"Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over the Republican party."
"Despite President Obama's goodwill and strong efforts, the national interest was held hostage by the rise of the extreme Tea Party wing of the Republican party," he said.
Nobel laureate economist, Paul Krugman, added his own observations about Republicans today, noting that the remarks that landed Mitt Romney in such controversy were mainstream Republican sentiments.
...the fact is that the modern Republican Party just doesn’t have much respect for people who work for other people, no matter how faithfully and well they do their jobs. All the party’s affection is reserved for “job creators,” a k a employers and investors. Leading figures in the party find it hard even to pretend to have any regard for ordinary working families — who, it goes without saying, make up the vast majority of Americans.
Am I exaggerating? Consider the Twitter message sent out by Eric Cantor,
the Republican House majority leader, on Labor Day — a holiday that
specifically celebrates America’s workers. Here’s what it said, in its
entirety: “Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard,
built a business and earned their own success.” Yes, on a day set aside
to honor workers, all Mr. Cantor could bring himself to do was praise
their bosses.
Lest you think that this was just a personal slip, consider Mr. Romney’s
acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. What did he
have to say about American workers? Actually, nothing: the words
“worker” or “workers” never passed his lips. This was in strong contrast
to President Obama’s convention speech a week later, which put a lot of
emphasis on workers — especially, of course, but not only, workers who
benefited from the auto bailout.
Needless to say, the G.O.P.’s disdain for workers goes deeper than rhetoric. It’s deeply embedded in the party’s policy priorities. Mr. Romney’s remarks spoke to a widespread belief on the right that taxes on working Americans are, if anything, too low. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal famously described low-income workers whose wages fall below the income-tax threshold as “lucky duckies.” .
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