Paul Krugman: Idiot, or Morally Bankrupt Liar?
When Democrats are in power, there are no rules. Paul Krugman, a columnist for the rapidly declining New York Times, has recently joined the media chorus visciously castigating Senator Jim Bunning for his attempt to delay a bill until Harry Reid and the Democrat leadership agreed to follow Obama's "PayGo" order and fund the legislation. The Senator described the bill as non-controversial, and at a mere $10 billion—pocket change to Liberals—it could easily be funded with unspent stimulus dollars. As Bunning put it in his own editorial, "If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything." At that rate, I guess we should just stop paying taxes altogether and fund everything with deficit spending.
Of course, to Krugman, this couldn't be about enforcing Senate rules and revealing the "PayGo" sham. No, Jim Bunning is amoral, and hates the unemployed. That's the message in his editorial. Krugman then cites the "Bunning Blockade" as evidence that: Democrats are reasonable, moral, and care about the underdogs; Republicans have become extremist right-wingers and that is why there is no more bipartisanship in Washington; and the GOP only cares about the "affluent victims of the 'death-tax.'" He uses these conclusions as a justification for passing ObamaCare through reconciliation.
Earth to Krugman, I don't know what universe you're living in, but it's the Democrats who don't give a damn what the American people think. It's the Democrats who had a majority in the House and 60-vote super-majority in the Senate, and chose to shut Republicans out of the debate for an entire year. It is the Democrats who refused to hear or debate Republican ideas. It is the Democrats that ignored the polls, and only allowed the Republicans to speak when they lost "the Kennedy Seat." It is the Democrats that are violating their own budget rules. And it is the Democrats, and only the Democrats, that are so power-drunk and out of touch that they are doing everything they can to circumvent the legislative process in order to seize control of the greatest Health Care system in the world with a bill that achieves none of its stated goals, and, according to the CBO, will bend the cost curve up, not down.
Krugman, the Republicans cannot effectively do anything right now. They simply don't have the votes. They couldn't even obstruct anything until Scott Brown was elected. Krugman, like many other liberals, implies the Democrat Party alone cares about the people. That notion doesn't mesh with reality. If the Democrats care about the people, why don't they listen to them, and address their concerns? It takes a lot of gall to not only ignore the requests of your employer, the sovereign people, but to willfully and forcefully work against them in order to score a political victory and erect a legislative monument for a narcissistic ideologue.
Senator Jim Bunning did the right thing. It's a shame he's retiring. We could use more Senators who are willing to stand up for their values and the American people by forcing Congress and our government to operate within the law.
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