KRUGMAN On Fire: The Dixiecrat Solution

[kpete]

So you have this neighbor who has been making your life hell. First he tied you up with a spurious lawsuit; you’re both suffering from huge legal bills. Then he threatened bodily harm to your family. Now, however, he says he’s willing to compromise: He’ll call off the lawsuit, which is to his advantage as well as yours. But in return you must give him your car. Oh, and he’ll stop threatening your family — but only for a week, after which the threats will resume.

Not much of an offer, is it? But here’s the kicker: Your neighbor’s relatives, who have been egging him on, are furious that he didn’t also demand that you kill your dog.

And now you understand the current state of budget negotiations.


.........

The question for the next few days is whether plunging markets and urgent appeals from big business will stiffen the non-extremists’ spines. For as far as I can tell, the reverse-Dixiecrat solution is the only way out of this mess.


the rest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/opinion/krugman-the-dixiecrat-solution.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131014&_r=0

[TwilightGardener]

1. Don't know what we'd do without Paul Krugman.

[harun]

13. He does a great job.

[malaise]

2. That's it in a nutshell

Rec

[flamingdem]

3. quote

The problem is that John Boehner, the speaker of the House, won’t allow such votes, because he’s afraid of the backlash from his party’s radicals. Which points to a broader conclusion: The biggest problem we as a nation face right now is not the extremism of Republican radicals, which is a given, but the cowardice of Republican non-extremists (it would be stretching to call them moderates).

[jmowreader]

14. Turns out it's not Boehner's fault after all, or is it?

The House now has a rule allowing only Erich Cantor to bring bills to the House floor.

If Boehner's at fault, it's for allowing this to happen. One of two things is at play: either he allowed it to happen and needs to be expelled for damaging America's place in the world, or the tea party did it without Boehner's approval and Boehner needs to be expelled for inability to do his job.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Paul the parallels are not to 1938

It is to the 1850s. I hope the markets do that short term though. But these people are nuts

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. The fix for this problem is a wedge.

Republicans have used wedge politics against us for decades. It's time to return the favor.

Run an ad in his hometown praising Boner for his good faith efforts to bring an end to the impasse created by less rational repubicans.

That'll be the last you see of him. The crazier you have to be to be a republican, the better. The chamber of commerce types are going to abandon those assholes.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. So who do you think his district would elect in his place?

The Democrats didn't bother running anyone against him in 2012: http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Ohio%27s_8th_congressional_district_elections,_2012

In 2010, he got over twice as many votes as the Democrat. Do you really think he'd be replaced by a Democrat, or a more moderate Republican? If you're going to use a wedge, you have to make sure that you end up with a majority of the result, when added to what you've got.

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. Someone even crazier.

It isn't the worst of the crazies we should be working to defeat, it's the other... two. It should be made absolutely patently clear that the Republicans are the "shithouse rat" party.

I don't think it's appreciably better to have Bohner in that district than another Bob Beaudelang.

[rwsanders]

10. I agree. Don't hope for crazy to slow down, but lead it right over a cliff.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. While it has a majority in the House, that's a problem for the whole country (nt)

[Myrina]

16. If several more of them are replaced with Batshit Crazy, GOP won't hold a majority in the House ...

.... they'll self-obliterate.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. Self-preservation seems to be their strong point

The process of the majority in the House 'self-obliterating' seems highly dangerous for the country anyway. Look at what they're doing now.

[Gothmog]

7. Good editorial

Prof Krugman is right

[young_at_heart]

8. Can the "good" Republicans find a spine?

They are letting the wackos do all the talking and they are staying in the shadows so the wackos get all the media attention and are somewhat 'legitimized'....what a crying shame for this country. I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!!

[warrenswil]

11. Highly recommended reading!

Krugman nails it again.
He is so smart – it is the non- extremists in the GOP who hold the key to solving the crises.
Highly recommended reading.
In the (K)now

[Mad-in-Mo]

15. I adore Paul Krugman.

He gets it exactly right.

[Flying Squirrel]

18. In other words, the discharge petition is our only way out..

So why are we hearing so little about it?

[icymist]

19. I* think this deserves a kick!

That's right, Kick!