As Paul Waldman points out regarding the House budget, it may be many things-including vile, foolish, and cruel-in the long view cruelty is usually foolish-but you can't accuse the House GOPers for telling Americans what they want to hear.
"Everyone condemns politicians for being too quick to pander, too concerned with doing the popular thing, too willing to hide what they really believe in order to curry favor with an unmerciful electorate. So when a group of politicians throws caution to the wind and tells us what they really think despite the political risk, they deserve our praise. So it is with the House Republicans, who have just released their new budget."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/03/18/give-house-republicans-credit-for-producing-a-budget-this-cruel/
In a way, the very caricature of a phony politician who panders is a cruel hoax-it's like when Krugman mocks the knowing warnings of the Very Serious People about how politicians can't be trusted to cut the budget. You might think so, but there's very little proof of this, alas.
Say what you want about pandering; by calling it pandering it sounds pejorative, but another name of it could be a politician who actually respects the will of the electorate. William F. Buckley used to talk about 'standing athwart History and screaming 'Stop!'-but while conservatives may find this image admirable another more pejorative name for that would be a dictator.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamfb384475.html
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/05/standing-athwart-history-the-political-thought-of-william-f-buckley-jr
On the other hand, these GOPers are not necessarily has crazy-or as courageous-in their very cruelty as it may appear. Remember that the rank and file House Repub from a Red, Tea Party state doesn't think it matters what anyone says about them nationally, just in their own Tea Party district. Sometimes the very fact that they are criticized nationally helps them locally.
"Everyone condemns politicians for being too quick to pander, too concerned with doing the popular thing, too willing to hide what they really believe in order to curry favor with an unmerciful electorate. So when a group of politicians throws caution to the wind and tells us what they really think despite the political risk, they deserve our praise. So it is with the House Republicans, who have just released their new budget."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/03/18/give-house-republicans-credit-for-producing-a-budget-this-cruel/
In a way, the very caricature of a phony politician who panders is a cruel hoax-it's like when Krugman mocks the knowing warnings of the Very Serious People about how politicians can't be trusted to cut the budget. You might think so, but there's very little proof of this, alas.
Say what you want about pandering; by calling it pandering it sounds pejorative, but another name of it could be a politician who actually respects the will of the electorate. William F. Buckley used to talk about 'standing athwart History and screaming 'Stop!'-but while conservatives may find this image admirable another more pejorative name for that would be a dictator.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamfb384475.html
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/05/standing-athwart-history-the-political-thought-of-william-f-buckley-jr
On the other hand, these GOPers are not necessarily has crazy-or as courageous-in their very cruelty as it may appear. Remember that the rank and file House Repub from a Red, Tea Party state doesn't think it matters what anyone says about them nationally, just in their own Tea Party district. Sometimes the very fact that they are criticized nationally helps them locally.
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