I wish I had a better read on Josh Marshall, I really do. Can he possibly be so naive that GOP stupidity still surprises him? I'd like to think not, believing he's in perpetual Claude Raines mode. But if so, he does it so well, he should be in show biz, not politics:
Not So Smart
It pains me to say this. But Sen. John Cornyn doesn't seem to be too bright. Cornyn was just on MSNBC explaining that spending in a severe economic downturn doesn't make sense and should be replaced by tax cuts since individuals can spend money "more efficiently" than government. I guess he doesn't get that the whole point of a stimulus bill is that in a severe recession individuals -- acting on rationale individual economic motives -- aren't spending. And only government, as a policy decision, can spend at a high rate notwithstanding the state of the economy.
He also claimed a 3x multiplier for tax cuts, which I don't think anyone believes. But I'm more interested in his point about the relative efficiency of private vs. public sector spending since it seemed to show that he doesn't understand what a recession, let alone a severe recession (which has qualitatively different dynamics), even is.
I know there are contrary theories of how economies work. But not grappling with the high level of risk in the economy that makes businesses and people unwilling to spend ... not sure you can enter the conversation without getting that.
Besides, he got MSNBC to give him face time for shoveling this shit, so who, exactly is the really dumb one, anyway, Josh?
(A) Democrats are reality-based when it comes to policies, and totally out to lunch when it comes to winning elections, and politicking in general.
(B) But Republicans are totally out to lunch when it comes to policies, and as reality-based as it gets when it comes to winning elections, and politicking in general.
Actually, that's just a first approximation. It's actually more rigorous than that, which is what makes it interesting. But that's enough to let you know the ballpark we'll be playing in, if you care to continue this exploration.
And that's exactly what's happening here. Sure, if things continue as they are now on the political plan, the GOP is toast, and all these wild-eyed lies will do them no good whatsoever.
But there's another scenario in which the GOP wins "big time" as one of their leading war criminals would say: If they can only keep Obama from getting a bead on what's really going on--which he has yet to get, IMHO--then he could be in really bad shape, along with the economy, come 2010, and he could lose any chance of governing effectively for the next two years, which means things could get very ugly in 2012.
Of course, all that depends on America suffering like it hasn't suffered since the 1930s. But so what? Since when has that bothered the GOP? 9/11? best thing that ever happened to them this century. And the century is still young.
What the Democrats need to do is defy all precedent and get smart about politicking. Stop gloating about how dumb the GOP is on policy--No, wait, that's asking too much, who can give up laughs like that? Okay, gloat faster, and fully enjoy it, so that then you can get back to figuring out how the hell you're going to beat those dumb SOBs into the ground so deep that down seems like up to them.
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