The Creeping Fascism of American Politics

FOCUS: States Unite Against Citizens United

Cut It Out: An Open Letter to Black Bloc Anarchists

Dimon's Deja Vu Debacle

This Is What Tyranny Looks Like

Paul Krugman begins, "The Erie Canal. Hoover Dam. The Interstate Highway System. Visionary public projects are part of the American tradition, and have been a major driver of our economic development."

Portrait, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, 06/15/09. (photo: Fred R. Conrad/NYT)

The End of the Tunnel

Paul Krugman, The New York Times

08 October 10

The Erie Canal. Hoover Dam. The Interstate Highway System. Visionary public projects are part of the American tradition, and have been a major driver of our economic development.

And right now, by any rational calculation, would be an especially good time to improve the nation's infrastructure. We have the need: our roads, our rail lines, our water and sewer systems are antiquated and increasingly inadequate. We have the resources: a million-and-a-half construction workers are sitting idle, and putting them to work would help the economy as a whole recover from its slump. And the price is right: with interest rates on federal debt at near-record lows, there has never been a better time to borrow for long-term investment.

But American politics these days is anything but rational. Republicans bitterly opposed even the modest infrastructure spending contained in the Obama stimulus plan. And, on Thursday, Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, canceled America's most important current public works project, the long-planned and much-needed second rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

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+48 # Henry Powell 2010-10-08 20:42

Republicans are so bitterly opposed to President Obama and so frightened that he will succeed that they will hurt the economy and the nation in trying to prevent him from succeeding. Like the totalitarian movements at the past they will stop at nothing in pursuit of their political objectives.

+5 # Alan Goodin 2010-10-10 10:24

I think a lot of people miss the point on what Republicans are doing. They're not against anything they can control and make a profit from. Look at Toll Bridges and Toll Highways. Look at all the railroads EXCEPT Amtrack. I think it's important to separate what Rep see as business. They LOVE WARS because soldiers are expendable, but look at all the machines, bombs and fuel and contractual cost in a war. WAR is good for Republicans and business. What's to know. Profit, Greed, and more Greed. It's the American Way (if you're a Republican and many Democrats).

+17 # Jake Terpstra 2010-10-08 20:49

Folly is in. Unfortunately it affects all of us.

+14 # Jawbone Grouch 2010-10-09 05:28

Quoting

Folly is in. Unfortunately it affects all of us.

Jake:
what the Republicans are doing in no way can be called folly by any interpretation of the word.

They are traitorous, treasonous and willing to die with their "folly".

JUST HOW STUPID CAN THEY BE?

You can see it everyday of the week

+19 # Char 2010-10-08 21:26

There are only a handful of patriots in all of congress so of course they wouldn't do anything that wasn't self-serving Helping this country succeed doesn't serve their interests. Helping multinational corporations serves their interests. What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?

+27 # Tom Elmore 2010-10-08 21:53

Here's how it is: Railroads built modern America. Interstate highways bankrupted it. As Will Rogers predicted, we're the first culture to "ride to the poor house in an automobile."

Foolish and naive "deregulation" has empowered monopoly corporatists, killed competition -- and provides the money that elects lost unfortunates like Christie to public office.

Those pushing "commonize costs / privatize profits" are in control in both parties now -- and it's time to deal with them.

0 # Ginny 2010-10-09 11:29

Interstate highways bankrupted America? Where did you get that idea? The highway and defense act passed in 1956 resulted in 40,000 new miles of freeways, which meant millions of jobs and increased prosperity in many areas. It allowed an enormous change in American life. It did a lot of damage as well, in several ways in my opinion but the most immediate to black communities all over the country because that's where most freeways were routed.

+4 # Mike K 2010-10-09 16:41

It also destroyed many neighbor hoods and was a major factor in turning poor but culturally vibrant communities into crime ridden centers of Urban blight. Also many of neighborhoods and communities (especaily at first) destroyed or fragmented by the freeways/highways were those of poor/working class whites.
The god father of America's interstate system (Robert Moses) never drove any where him self and the car he rode in made it difficult for him to even look out the window. That is in large part why there dysfunctional.

0 # Ginny 2010-10-09 11:34

One more thing, elmore. I get so tired of people stating as though they have the final truth, this is how it is, especially because they never provide any facts.

+9 # Patricia Chang 2010-10-08 22:42

Until the voters realize that by voting for Republicans,who have become completely dominated by the Far Right, that they are seriously harming themselves, this insanity will continue. They have obviously learned nothing from the Bush years. Instead, they turn to the lunatic fringe, like the Teanuts, to make changes. The only changes they will make will be incredibly destructive. In the meantime, I have to say that Obama has helped bring on this mess by patting himself on the back, but refusing to see the bigger picture; and HIS mistakes. If it gets much worse, many of us will have to look at living elsewhere.

+15 # genierae 2010-10-09 05:40

Why would you want to live anywhere else? You need to stay in America, stand your ground, and defend this country from those who are trying to take it from us. We Americans have become soft over the generations, we have forgotten that it takes courage and grit to live in a true democracy. We want everything to go our way, but we expect someone else to do the hard work and make the difficult choices. What a bunch of weak willies we have become!

+5 # jaderain 2010-10-09 08:15

Why would anyone want to live any where else?
Better health care (Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia) higher quality of living (Canada,Austral ia, New Zealand, Japan,Scandanav ia) less emphasis on consumer culture with a broader emphasis on humanism (Australia, New Zealand, Canada,Scandana via) with more civil discourse (all of the above)
Indeed, why?

+3 # genierae 2010-10-10 05:31

I am an American whether times are easy or hard. I don't abandon the country of my birth because it has been taken over by barbarians, I stand my ground and work for change.

+5 # DaveW. 2010-10-09 08:36

genierae, Although there's much in what you say, I would refrain from using the the word "we" so often. Sounds to much like "them" or "they." We're not "all" as you say, "soft" and "weak willies." Our opponents love to use generic labeling to further their nefarious purposes. Try the phrase "many of us" or something similar next time. I want that "true Democracy" as much as you and I'm sure as hell no weak willie. Now, back to the trenches.

+3 # genierae 2010-10-10 05:22

I was referring to Americans as a group. Yes there are many of us who are awake and know what is going on, but we are overruled by those who are asleep. I am a part of that group even though I disagree with the prevailing sentiment, because my society is shaped by their ignorance. The softness that I spoke about expresses itself when people want to leave this country because times have gotten difficult. Are they only Americans when times are good? I thought the same when young men went off to Canada to avoid the draft. They should have stayed and fought for what they believed in. There is great honor in refusing to fight in an immoral war. I do think that you have a point, I shouldn't lump everyone into the word "we". I think I do that because I consider all of us as part of each other, we are all one in a spiritual way. That last sentence came from my frustration. I live in an area where Republicans rule, and its sickening to behold.

+6 # richard keene 2010-10-09 07:07

We live in Mexico and have a fantastic life. Although many say we are living in a failed state, I never hesitate to say to my fellow Americans that they live in one too.

+1 # genierae 2010-10-10 05:42

I agree that it is becoming a failed state, but that's because most Americans have sat back and allowed this to happen. I love my country and abandoning it is not an option. I think that hard times will continue and even worsen for a while, but America will overcome in the end, and I want to be here to celebrate the victory.

+36 # Ralph Averill 2010-10-09 02:43

Some of the greatest construction projects in this country took place during the Depression. All of them are paying dividends to this day.

I have yet to see any return on nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, or billion-dollar fighter planes.

+13 # Merschrod 2010-10-09 04:26

Not much to add, Nice points by Prof. Krugman on the out and out ideological fringe that has neutered Amercan Dreamers.

The Obama Administration should have had the mantra of "A more Efficient America: Electric, railway, internet grinds for the future." Energy generation from hydro, sun, wind and wave for an independent America.

The themes are there, but we have become a third world nation politically too.

Pull the house down on everyone's heads because that energizes your masses.

+2 # Phil 2010-10-10 14:36

The Obama Administration has been pushing for policies that will create a greener, more environmentally safe and efficient country that is less dependent on fossil fuels. If we as a nation are becoming a "third world nation politically too," I'd say the likely reason is, that we are not paying close attention to what's going on with our elected officials.

I beg to differ with your prescription that, we "pull the house down on everyone's heads, because it energizes the masses."

We the electorate, elected a strong progressive leader who told us on that unforgettable night in November of 2008, that this is just the beginning for the change we'd voted for. The President-Elect at that time, stated that there is more work to be done to insure the kind of changes we want.

If we want to continue down the road of the changes already made, we ought to vote out the candidates running for office in our home states, who've fought against the President's agenda.

+4 # Ronald Crowe 2010-10-09 05:06

Tom Elmore,
Just curious. I've never heard that before, that our interstate highways bankrupted America. They certainly created millions of jobs and facilitated and expedited moving highway freight by an enormous amount. How do you figure they bankrupted America?

Ron Crowe

+16 # AJJax 2010-10-09 07:35

on a personal level, middle class, poor and unemployed Americans are spending their last nickel to keep their cars running and insured, because unlike sane countries w/ sensible mass transit, we need our cars to get to work and even interview for most jobs. public money has gone into infrastructure required to keep them running; not an American love affair w/ cars as some have suggested but a forced marriage. Goodyear and GM bought up and scrapped trolley systems in the forties to kill competition, "a consummate business strategy crafted by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., the MIT-trained genius behind General Motors, to expand auto sales and maximize profits by eliminating streetcars. In 1922, according to GM's own files, Sloan established a special unit within the corporation which was charged, among other things, with the task of replacing America's electric railways with cars, trucks and buses." quote from research by Bradford Snell

+2 # Steve 2010-10-10 10:24

AJJax, you are correct about the elimination of streetcars. I would like to add that many job descriptions specify "must have own transportation". I read somewhere that trains are far more efficient energy-wise than trucks. If the USA ever has a real overhaul of our transportation system we could use trains for long distance freight transport, then small and medium trucks for local freight hauling. To enable human travel we could have bicycle friendly trains for long distance, bicycle friendly buses and light rail locally. Most of the present roads would be converted to pedestrian and bike paths. Automobiles would be rare, reserved for special needs. If we tore up most of the roads and parking lots we have now we could green that space and solve the global warming problem.

+1 # AJJax 2010-10-10 12:00

sounds great, where do I sign? Chris Christie, Big Jerk, or World's Biggest Jerk?

+15 # genierae 2010-10-09 05:49

It is heartbreaking to watch the Republicans kill every effort to make progress in this country, while millions of Americans, who should know better, are planning to vote for them. As if these corporate flunkies are going to make things better. Ignorance is the root of all evil.

+4 # DaveW. 2010-10-09 14:30

genierae, Don't forget when talking about the root of all evil to toss in good, old fashioned greed. It's the latest pop culture trend in America despite its documented failings.

0 # genierae 2010-10-10 05:47

If these people weren't ignorant of themselves and what's best for them, they wouldn't be corrupted by greed.

+4 # John W Greenwood Jr 2010-10-09 06:46

What the GOP is doing comes straight from the extreme right, the KKK and the rest of the supremest white. They are Fascist. They need to be prosecuted for there TREASON. A word for the rest of us. Save your last few dollars to buy weapons and ammunition to protect yourself from these insane fascists. They have been spouting out about the right to bear arms. Well that might be the only thing that they were right about. It is time for the good folk to arm themselves the battle for the brotherhood of mankind is coming soon. You will never see the brotherhood of man under GOP rule.

+8 # Reggie Holmes 2010-10-09 06:58

For those who recall the term " starve the beast ", we're witnessing it being played out right now. Anti-tax guru Grover Norquist coined that phrase which means to create so much debt that politicians are forced to axe social programs (the beast)."Reducing the size of government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub" said Norquist. By government he means social safety net programs.

+10 # Realist 2010-10-09 07:14

To Ronald Crowe: Interstate Highways bankrupted America by making us dependent on the Automobile and the Trucking industries to move people and things. This in turn made us oil dependent. Being oil dependent was the major reason for attacking Afghanistan, and we have borrowed billions, if not trillions by now,from the Chinese to support that war. That is why we are bankrupt.

+12 # Root Ingram 2010-10-09 07:24

We Americas are immature, uneducated, ignorant, short-sighted, and lacking in historical memory. We think politicians who created the economic collapse should be returned to positions of control. Those who will vote to return right-wing Republicans to office come Nov 2 may get what they deserve: a second Great Depression. The rest of us will suffer, but we Americans must learn our lessons the hard way. I can't wait for right-wing Republicans to create, after Nov. 2, 100,000 jobs a month for the next 2 years. If they don't do that, then there may be a revolution which will make the 60s and 70s pale by comparison. The millions of Americans who are out-of-work will not tolerate a do-nothing Congress. After Nov. 2, if the right-wing Republicans gain control, and go forward with plans to help the "less fortunate" wealthiest Americans and USA corporations, then they just might create the conditons for a revolution before 2012. Bring in on, Baby!

0 # genierae 2010-10-10 05:55

I agree totally, but don't let Dave W. catch you using "we" to describe the ignorant masses. Just a joke Dave W.

+7 # caroll 2010-10-09 07:40

If we allow these shameless, greedy, self-serving Republicans to win in November & finish implementing the destructive policies, they've put in place over the past 30 years, shame on US. Please. Vote in November. This is about our future, our children's and grandchildren's lives and the fate of this country.

+13 # REIVER PACIFIC 2010-10-09 08:19

Face up to it, you are living in a PLUTOCRACY not a DEMOCRACY. If you don't know what a Plutocracy (a.k.a. "Fascism lite") it is a state owned and run by the wealthy and corporate giants who want nothing less than the total subjugation of the proletariat -THAT'S YOU- to the perpetual growth and enhancement of their profit, consolidation of their power and imperial adventurism worldwide all propped up by a bloated military. The only nod to the voters is by persuading them to vote against their own interest through the continual propaganda fueled by the written and electronic media which they also own in the sense of monopolization (5 corporations now own all the major newspapers, T.V., cable and radio channels) -and militarization of the police to suppress any opposing activism. SOUND FAMILIAR YET?

+1 # Stuart Flashman 2010-10-10 14:51

Quoting

Face up to it, you are living in a PLUTOCRACY not a DEMOCRACY. If you don't know what a Plutocracy (a.k.a. "Fascism lite") it is a state owned and run by the wealthy and corporate giants who want nothing less than the total subjugation of the proletariat -THAT'S YOU- to the perpetual growth and enhancement of their profit, consolidation of their power and imperial adventurism worldwide all propped up by a bloated military. The only nod to the voters is by persuading them to vote against their own interest through the continual propaganda fueled by the written and electronic media which they also own in the sense of monopolization (5 corporations now own all the major newspapers, T.V., cable and radio channels) -and militarization of the police to suppress any opposing activism. SOUND FAMILIAR YET?

Thanks to ur current Supreme Court majority, we've lost all control on political spending. Goodbye democracy!

+7 # enrique 2010-10-09 08:34

A pro pos infrastructure. The wind turbine farms we are dreaming about require a new electrical distribution grid, because the existing one is too decrepit and inadequate and not existing where needed. Right there are thousands of jobs. We have such tremendous opportunities!

+6 # Activista 2010-10-09 08:34

Quoting

I have yet to see any return on nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, or billion-dollar fighter planes.

or million-dollar/soldier/year in Afghanistan and the USraeli 3 trillion Iraq war! They already paid US - just a fraction of the harm we did to them - it was 911.

We have the resources - cut the military by 80% - and we will have still more crap than we need.
Saw banner at the local saw mill baron - blaming 13 trillion deficit on democrat for re-election - how much more our "elites" get brainwashed?

+5 # Interested Observer 2010-10-09 09:38

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is the headlight of a train named Bankruptcy traveling at full speed. As we survey the wreckage we may consider the wisdom of having had our resources expended on a wasteful consumer culture, unnecessary wars and military excess, making wealthy executives "whole" and corporate/plutocratic welfare instead of going all out to rebuild providing jobs at home and a foundation for a future worth having.

+11 # Dave 2010-10-09 10:59

WHY?
Because we have this gigantic leach. the Pentagon, sucking the lifeblood out of our beautiful country! Talk about waste! Now they're working on the development of a HumVee that can fly! We're still building aircraft carriers for Christ's sake! Until we stop this Goddamned war fetish we'll continue to slide down this greased pole.

+7 # Ginny 2010-10-09 11:32

You are absolutely right. We spend more on the military than all other countries combined. Why? Doesn't anyone remember why the Soviet Union failed? It wasn't Reagan running around the Berlin wall shouting take it down. They bankrupted themselves through military spending.

+2 # Sallyport 2010-10-09 14:45

Right on, Ginny. The USSR wouldn't have had to go down that road if the Western world -- largely the US -- hadn't been threatening them with annihilation from every corner of the globe. This kind of stupidity is losing its power now that our putative victims have discovered that we don't know how to deal with "unconventional" resistance. Our empire is on the way out. We may soon learn how it feels to be an exploited colony of another superpower.

+2 # RockheadedMama 2010-10-09 16:53

@Jawbone. I say call them what they are - today's American version of Pol Pot -- they are Nihilists. Perfectly willing to destroy the evil and hated "government" and wanting to remake it in their own idea of "America". I believe they see themselves as modern day Founding Fathers. @Reggie - I don't think they mean only social services provided by government. Many believe they would be very happy with government by subscription - pay for only the government they consume. Of course, they refuse to acknowledge their own massive consumption of government services - and are negative about the government services the poor consume instead.

+3 # bjw 2010-10-09 17:02

When I read that Congress had passed a bill to hasten the bogus foreclosures of tens of thousands of homes, I had to wonder how many voters even knew about it. Did the people losing their homes even know about this betrayal by the people they elected? How did we get to this low point? The alarms have been ringing, red flags waving, sirens wailing. All the warnings have been ignored by the vast majority. It's like a prolonged nightmare where we are screaming, but producing no sound.

The propaganda has been pushing out all sane analysis and all reason. This experiment in democracy has be sabotaged. Obama's election set off a chain of events to make sure he could not succeed no matter how popular he was or how hard he tried. The coup plotters had their plan ready to go with a meltdown and recovery for the select few.

Revolution means a turn of the wheel and we are seeing the wheel stop and turn the other way.

+4 # bobpomeroy 2010-10-09 18:57

build infrastructure. now is the time to invest by working for our common good.

+3 # geoguy 2010-10-10 20:13

The biggest clearest present danger to democracy, free speech, and progress in the US is the treasonous, seditious agenda of the Republican Party. Unless moderates stand up to them, we will devolve into a Russian style oligarchy where rich corporations and their fellow travelers control society, especially the media--American-style, open, moderate rational political and social discourse between opposing points of view will be relegated to distant memory. Our Republic is entering a very dangerous period, indeed, and the threat comes from the Right in the name of "defense of liberty." In reality, as it always is, it is instead a defense of moneyed interests whose greed is unbounded, and whose Wall Street manipulations recently brought us to our knees. Two urgent suggestions: (1) make corporate political contributions illegal; (2) obligate television and radio to provide free advertising for all certified candidates, as a condition of channel licensing--this would kill corporate political power.

+1 # Tom ONeill 2010-10-11 13:31

Paul does not wish to single out our Chief Executive Officer for blame. I'm less skittish. Let me come in from the side--from right field, as it were. I was thinking of how Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon--and how this act probably kept Ford from beating Carter in 1976. Then I was thinking about Bush/Cheney and all the incredibly destructive and mendacious things they did in eight years. Much worse than Nixon! Did Obama pardon Bush/Cheney? He wasn't that gutsy. He just pretended they had never existed, and continued in place and under his protection some of their worst innovations. He also informed us he's more interested in the future than in the past. What if he had taken on our recent sordid past? Republicans would have cried bloody murder. But wasn't that what Obama campaigned to do? to institute change? I see the same lackadaisical leadership style regarding a real stimulus package. I can hear him saying it: "I'd like to do it, but the Republicans wouldn't approve."

0 # Banichi 2010-10-12 23:17

Obama came into office having been handed a bag of sh*t that would prevent him from focusing on progressive policy agenda. His biggest single mistake may have been installing Geithner at Treasury and Summers as an economic adviser, along with continuing to try to 'reach out' to republicans who have never had any intention of working together with him. Not that Democrats have been that much help - who voted for that bill to legalize all the illegal mortgage foreclosure paper processing? Which Democrats? Obama did the right thing by refusing to sign it, but how did it ever get to his desk so quietly in the first place? Because Democrats helped to put it there! The bottom line is that NO politician is your friend as long as banks and oil companies pour money into political campaigns. They can only see as far as the next campaign.

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