Crooked Timber � � Closing The Scientific Hack Gap: "Much of the dumbing down of political debate in the last decade was indeed an intended consequence of the Gingrich revolution. Congressional institutions which provided impartial information were axed, and replaced by spin from handpicked “experts” and right wing think-tanks. The prime example was the closing of the Office of Technology Assessment (which had peeved Gingrich by exploding some of the bogus science underpinning the Star Wars initiative). "
This is one of those issues, where I wish Democrats would be more assertive.
Prof. DeLong, in particular, annoys me, by repeatedly criticizing the Bushies for lack of policy process, while ignoring the larger point, which is that they are evil.
I am not trying to be ironic, here. Obviously, saying that they are evil, is going to alienate some people. So, you have to be more specific. Like saying, that they want to redistribute wealth, income and power from the middle class to the super-rich. Which is true. (And, imho, evil.)
My larger point is that the Republicans are not aiming at the same political objectives as Democrats. They are not aiming at any common-sense idea of the good of the country. So, criticizing them for being incompetent misses the point. The Bushies are hitting the targets they are aiming at. They are not incompetent or unskilled.
If they take apart a policy process, it is because that process would not help them hit the target they are interested in aiming at.
The important thing to communicate to the world is that Republicans are aiming at targets, and the choice of those targets marks them down as evil. Say it with me, e-v-i-l.
Evil as in torture, national bankruptcy, overthrow of the non-authoritarian rule of law, subjugation of foreign peoples, impoverishment and oppression of the common people, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment