I’ve heard some pretty absurd reasons for voting Republican, but that is to be expected. There are no reasons for voting Republican that are not absurd. However, I’ve been hearing a new one, that argues, in effect, that folks should vote Republican, because they do not give a damn about the American people, and because Democrats do. Paul Krugman explained it.
If President Obama is re-elected, health care coverage will expand dramatically, taxes on the wealthy will go up and Wall Street will face tougher regulation. If Mitt Romney wins instead, health coverage will shrink substantially, taxes on the wealthy will fall to levels not seen in 80 years and financial regulation will be rolled back.
Given the starkness of this difference, you might have expected to see people from both sides of the political divide urging voters to cast their ballots based on the issues. Lately, however, I’ve seen a growing number of Romney supporters making a quite different argument. Vote for Mr. Romney, they say, because if he loses, Republicans will destroy the economy.
O.K., they don’t quite put it that way. The argument is phrased in terms of “partisan gridlock,” as if both parties were equally extreme. But they aren’t. This is, in reality, all about appeasing the hard men of the Republican Party.
If you want an example of what I’m talking about, consider the remarkable — in a bad way — editorial in which The Des Moines Register endorsed Mr. Romney. The paper acknowledged that Mr. Obama’s signature economic policy, the 2009 stimulus, was the right thing to do. It also acknowledged that Mr. Obama tried hard to reach out across the partisan divide, but was rebuffed.
Yet it endorsed his opponent anyway, offering some half-hearted support for Romneynomics, but mainly asserting that Mr. Romney would be able to work with Democrats in a way that Mr. Obama has not been able to work with Republicans. Why? Well, the paper claims — as many of those making this argument do — that, in office, Mr. Romney would be far more centrist than anything he has said in the campaign would indicate. (And the notion that he has been lying all along is supposed to be a point in his favor?) But mostly it just takes it for granted that Democrats would be more reasonable… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
I urge you to click through and finish reading Krugman’s excellent piece.
The bottom line here is this. Democrats have been more reasonable, because they have been willing to cooperate to meet the needs of the American people. Republicans, on the other hand, have been perfectly content to harm the American people to blame Obama for the consequences. The argument that voting Republican will end gridlock is probably false. If Republicans are successful with this tactic, it will send a clear message to Democrats, that the only way they can succeed politically is to become just as intransigent as the Republicans have been to negate the advantage.
The opposite of this reason to vote Republican is true. The Democratic Party, that was willing to cooperate, should be rewarded for caring about Americans, while the Republican Party, that was not willing to cooperate, should be punished for the harm they have done to Americans. The last thing American voters should do is send a message that sabotaging America is a valid way to make political gains.
18 Responses to “Will Intransigence Win Votes?”
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Let me just say that if Rmoney were to be elected (GOD FORBID), I hope with all my heart that Democrats treat him exactly the same way that Repubicans have treated Pres. Obama concerning comity and the spirit of bipartisanship.
EXACTLY THE SAME FCKING WAY!
I agree, with the caveat that we can not go so far as to intentionally do harm to the American people, the way they have.
Well the UAW is certainly trying to treat him the same way. They've gotten up a lawsuit against him for personally profiting from the bailout and simultaneously lobbying for the auto industry to go down. Let's all say a prayer that they win.
I have seen , heard and read stuff that just makes no sense– What would make a person vote for Romney Ryan- when anyone with an IQ higher than a slug can see the lies and insanity going on-
Who in the name of all that is holy cannot see the intent to outright steal an election ? Who can't see to send back a good President – and give him a Congress and a Senate who will work together–
The DesMoines Register ? Owned by the repugs– by Romney's crew- check it out
I know, it was their methodology that blew me away.
Just a little add-on note regarding Romney’s “major boost” from the Des Moines Register.
In May 2010, the Gannett Company, which owns the Register, entered into a contract with WSI, a broadcast meteorology group for Gannett’s TV stations. WSI is a member of the Weather Channel, which in turn is owned by a consortium of NBC Universal, the Blackstone Group and – dun dun dun – Bain Capital.
In addition, The Des Moines Register ALSO ENDORSED NObama in 2008 !!!! Sound familiar ??? NObamaCare = RomneyCare !!!
but there were no links for verification. So I found verification for you.
The Des Moines Register is in fact owned by Gannett.
Gannett did enter a contract with WSI in 2012.
WSI is owned by the Weather Channel.
The Weather Channel is owned by NBC Universal.
NBC Universal, the Blackstone Group, and Bain Capital do have a consortium.
Also, according to the New York Times, Mitt Romney still profits from Bain Capital although he left there almost 13 years ago.
Is there a link. Yes. It is tentative, but it is there.
Any link to Rmoney is a bad link.
Excellent investigation!
In a segment of The Ed Show (under “Romney Sued Over Milking Auto Bailout”, top row, 6th tile https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2012/11/02/romney-sued-over-milking-auto-bailout/), Grover Norquist is shown saying that what is needed is not a thinking president, but a president that will just sign legislation. The Congress will get the legislation through, Romney just has to sign it.
Ain't life just so grand! As Paul Krugman says, “But arguing for Mr. Romney on the grounds that he could get things done veers dangerously close to accepting protection-racket politics, which have no place in American life.” The thoughts of Corruption Inc aka Republican/Teabaggers at the helm of the nation leaves me cold and fearing for the future of the American people and the planet.
Were it me in the polling station marking that ballot, I would be taking the high road and voting for Mr Obama. I would also be following my representative and senator closely so they would know that I am watching their performance. Despite the problems of the past 4 years, the problems are not with Mr Obama so much as with the obstructionist Republican/Teabaggers. And I know that Mr Obama has learned much about dealing with these criminals. I say criminals because any person who swears to represent the people of a district and then tries to, for example, tank the nation’s economy which is not in the people’s best interest as a way to "get to the president", is in my mind a criminal .
In response to the Ed Show segment with Grover Norquist, just what kind of idiot is Mittens to just sit by idly while he is called a robot for the RepublicanTs and Grover?
Lynn, your protection racketeering analogy was brilliant!
There are no reasons for voting Republican that are not absurd.
Amen, Tom.
But for real surrealism, you have to talk to a public school teacher who is voting for Romney. I just talked to 2 of them today. My head is still spinning.
The thought of them instructing the next generation sickens me, Angie!
They're very good people who really care about kids. What are they not getting? I can't understand it. Is political ideology so tightly wound up in the images we have of ourselves that, even if we know we are walking off a cliff to vote for a candidate that hates us – and hates everything we stand for – we will still continue to feed the self-image at the risk of our own destruction?
I think it has something to do with people being emotionally threatened, when asked to examine cherished beliefs. Teachers should be above that, because they ask that of their students.
Any vote for Rmoney/Ryan is a BAD vote!
Any vote for any Republican is a vote against humanity!
At this point in time, it truly is a vote against humanity.