Krugman: On Bruce Bartlett and all other woken up wingers

[BurtWorm]

Behind a pay-to-read firewall, alas.


http://select.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/opinion/10krugman....

It's no wonder, then, that one commentator wrote of Mr. Bartlett that "if he were a cartoon character, he would probably look like Donald Duck during one of his famous tirades, with steam pouring out of his ears."

Oh, wait. That's not what somebody wrote about Mr. Bartlett. It's what Mr. Bartlett wrote about me in September 2003, when I was saying pretty much what he's saying now.

Human nature being what it is, I don't expect Mr. Bartlett to acknowledge his about-face. Nor do I expect any expressions of remorse from Andrew Sullivan, the conservative Time.com blogger who also spoke at the Cato forum. Mr. Sullivan used to specialize in denouncing the patriotism and character of anyone who dared to criticize President Bush, whom he lionized. Now he himself has become a critic, not just of Mr. Bush's policies, but of his personal qualities, too.

Never mind; better late than never. We should welcome the recent epiphanies by conservative commentators who have finally realized that the Bush administration isn't trustworthy. But we should guard against a conventional wisdom that seems to be taking hold in some quarters, which says there's something praiseworthy about having initially been taken in by Mr. Bush's deceptions, even though the administration's mendacity was obvious from the beginning.

[babylonsister]

1. That was great BurtWorm. Krugman is getting in his

"I told you so's" and good for him!
Recent epiphanies, but beware: Krugman is excellent!

[BurtWorm]

2. When I read a column like this, I get so depressed that the Times

has made Krugman (and Herbert) less accessible to readers.

[babylonsister]

3. I know what you mean. I used to look forward to

reading the Krugman and Herbert columns (even Dowd, and (blush) Freidman).
We get them eventually, but I wonder what the point is, and if the NYT benefits financially by cutting us 'cheapskates' off?

[lostnfound]

4. That last statement needs to be replayed over and over.

Individual conversions of the ordinary public? Great! You were fooled, but politics isn't what you do for a living.

"Conversions" of public figures who aided and abetted for years, especially those whose basic ideology is unchanged? State your name, please, and do penance and reparations, not grandstanding or gloating.

[gumby]

5. These neo-con gangsters did not have an epiphany.

So they are turning on Bush? BFD.

These creeps have a disastrous and unsustainable ideology. It's the same one Bush has been implementing. So now, when their ideology has reached the predictable outcome, these jerks are trying to blame the messenger instead of their own message.

Bush has been doing everything they ever wanted. So what's the problem?

Eff em all, especially Bill Kristol.

[DemReadingDU]

6. Krugman: last line...

It's still fair, however, to ask people like Mr. Bartlett the obvious question: What took you so long?


Indeed, what took them so long.

[Swamp Rat]

7. Yeah! What took you so long Bartlett?!

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. ****FREE LINK TO KRUGMAN ARTICLE**** and a relevant Sorensen CARTOON:

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2006/0...

[BurtWorm]

10. Thank you!

[mzmolly]

15. That's great.

[seabeyond]

9. i watched the interview with stewart and thought the same. WE all

knew this and said this and yelled this and they (the oh so clever repug) ignored us. getting his little justification that that people voted for bush to vote against kerry. as if kerry was a worst choice making these dumb shit repugs feel better about being wrong.

a lot of no shit. that is what we said since 2000

[Bozita]

16. Yes, see the Daily Show interview. THEN, read Krugman

Good to know that I wasn't alone in screaming at the TV last night.

[Ganja Ninja]

11. Message for all Republicans finally waking up to the nightmare:

Once you've denounced Bush and he's gone, GO WITH HIM! And never, I repeat NEVER darken our door again. And don't even think about complaining about the high taxes we'll all have to pay in order to clean up the mess he and you are responsible for.

[glitch]

13. Well said. nt

[Gregorian]

12. About the only thing Bartlett is upset with is Bush's big spending.

As far as I can tell, Bartlett is possibly worse than Bush. He'd like to see no spending. He whines about medicare, while Bush is throwing billions at Halliburton. At least with Bartlett, we would be going nowhere, instead of in reverse. He's not seen the light. None of these inhuman creatures will ever see the light. They have permanently locked themselves into a cave.

What I want to know is what these huge think tanks are thinking about, if what Bartlett feels is so bad it got him fired. America is in big trouble. There is an enemy lurking from within.

[mzmolly]

14. It's amazing how "unpatriotic" Republicans sound today ey?

Oh, yeah - the "unamerican" bastages are also "aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war."