David Brooks, just the other day:
What had been a disdain for liberal intellectuals slipped into a disdain for the educated class as a whole. The liberals had coastal condescension, so the conservatives developed their own anti-elitism, with mirror-image categories and mirror-image resentments, but with the same corrosive effect.
Now, as an exercise, go chronicle the right-wing blogger reactions to the Krugman announcement. I know I used to trash him. A worthwhile piece explaining the difference between his economics work and his political commentary here. Enjoy.
Here is a pet pic to start the week:
jibeaux
You think we’re some kinda masochists? How about you go and extract the crazy and post it here for our enjoyment since you’re the blogger, and maybe I’ll toss a few coins into that ActBlue thingamabob?
Conservatively Liberal
Using that link, I see that Barone has a post about the coming "Thugocracy". In all of the past presidential contests, I have never seen the Democrat painted as a "thug". Hmm, I wonder…
Thug = Thuggish = Gang = Gangsta = Black Scary Dude
Thug is their code word for big black mean scary man who will rape your daughter, kill your son and run off with your wife. Every time I run into an asshole who uses the code word thug or any variation of it, I am going to call them what they are.
A racist. A chickenshit racist.
Oh, and what a cute doggie! :)
The Grand Panjandrum
Crittenden’s response is particularly delightful. Poor Jules. He was born with his head so far up his ass he needs a plexiglass stomach to see out.
boonagain
Also Obama certainly has the deportment of a thug, doesn’t he?
and also he really surrounds himself with gangstas also
(remember all the talk early on about also how he wasn’t ‘BLACK’ enough?)
Matthew B.
This one here was inevitable, of course: the Stupidest Man Alive opines that "never before has a scientist operating in the capacity of a public intellectual so abused and debased the science he purports to represent." For Luskin, it’s actually pretty tame stuff — no breathless terror at staring into the face of evil, etc.
NonyNony
Now, as an exercise, go chronicle the right-wing blogger reactions to the Krugman announcement.
Jeez, do we hafta? I was thinking about waiting for the summation and mocking of the nut-o-sphere at "Sadly No!" instead.
Although I don’t know if we’re even going to get that. I could almost write the wingnut posts on this event:
* There’s no such thing as a Nobel Prize in Economics
* The Nobels are European and have a horrible Liberal Bias – as proof, Al Gore won a Nobel!
* Ah! The Socialists are coming! Run!
* He only won the prize for a specific theory he had, it doesn’t mean everything he writes is worth listening to.
That last point is the most defensible. Each of Krugman’s writings should be judged on its own merits with the caveat that, in the field of Economics, he knows his shit so you should at least pay attention even if you don’t agree with him politically. At the very least you need to know what he’s saying so you can form an argument about why you don’t think he’s right.
(Of course, since I consider Economics and Politics to be hopelessly entangled in each other, his views on politics are also something I take seriously. YMMV, of course.)
SamFromUtah
According to the conservatives, The liberals had coastal condescension, so the conservatives developed their own anti-elitism, with mirror-image categories and mirror-image resentments, but with the same corrosive effect. Plus a big bunch of incoherent death threats.
Fixed.
TheFountainHead
That’s not a dog, that’s Barbara Walters.
And yay for Krugman.
RememberNovember
Oh snap….
yeah Baba Wawa is a bit long in the tooth.
She has her faculties intact, which is more than you can say for Sherri or Elisabeth.
John Cole
That is actually true. He did win for a specific bit of work, it has nothing to do with his political commentary, and there really is no reason to bash the folks who presented the award when you take that into consideration. This award does not validate one thing Krugman has ever said about Bush, republicans, the iraq War, etc. It is for his work with mathematical modeling in the field of economics.
Well, no reason other than the inchoate rage these guys have.
Conservatively Liberal
OT:
Karen Tumulty had an article in Time about the Republican operation in Virginia and she was invited to visit and write about it, so she did. Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeff Frederick even held off giving the pep talk to the foot soldiers until she arrived to do the story (as per a post by her in the comments section of the article). As I read the comments posted under the story I saw a post by Karen where she dropped a few more tidbits for her readers (emphasis mine):
I wonder if the foot soldier was questioning the intelligence of their fearless leader who was whipping them up for canvassing? I just thought it was a funny addendum to the story.
Punchy
Wasn’t he just spectacularly wrong about Iraq, or do I have the wrong NYT columnist? Maybe he need to stick to his supply-and-demand curves and stay the fuck outtie politics.
Zifnab
And that’s the big joke. The conservative internet goons don’t see "Man wins prize on economic modeling technique", they see "Hyper-liberal Bush hater has intelligence and opinions validated by socialist anti-American foreigners under the cover of ‘science’ that doesn’t conform with any of our young earth trickle-down burn-the-witches beliefs."
Michael Demmons
Maybe if (the current crop of) conservatives spent more time oh, I don’t know, maybe doing research, writing literature, working for peace, you know, shit like that that the libruls do, they’d maybe win a prize or two.
kth
The pig-ignorant thing about the Krugman hate is that he didn’t become shrill until Bush was ersatz-elected; specifically, the moment Bush blurted out the imbecilic non sequitur "fuzzy math" in response to Gore pointing out that the numbers in Bush’s fiscal plan didn’t add up. Before then, Krugman mostly defended Rubinomics and NAFTA against their detractors on the left.
jrg
Apparently, since I live close to a coast, and I believe the universe is > 6,000 years old I’m responsible for the political correctness of the ’90s. Fuck these people and their culture wars. If the knowledge that "God did it" is not a scientific theory makes me a condescending elitist, then so be it.
If rednecks want their communities to reflect third-world academic standards, fine. If education is so offensive, don’t bitch when you lose your first-world amenities.
QDC
In fairness, everyone expects Kristol to win the Nobel Prize in Rank Political Hackery for his truly astounding work this election season, so the Times editorial page will have a nice balance.
Ned Raggett
My theory re: annoyance about Krugman’s prize — folks like Crittenden on down just lost a huge amount of money in their 401(k)s and here’s Krugman getting a handy capital infusion. And he didn’t even have to ask!
JR
I think Sister Toldjah is going to be the day’s big winner, for deftly combining smug condescension with palpable jealousy. It’s like reading a fifteen year-old sophomore’s facebook page after she loses the Spring Fling crown to "that skank from third period English." Althouse is heading for a close second with what has to be the most succinct dismissal of the whole affair that we’ll see today.
But then, I haven’t caught Malkin’s sure-to-be insightful and erudite response yet…
Ned Raggett
@JR: But then, I haven’t caught Malkin’s sure-to-be insightful and erudite response yet…
The nightmare fuel.
Punchy
Another thought:
If/when Palin loses, and largely leaves the spotlight, does her baby daughter’s daddy still feel the need to get hitched, or does he–freed of the evangelly’s glare–just go Typical 18-Year Old and raise the bastard child as he nails all the other Wasilla hotties while attending community college and working at Arby’s?
Walker
This would be the same Donald Luskin that wrote an Op-Ed in the WSJ on how the economy was fine on the day everything went to hell? Talk about projection.
His blog — The Conspiracy to Keep you Poor and Stupid — is aptly titled. He is the leader of that conspiracy
jcricket
Headlines I expect to see: "This is good news for John McCain!"
"I saw the word economics, so this clearly means liberal communist theories are crap: Let me tell you about my dear friend Adam Smith, whom I have never read"
Comrade Jake
@QDC:
Fixed.
Walker
I am not sure that this is the either/or everyone is making it out to be. Yes, Krugman deserved to eventually win the Nobel; he has been on the short list for years. But as Tyler Cowen points out, he did not have to win it now. He could have won it after Bush was out of office.
There is a decent possibility that this is the Swedes sending out a "f*ck you" that they can make in good conscience.
jcricket
@jrg: Nice catch.
No one has less love for the erstwhile "Great Divider" (David Brooks is always finding ways to describe some people as "us" and everyone else as "them") than me… but that line was particularly rich.
In fact, it perfectly illustrates why the Republican party is in the pickle it’s in. They built their party on dividing us into people who live in the "heartland" and those who live on the "coasts" (welcome to David Brooks’ world). This is inventing an "us v. them" that hadn’t existed before (Reagan came from CA) – and actually stokes the fires of resentment and condescension (if it ever existed) amongst both groups. And, since rural areas are in a period of population decline, and 4 out of 5 (and increasing) don’t live in anything resembling "small town America" – it shows why Republican’s chosen demographics are working against them.
More specifically – if there is any condescension it’s directed at those who act as if being educated is a bad thing, that they can brand science, math, critical thinking, etc. as "liberal" and "un-American". God damn right I’d be condescending of that type of thinking.
RememberNovember
Newsflash to the Conservatives: The Socialists are here: they’re names are Paulson, Bernanke, Bush…
The Other Steve
I liked Yglesias…
Revenge is a dish best served atop a Nobel Prize.
:-)
The Other Steve
Agreed. He’s hardly what I would call a liberal activist.
More of an anti-Idiotarian than anything else.
jrg
The other day, I was talking with a Republican acquaintance about the election. We discussed foreign policy, energy policy, education, etc. I read quite a bit of non-fiction, so after a few minutes, it was clear I had some grasp of the topics at hand. He was spouting Republican strawman arguments the whole time, and I kept shooting him down.
He was just pulling stuff out of his ass. When he figured out he was losing the argument, he called me an "elitist", and shut off the discussion.
I’m really fucking sick of this shit. Reading does not make me an elitist, it makes me an informed citizen. What the hell is wrong with these people? At what point did it become fashionable to be a moron in Republican circles? When blacks used to chide their overachieving brethren of "acting white", Repubs would jump all over it, now they are doing EXACTLY the same thing.
Svensker
That probably came from Sean Hannity’s "documentary" about Obama and his "associations", in which Andy "Jew Slime" Martin alleges that Obama’s education at Harvard was paid for by shadowy terrorist/Muslim/New World Order types who have SCARY ARAB (or maybe it was Iranian but who can tell the difference they all look alike?) NAMES! ZOMG!
Eric U.
Somehow I find it strange that I had never heard that the Nobel Prize for Economics was not a Nobel Prize until Krugman wins it. When some republican ass that wants to lay everyone off wins it, it’s the Nobel Prize for Economics, no qualifications necessary. In fact, they were making a fuss over someone being nominated for the prize in years past, when it was just some wingnut writing an open letter to the selection committee
Dennis - SGMM
@The Other Steve:
Seconded. I particularly liked the line:
In the public debate, my sense is that “economics” tends to be understood as mostly comprising a series of very simple models indicating the desirability of laissez faire (make it more expensive to hire workers by raising the minimum wage and the level of employment will go down — supply and demand, economics 101, QED) that leave it somewhat puzzling as to how this is even a field in which people do PhD-level research.
Joshua
Even when I was a Republican, I still was simply unable to attack Krugman. Here was a guy that went to Yale and got his PhD from MIT. He has a distinguished, celebrated career. Hell, I will go as far to say that even when I was Republican, I very much enjoyed reading his work.
In the broader context, Krugman was proven right. Luskin was proven wrong and should be shunned. One of the tragedies of discourse in this country is that its all too often the people that are wrong (for example Kristol) that have the most successful careers and best reputations. For once, that’s not the case.
jcricket
@Punchy: Nice coastal condescension there. Although Alaska is on the coast, so not sure if it applies :-)
Comrade Face
@Punchy: You’re thinking of Tom Friedman (sp?), who supported Bush’s debacle.
jcricket
You know what’s not a Nobel Prize? The Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine.
Notorious P.A.T.
"Let’s Just Get It Out of the Way Now
Jonah Goldberg
Congratulations professor Krugman.
Update: A lot of readers write in to tell me the prize must be a joke, that it’s political etc."
From The Corner.
Imagine, complaining to Jonah Goldberg that someone doesn’t deserve their position on their merits, that they succeeded because of their beliefs rather than their intellect.
edit: JC please fix your blockquote function
low-tech cyclist
This is off-topic, but since the black screen of death has descended on the Troopergate thread, mind if I mention the Washington Post’s response here?
{sarcasm}Get ready for some pretty strong language:{/sarcasm}
Yep, that’s all the (exceedingly faint) condemnation the WaPo can muster: this "reflects poorly on her." But other things reflect more positively on her, so it all evens out, y’know?
jcricket
Probably when St. Ronnie became President.
Seriously. If I had to pinpoint a moment when Republicans really embraced the anti-illectual and ramped up the culture wars, it would start in 1980. (Note I said start. I think it reached its peak right about now).
Notorious P.A.T.
You have the wrong columnist. You might be thinking of "Suck on This" Friedman.
It’s true. In "The Great Unravelling" Krugman says that he isn’t a liberal a dozen times. His next book? "The Conscience of a Liberal".
Notorious P.A.T.
Also, if I remember correctly, being nominated for a Nobel Prize is meaningless, since anyone can nominate anybody for anything. For instance, George W Bush was nominated for a Peace Prize.
jake 4 that 1
I wonder if the fRighties would shut up if a certified WingNut won the prize or would the winner be tainted by approval from the DFSHs.
I believe you mean this. The most LOL worthy thing about the letter (aside from its brevity) is the request that they contact the submitter for more information.
I bet they laughed for hours.
Napoleon
Krugman story
in Washington Monthly from 2002 that says he whould likely win the Nobel.
Cris v.3.1
The really ironic thing about this sentiment (and I believe you are right, NonyNony, that it’s out there) is that the Peace Prize has gone to such paragons of world peace as Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat. (I suppose there are circles where the latter is considered a "darling of the left," but there’s no such argument for the former.)
HRA
Well read , well informed citizenry trumps the following story from a Politico reply.
"I’ll start by recapping the whole **** storm on Friday. I live in Overland Park, KS, and was at a grocery store with my two and a half year old in the cart. As always, I was rocking my Obama T-shirt (one of several) and was going about my business in a laid back manner. I’m stopped in front of the coffee, when all of a sudden my cart is rammed. I look up, and a giant, pink wad of flesh is slowly trying to push his cart into mine. Before I could get a word out, the massive, balding, mouth-breathing troglodyte proceeded to call me a "commie ***got" because I was an Obama supporter.
Friends, I am not the nicest person on this Earth. When someone rams into me, then calls me two very derogatory names, I tend to lose it. Were it not for my son, it would’ve been worse. However, before the management got there, I managed to get out, "Look you miserable excuse for a sideshow freak, under no circumstances do I have to defend myself for you. Every time you draw breath, I feel cheated. That someone would be so wholly ignorant, yet be able to drive themselves to the supermarket is beyond my level of understanding." I was using too many big words, and he was clearly becoming enraged. The management showed up, kicked him out, allowed me to pay, and I was fully expecting an altercation in the parking lot (was I back in jr. high?) when I left, so I called the cops. When they showed up, he had split, so I filed an incident report and they took the video footage from the store. The officer that I spoke with was incredibly kind and understanding, and told me that this wasn’t the first call of this nature that OPPD had received lately.
Anyhoo, flash forward to yesterday. There’s a knock on my door. I thought it might be a follow up from the cops, and answered. To my immediate surprise, it was a couple in their late 30’s with McCain/Palin buttons. They went through the usual canvasser rap with me, and I decided that after my previous day, I wanted to have some fun. So I played dumb.
"Well, I really haven’t made up my mind", says I. "I’m nervous about our economic situation." "Well, you can bet that Barack Obama will raise your taxes." "Really? Because I read on the Tax Policy Center’s website that he wouldn’t." "Well, people get to say whatever they want on the internet, you shouldn’t believe that." "What will John McCain do to lower my taxes?" Silence. Long pause. Then, "Are you comfortable with a President that has ties to domestic terrorism?" (WTF? Where was my answer?) "No, of course not" I said, "As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit lately." Big grins from the McCainanites. "Did you know that Barack Hussein Obama is a close friend of a domestic terrorist?" They’re practically salivating at this point, and we’ve only been speaking for a few minutes. "Yes" deep breath "I know about Bill Ayers. Can I ask you guys a question?" Puzzled looks. "If Bill Ayers is such a detestable man, why was he allowed to be a member of the Annenberg Foundation?" Their faces darkened, and they muttered incoherently for a minute, and before they could speak, I added, "speaking of domestic terrorists, how’s Gordon Liddy these days?" "So, we’ll just put you down as undecided, then."
"No. Wait. You pulled me away from college football to try and convince me to vote for John McCain. Here’s what I think of your candidate. He is a fraud of a man with a horrible record on every issue that is important to me as a human being. He has a detestable record concerning Americas troops and vets, promises more wars, and has ran the most despicable campaign I’ve ever seen. He has sunk to a level that I can’t even begin to comprehend, and by supporting him, you two support the policies of hatred, fear, bigotry, and ignorance. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to my game." Polite yet authoritative closing of the door, then I watched as they walked by the window of our apartment that proudly displays our Obama/Biden sign."
The Pale Scot
Errr….
Who’s this Barber Walters?
And does she have Biscuits?
Robert Bell
Is that a Sealyham terrier?
The Pale Scot
Different ears, heads bigger than a Westie,
It’s a wheaten Scottish Terrier.
Wheaten = light color = pale
Ergo, it’s a Pale Scot.
Mike G
HRA, nice work.
liberal
@Joshua:
That doesn’t, itself, mean much. There are plenty of people who got degrees from such fine institutions, yet are either intellectually or morally challenged.
liberal
@Eric U.:
Well, actually, quite a few liberal/left types like myself have pointed this out about the Econ prize precisely when some right-wing arsehole economist wins it.
You might want to look into Prescott, for example. Some cognoscenti make fun of some of his claims, going so far as coloring one of his papers as claiming that one important cause of the Great Depression was that workers just decided to take a very, very extended vacation.