themselves: “Well, how did we get here?” They may tell themselves: “This is not my beautiful Right.” They may ask themselves: “My God, what have we done?”

[Hamlette]

9. they are going to have a hard time running from Bush in 2008

they have no option but to ignore him but should be asked "what would YOU have done differently in Iraq, New Orleans, Schiavo," and all the other shames that have been this past 7 years.

America won't elect someone who would do the same thing in Schiavo and every candidate should be asked. Will a debate moderator be brave enough?

[RufusEarl]

12. They're "Burning Down the House!

Peace!

[Hydra]

13. Idiots

"We did everything they told us to, and we don't have a perfect world!!! WHY, WHY!?!?!"

Newsflash! When RW "Demigods" say that they are going to create a "perfect world," they meant for THEMSELVES not you, you bonehead!

[EVDebs]

14. Conservative's disrespect for the truth eventually catches up to them. As with JFK, the fab WMDs

Richard Belzer's excellent little blog,

Defaming History or, Who Didn't Kill JFK
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-belzer/defaming-history-or-who-_b_60188.html

not to mention the newest rock to be turned over, the Oswald/CIA-handler Joannides case which has 'debunkers' running for their reputations,

Celebrated authors demand that the CIA come clean on JFK assassination
Gerald Posner, Norman Mailer and Don DeLillo back lawsuit to open secret files on CIA mystery man tied to Lee Harvey Oswald.

By Jefferson Morley
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/12/17/joannides/index.html

Liberals and lovers of the truth should be celebrating now that these 'celebrated' authors have been forced into demanding what we've been demanding all along, the plain and simple truth.

Maybe it's time (PAST TIME) for some noisemaking on this sad fact about conservatives: They've been lying their asses off for years.

[Rex]

19. Their party resembles nothing from the roots of modern conservatism

that is if we all agree that Edmund Burke started the modern version of conservatism. If so, then one only has to look at what HE believed during the Revolutionary War. Was he a man that favored the Monarchy (like modern repukes do with George) or the People? Did he support the Redcoats or the peasantry in America? Did he like authoritarian rule by Britain or the rule of hodge podge local yokels?