Top Bush Adviser Leaves the Republican Party

[babylonsister]

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/29/top-bush-adviser-leaves-the-republican-party/

Top Bush Adviser Leaves the Republican Party
October 29, 2019 at 5:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

Greg Mankiw, former economic adviser to President George W. Bush, writes that he’s no longer a Republican.

“First, the Republican Party has largely become the Party of Trump. Too many Republicans in Congress are willing, in the interest of protecting their jobs, to overlook Trump’s misdeeds (just as too many Democrats were for Clinton during his impeachment). I have no interest in associating myself with that behavior. Maybe someday, the party will return to having honorable leaders like Bush, McCain, and Romney. Until then, count me out.”

“Second, in Massachusetts, unenrolled voters can vote in either primary. The Democratic Party is at a crossroads, where it has to choose either a center-left candidate (Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Yang) or a far-left populist (Warren, Sanders) as their nominee for president. I intend to help them choose the former.”

[yardwork]

1. A never-Trumper who still lives in a fantasy bubble.

In some ways, my contempt for this guy and others like him is greater than my contempt for Trumpsters. Both groups lie, cheat and steal.

[bullwinkle428]

19. "Honorable leaders like Bush" should have been everyone's first tip-off!

[gab13by13]

2. Clinton's "impeachable offenses"

didn't affect our country, they were personal.

[Scarsdale]

8. Also, may gop members

were involved in the same type of behavior. Gingrich, Hyde (youthful indiscretions at over 40 years old!) Then, as now, if a (D) does it, it is wrong. If an (R) does it, it is excused. Too bad they are not held to the same high standards as democratic politicians are. Their misdeeds are covered up. This is what happens when you settle for low morals and crooked candidates.

[NewJeffCT]

25. my sarcastic response to Hyde

was that for Republicans, anything that happens before today can be written off as a youthful indiscretion, even if they're 60, 70 or 80.

[Scarsdale]

29. Exactly.

Hyde had his wife and his mistress both in the room as he made a speech. Everyone knew both of them, except of course the two women. The gop is not held to any standards at all, high or low. Unfortunately, they have managed to get by with their misdeeds for many years. I will never forget David Vitter, who made "dates" with prostitutes right from "work" One used to change his diapers. When he returned to work, the gop gave him a standing ovation!! His wife tore Hillary apart for staying with Bill, then she stood by Vitter looking like a whipped dog. Her reward is that she now has a judgeship. So, maybe that was the price she paid. According to her, if her husband did what Bill Clinton had done, she would do a "Lorena Bobbit" on him. Big talk.

[NewJeffCT]

31. I remember Vitter

getting the standing ovation for coming back

[bdamomma]

24. exactly

Clinton didn't sell out our country to Russians and be an "illegal" pResident.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Keep tRump brand united with Republican brand. Repeat, repeat, repeat. . . . nt

[True Blue American]

4. I gree

With your choices. I want,experience, competence and compassion in my Government.

[Mr. Ected]

5. Democrats were right to fight a politically(only)-based impeachment against Clinton

They were trumped-up charges after years of trolling for something....somethinG....SOMETHING against him.

The will of the American people at the time disfavored impeachment because there was NOTHING THERE.

To conflate these situations is to bury your head up your gop.

[Scarsdale]

10. The entire world knew

the Clinton impeachment was frivolous. The entire world is wondering what the HELL is taking so long with the tRump impeachment. He abuses the office daily, and the gop keep quiet. Presidents Clinton and Obama are welcomed wherever they go. tRump is hated worldwide. The gop vilified Hillary because they do not approve of strong, intelligent women. Women who easily see through their dirty tricks.

[llmart]

6. Trying to play both sides of the fence.

What was the purpose of interjecting the statement about Clinton? Also, he's basically saying he's only doing it so he can vote for a center-left Dem. Looks like he's afraid of Warren.

Personally, I'm not impressed with his pronouncement. He just doesn't want to have the millstone around his neck of being a GOPer when the party goes down in flames.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. "What was the purpose of interjecting the statement about Clinton?"

That seems to be the standard knee-jerk reaction by these dumbasses, to apparently preserve some sort of "street cred" as a Republican. I.e., they must always disparage a Democrat when critiquing the malfeasance in their own party by equating their own egregious behavior to a fictionalized version of such from their opponent. So they will frequently insert a name with their manufactured simile ("like Clinton", "like Obama", "like Pelosi" ) as some kind of grade-school invective, rather than act like a grown up and accept their bad behavior for what it is.

[UpInArms]

7. I hope he goes and lives somewhere on a barren piece of rock

Mankiw wrote that the movement of U.S. jobs overseas due to cheaper labor costs – "outsourcing" he dubbed it in a remarkable display of political tone deafness – would prove "a plus for the economy in the long run," and was simply "a new way of doing international trade."

FEBRUARY 13, 2004 / 8:34 PM / CBS

It did not take long for Republicans to realize Mankiw's comments were radioactive. GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert lambasted him, saying, "His theory fails a basic test of real economics."

President Bush himself – who, it should be noted, Mankiw was speaking for when he wrote what he did – did not fire him (as he has with previous economic advisers who've gone off the reservation). But he quickly distanced himself from the theory that the "outsourcing" of jobs is a good thing.

Mankiw will never be welcome at my table.

[blm]

27. He's doing this to mess with OUR primary process.

I trust Warren’s economic views over Mankiw’s .

No contest.

[hatrack]

33. Watch "Inside Job" - Mankiw is interviewed in the documentary

His arrogance and pure cluelessness ooze off the screen, years after all his precious economic theories were kicked to the curb by vintage 2008-09 reality.

[warmfeet]

9. Same old repug talking points.

Center-left vs. far-left, really? What an ass. He may as well have called Warren and Sanders socialists or commies. What a load of horse manure. To hell with all repugs, whether they support the orange dolt or not.

[Farmer-Rick]

12. He knows the RepubliCONS are headed for a tsunami of losses

And he wants to be with the winning party.

[rainin]

13. I don't want a republican choosing our nominee.

When a republican says "far left", they mean not amenable to compromising with fascists.

[DeminPennswoods]

14. Not impressed

with the gratuitous Clinton bashing (must be stamped in R DNA). Instead of helping Dems rush to the center, work on reclaiming your own party. The irony is the policies that have been enacted during Trump's term are exactly the same policies the GOP under Bush, McCain and Romney supperted. Just admit the only thing you don't like about today's GOP is the messenger.

[Skidmore]

15. Jumping ship because impeachment looms.

Has had several years to exercise his conscious.

[Hugin]

16. After much trepidation, I opened this thread...

Because, if the adviser had been Rove I was going to totally lose bowel control.

And, I don't have a change of clothes.

Luckily, no.

[lutherj]

17. This could become a worrying trend. As the Republican Party becomes increasingly unhinged

and starts to implode, the more “moderate”, traditional Republicans will migrate to the Democratic Party to form a coalition with centrist and center-right Democrats, effectively remaking the party Republican-lite. I have no doubt that right-wing dark money is already flowing to certain elements in the Democratic Party. In fact, I suspect there are right-wing trolls on this site who are participating earnestly in discussions in order to disrupt a progressive message and push the conversation to the right. I don’t post a lot but I’ve been on this site since the Bush era, and I’ve noticed a distinct drift to the right on DU.

[Hugin]

20. Ah, the rebirth of the so-called Third Way Democrats.

Food for thought, lutherj.

[crickets]

43. This, and it's the last thing the country needs right now. Barf. nt

[FakeNoose]

34. I'm glad you're here lutherj

We need you on DU to keep us on the liberal, progressive path. Please continue to speak up.

[Wounded Bear]

40. That's been going on for years...

As the Repubs carom farther and farther to the right, "moderate" Repubs have been bailing out and becoming DINO's.

There was a big wave of this as the Repub party purged people in the TEA Party era and now that they are going more fascistic more "moderates" are jumping ship.

There aren't many moderates left in the Repub party, TBS.

The United States needs a significant lurch to the left, and very soon.

[crickets]

42. Oh, I think it's already been happening

"traditional Republicans will migrate to the Democratic Party to form a coalition with centrist and center-right Democrats, effectively remaking the party Republican-lite."

I share your concerns but I think the process has been quietly underway for some time now. You're correct that it's going to get worse and money will be the driving force behind it, as always.

[Recursion]

18. LOL he name-checked Yang

That will make the Gang happy.

[Maru Kitteh]

39. As a moderate, no less. Interesting.

[Pepsidog]

21. Asshole compares Clinton to Trump. He should have stayed a Republican.

[knightmaar]

22. "I helped fuck up the Republican party ...

... now I'd like to steer the Democratic part the same way."

[AlexSFCA]

23. Honorable leader Bush, lol

conveniently overlook his war crimes. What a great economic adviser” with a legacy of great recession. No, we don’t need his “help”.

[tavernier]

26. Honorable leaders like Bush and Cheney.

Brains in a blender.

[BeyondGeography]

28. "Center-left" is the new moderate Republican I guess

Walk with pride, Friends of Mankiw.

[Soph0571]

30. Rats and sinking ships come to mind...

[dlk]

32. Mankiw's toxic bothsiderism is largely the problem

Corrupt Republicans wrote the book in false equivalencies, and it’s usually coupled with a smug air of superiority. Mankiw's late arrival to the world of integrity is not the least bit impressive.

[progressoid]

35. Yay! Another republican joins us to move us to the right.

[FoxNewsSucks]

36. Great. Another republicon that wants to

escape the party they helped fuck up, and now help shove the Democratic party to the right.

As noted above, I have also seen a shift on DU away from good liberal "left" policy and candidates and toward the right.

[Hulk]

37. Laughable...if said as a joke.

Who was that Louisiana Senator, mixed up with whores while wearing his diapers??...david vitter.

"God forgave him"...such hypocrites.

[JHB]

38. Do we really need Mr. "Wrong About Bush Tax Cuts"?

...who was also Mr. "Wrong about the Obama tax increase", we should note.


https://www.economist.com/free-exchange/2010/10/11/take-some-time-off-mr-mankiw

Take some time off, Mr Mankiw
On the impact of higher taxes on the rich

The Economist
Oct 11th 2010 by R.A. | LONDON

GREG MANKIW is rich. This is not a controversial statement. In addition to his Harvard salary, Mr Mankiw is the author of one of the bestselling economics textbooks ever, which has earned him millions of dollars. He also picks up cheques from various publications and organisations for writing, speaking, and consulting, or so I suspect. Mr Mankiw's earnings place him firmly in the ranks of Americans who would see an increase in their tax rates due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts (note: Mr Mankiw served as chairman of Mr Bush's Council of Economic Advisers). And in an attention-getting Sunday column, he explained why he was concerned that such an expiration might negatively impact the work incentives of the rich, using himself as an example:

Suppose that some editor offered me $1,000 to write an article. If there were no taxes of any kind, this $1,000 of income would translate into $1,000 in extra saving. If I invested it in the stock of a company that earned, say, 8 percent a year on its capital, then 30 years from now, when I pass on, my children would inherit about $10,000. That is simply the miracle of compounding.

Now let's put taxes into the calculus. First, assuming that the Bush tax cuts expire, I would pay 39.6 percent in federal income taxes on that extra income. Beyond that, the phaseout of deductions adds 1.2 percentage points to my effective marginal tax rate. I also pay Medicare tax, which the recent health care bill is raising to 3.8 percent, starting in 2013. And in Massachusetts, I pay 5.3 percent in state income taxes, part of which I get back as a federal deduction. Putting all those taxes together, that $1,000 of pretax income becomes only $523 of saving.

And that saving no longer earns 8 percent. First, the corporation in which I have invested pays a 35 percent corporate tax on its earnings. So I get only 5.2 percent in dividends and capital gains. Then, on that income, I pay taxes at the federal and state level. As a result, I earn about 4 percent after taxes, and the $523 in saving grows to $1,700 after 30 years.

Then, when my children inherit the money, the estate tax will kick in. The marginal estate tax rate is scheduled to go as high as 55 percent next year, but Congress may reduce it a bit. Most likely, when that $1,700 enters my estate, my kids will get, at most, $1,000 of it.

Here's the bottom line: Without any taxes, accepting that editor's assignment would have yielded my children an extra $10,000. With taxes, it yields only $1,000. In effect, once the entire tax system is taken into account, my family's marginal tax rate is about 90 percent. Is it any wonder that I turn down most of the money-making opportunities I am offered?

<more at link>

"Center-left" vs "far-left"? Jeez, Greg, just take up fishing and stay away from public policy. You're really bad at it.

[klook]

41. Jeez, what a slacker...

Guy who’s already filthy rich doesn’t want to do any work unless it makes him even more filthy rich.

What about re-examining yourself and thinking about why you’re on this planet? Is it just to be comfortable, to have more than others, to suck up resources? Pathetic.

And by the way, show me the investment that reliably increases by 8% a year — lol. That happens, by chance, to be the amount your Social Security payments go up each year from 62 to 70 if you wait — at least until this asshole and his fellow conservative predators ruin it for good.