Paul Krugman writes that the Republican Party, officially known as the GOP -- The Grand Old Party -- is actually the COP -- The Corrupt Old Party:
The G.O.P. is now a thoroughly corrupt party. Trump is a symptom, not the disease, and our democracy will remain under dire threat even if and when he’s gone.
The usual explanation you hear for G.O.P. acquiescence in Trumpian malfeasance is that elected Republicans fear being defeated in a primary if they show any hint of wavering. And that’s certainly an important part of the story.
Republicans haven’t forgotten what happened in 2014, when David Brat, a Tea Party insurgent, ousted Eric Cantor, at the time the House majority leader. Cantor was a hard-line conservative, but mild-mannered in affect, and perceived as soft on immigration. The lesson was that the G.O.P. base demands red meat, and these days that means supporting Trump no matter what.
But, if you really want to know what's going on, you have to follow the money. What happens when Republicans retire?
What, after all, do retired officials do for a living? Many become lobbyists, and in an era of extreme polarization that means lobbying their own party. Being honest about why you quit would be bad for future business.
What, after all, do retired officials do for a living? Many become lobbyists, and in an era of extreme polarization that means lobbying their own party. Being honest about why you quit would be bad for future business.
Earlier I mentioned David Brat, who ousted Eric Cantor. As it happens, Brat himself was defeated in last year’s Democratic landslide. So what’s he doing now? He’s dean of the business school at Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University.
So financial incentives keep even retiring Republicans in line. And the exceptions prove the rule.
As far as I can tell, Gordon Sondland, who is ambassador to the European Union — but surely not for long — was the first political appointee, as opposed to professional civil servant, to attest to the Trump administration’s abuse of power in Ukraine. A key point about Sondland, however, is that he’s a rich man who doesn’t need wing-nut welfare.
Money has saturated politics these days. And there are mountains of money in the Republican coffers.
A word to the wise.
Image: the Globe and Mail
10 comments:
.. 'wing nut welfare' .. there's one for the history books..
And the wealthy claim that welfare is a public disgrace, sal.
The term has been in use for a long time, most appropriately in reference to the foundations and institutes that the libertarians have either created or bought. Harper and Jason are fine examples of this type of welfare bum.
I agree, John. After all, it was David Lewis who coined the term "corporate welfare bums."
I find it curious that writers of the stature of Krugman still speak of the US as a democracy. It does not function as a democracy except, perhaps, in name only. The 2014 paper out of Princeton by professors Gilens and Page amply demonstrates that America quietly drifted into a plutocracy from the onset of the 21st century.
It began with political capture, the "bought and paid for" Congress, ALEC, etc. That facilitated the next powerful step, regulatory capture in which regulated industries came to dominate boards and tribunals that exercised control over them. What better than to "own" the regulators? Trump has done a wonderful job capturing the judicial branch by stacking the USSC with tightly conservative judges as though a politically biased judiciary was not justice corrupted. Trump's role in facilitating all this, despite his grandiose promises to be the new broom his base craved, shows that the capture of the American government is now complete.
How does Krugman then write of America as a democracy? What nation, at least in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, does so much violence to the word? What nation works so hard to prevent so many (non-whites) from voting? What nation so openly gerrymanders electoral districts?
A few years ago I scoffed at claims that corporate America didn't want to buy the government. It was out to own it. It has succeeded. The Gilens and Page study shows that when the public interest clashes with powerful narrow interests, the public interest almost invariably loses. That's not democracy.
No, it's not a democracy, Mound. And soon it will no longer be a republic.
!?
G.O.P.
Grifters Old Party
Grifters are also known as chiselers, defrauders, gougers, scammers, swindlers, and flim-flammers.
You're right, !?. The old acronym still works.
Eventually every undertaking in America takes on the character of a baseball game.
"From spiking opposing players to stealing signs, doctoring balls and corking bats, cheating has become a part of the game. And it is entirely acceptable, as long as you don't get caught."
- Michael Bell
What's the problem? The plutocrats are just throwing spitballs and tampering with the turf. It might not be democracy but it's as "American" as you can get.
Con men have a long -- and dishonourable -- tradition in the United States, John.
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