Eugene Robinson: A new America speaks
So much for voter suppression. So much for the enthusiasm gap. So much for the idea that smug, self-appointed arbiters of what is genuinely “American” were going to “take back” the country, as if it had somehow been stolen.On Tuesday, millions of voters sent a resounding message to the take-it-back crowd: You won’t. You can’t. It’s our country, too.So begins Eugene Robinson in this Washington Post op ed for Friday's dead tree edition.Robinson goes through the reactions of many right wingers, such as Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly. He credits O'Reilly with being more perceptive than the others, including saying “The demographics are changing. It’s not a traditional America anymore.”
To which Robinson responds simply, No, Bill, it’s not.
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Krugman asks the President a question on Republican obstructionism
How far should he go in accommodating the G.O.P.’s demands?My answer is, not far at all. Mr. Obama should hang tough, declaring himself willing, if necessary, to hold his ground even at the cost of letting his opponents inflict damage on a still-shaky economy. And this is definitely no time to negotiate a “grand bargain” on the budget that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.That is the heard of Krugman's Friday New York Times column, Let’s Not Make a DealKrugman recognizes that the House remained in Republican hands largely due to gerrymandering. He further acknowledges that Speaker Boehner's remarks indicate that that body will therefore remain as intransigent as in the past term, with his continued insistence that there be no increase in tax rates, even for the wealthy.
Further, he recognizes that there is real economic risk in allowing the combination of events of the forthcoming "economic cliff" to occur, especially given the threats of the sequester.
And the looming combination of tax increases and spending cuts looks easily large enough to push America back into recession.Nobody wants to see that happen. Yet it may happen all the same, and Mr. Obama has to be willing to let it happen if necessary.Why does Krugman argue this?