Steve Benen wrote the column I’ve been wanting to write but have been too depressed to get to. So, I’ll just add a few comments. There is a high degree of cynicism in how the Republicans operate and that certainly helps explain why they don’t support certain things that they used to support. But regardless of some shrewd and ruthless hypocrisy, and regardless of what the true leaders of this country really think about Gods, Guns, and Gays, the real driver of the current Republican Party is the narrative they tell each other everyday in their little media loop of FOX News, hate radio, and their various online outfits.
A few years ago, Republicans believed in climate change. Then they decided to spread doubt about climate change through their wurlitzer. Now most Republicans doubt that climate change is occurring. It’s important that they’ve been using their wurlitzer to say that the government both cannot and should not stimulate job creation. It means that most rank-and-file Republicans now believe that to be true. It also means that the Republicans can’t disown their cynicism now that they are partly responsible for creating jobs. They’ve taught their base to believe that the only way for the federal government to create jobs is to lower taxes and regulations. They are oblivious to all evidence of what creates strong, weak, and no stimulus to an economy.
So, here’s the thing. There are smart people in the Republican Party who know that the economy is going to suck for the next two years and that people are going to suffer. Some of them know that the federal government can do something about it and that cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans isn’t going to help. They might even be worried that the American people will punish them if they refuse to do anything or to work with the president in any constructive way. But they’re helpless to change course because they’ve poisoned the minds’ of their base. And, it’s not only their base, because I think most incoming freshmen are true-believing dittoheads.
So, Benen is correct. If you wanted to design a party to destroy America’s economy, you couldn’t do much better than the current GOP. But, are they going to do it for purely cynical reasons or because they’re crazy? The answer is: a little of each. The top echelon…the movers and shakers…have never been social conservatives and the only ideology they’re wedded to is keeping as much cash for themselves as possible. They probably don’t want the U.S. economy to suck for the next two years, although most of them are smart enough to win at the casino either way. But the lower level Republicans, including a good percentage of their caucuses? They’re going to fuck everything up because they’re crazy.
