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ProSense

(116,464 posts)
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 08:44 AM Sep 2012

In the NY Times, Nick Kristof Erupts: "It Takes One to Know One"

In the NY Times, Nick Kristof Erupts: "It Takes One to Know One"

by The Troubadour

Nick Kristof has literally erupted on the pages of The Times, penning one of the more emotional and blistering takedowns of Mitt Romney you will ever see.

What inspired Kristof's wrath and ire? The now infamous "47 percent" video published by Mother Jones, particularly the part in which he calls nearly half of America moochers.

This is how Kristof begins, which is his tamest moment:

As I watched a video of Mitt Romney scolding moochers suffering from a culture of dependency, I thought of American soldiers I’ve met in Afghanistan and Iraq. They don’t pay federal income tax while they’re in combat zones, and they rely on government benefits when they come back.

Even if they return unscathed, most will never pay lofty sums in federal income taxes. No, all they offer our nation is their lives, while receiving government benefits — such as a $100,000 “death gratuity” to their wives or husbands when killed.

Maybe I’m being unfair, for I’m sure that when Romney complained in that video about freeloaders, he didn’t mean soldiers. But the 47 percent (more accurately, 46 percent) of American families whom he scorned because they don’t pay federal income taxes includes many other modestly paid workers or retirees who have contributed far more meaningfully to America than some who can shell out $50,000 to attend a fund-raiser like the one where Romney spoke in May.

Kristof then goes on to berate Romney and "self-pitying" Republicans for their own incessant cries of victimhood while manipulating the tax code. In essence, he calls out Romney for his horrible hypocrisy, for calling Americans "moochers" when he's the one who takes more than he gives:

One lesson is the narcissism of many in today’s affluent class. They manage to feel victimized by the tax code — even as they sometimes enjoy a lower rate than their secretaries and ride corporate jets acquired with the help of tax loopholes.

While self-pitying Republicans focus on federal income taxes (mostly paid by the rich), what’s more relevant is the overall tax bill — including state, local and federal taxes of all kinds. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, the majority of American families pay more than one-quarter of incomes in total taxes — and that may be more than Romney pays.

I recommend you read Kristof's entire piece, as it's well worth the read. And as usual, he leaves his best punch for the end:

Romney has proved himself right: We manifestly do have a problem with people who see themselves as victims even as they benefit from loopholes in the tax code.

One is running for president.


Romney has proved himself right, indeed.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/19/1134163/-In-the-NY-Times-Nick-Kristof-Erupts-It-Takes-One-to-Know-One





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13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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In the NY Times, Nick Kristof Erupts: "It Takes One to Know One" (Original Post) ProSense Sep 2012 OP
Nick Kristof Is The Truth DemocratSinceBirth Sep 2012 #1
Nice! N/t ReasonableToo Sep 2012 #2
kick demwing Sep 2012 #3
Willard is a Republican Twofer: a tax dodger & a draft dodger Berlum Sep 2012 #4
snap, snap, snap Liberalynn Sep 2012 #5
K&R nt avebury Sep 2012 #6
off to read the story irisblue Sep 2012 #7
the *mother* of all false equivalencies . . KegCreekDem Sep 2012 #8
There's more truth in your post, imo, than in all of Kristof. byeya Sep 2012 #11
K&R! ceile Sep 2012 #9
I might be wrong, but Aldo Leopold Sep 2012 #10
As far as I know..Romney Cha Sep 2012 #12
The price many pay is not measurable in dollars. Romney doesn't get it. freshwest Sep 2012 #13

KegCreekDem

(75 posts)
8. the *mother* of all false equivalencies . .
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 11:17 AM
Sep 2012

I had the same reaction to Nicholas Kristoff's article as this poster, BrianUrbana IL. He writes that in an effort to appear neutral to both parties, Kristoff give really poor example of "left wing nuts" who wielded very little support from Democrats:

BrianUrbana IL
FLAG
In an otherwise well-considered column, Nick takes a weird turn into tendentious argument, apparently in a strained attempt to demonstrate even-handedness.

He first discusses the apparent capture of the Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, by the far -- even extremist -- right. He correlates that to the party's primary purges of purported "moderates" . . . such as Senator Lugar, who has a distinguished record of public service in foreign policy -- and who, all my adult life, has also had a well-deserved reputation as a strong *conservative*.
Well-grounded examples, so far.

But then Nick, in a maladroit quest for an "other hand" to be on, writes,
"When I was growing up in Oregon, it was Democrats who were typically the crazies. Gov. George Wallace (“segregation forever”) tapped into populist resentments in his presidential campaigns. Lyndon Larouche was a cult leader seeking the Democratic nomination."

Huh???

He's comparing a major-party nominee for president, and a wave of primary results showing *that* party's drastic lurch to the right, with . . . a regional politician who NEVER became a major power broker in the national Democratic Party, and a fringe opportunist who had NOTHING to do with mainstream Democratic politics, who associated himself with the Democratic Party *only* for his consistently failed attempts to attract attention and get someone to take him seriously???

Nick has, bafflingly, given us the *mother* of all false equivalencies . . . .
 

byeya

(2,842 posts)
11. There's more truth in your post, imo, than in all of Kristof.
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 11:48 AM
Sep 2012

Kristof also sticks to the script that US and NATO occupying and killing is done by "Heroes" as if there's an ethical and moral black hole that exempts men and women who volunteered for these imperialistic adventures from the absolute harm they are doing.

Aldo Leopold

(685 posts)
10. I might be wrong, but
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 11:32 AM
Sep 2012

I think I heard this on Lawrence O'Donnell last night: Romney feels more loyalty to his CLASS than to his country. I would add he feels more loyalty to his class than to anything else he might identify himself with (political party, family, religion, etc.).

Cha

(295,899 posts)
12. As far as I know..Romney
Fri Sep 21, 2012, 01:28 AM
Sep 2012

doesn't pay taxes to his country. And, his money is in the Cayman Islands.

Mitt and his TAX RETURNS

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