Giving the Game Away – Again
P. Schultz
December 5, 2014
Here is a
link to a piece by Paul Krugman on the Affordable Care Act and Chuck Schumer’s
critique of it and of Obama. Of course, Krugman never mentions that it is very
likely that Schumer is merely preparing the way for Hillary’s expected
campaign, where she too will distance herself from Obama and from the ACA.
But it also
worth questioning why Hillary – and Schumer – are doing this, just as it is
worth questioning why the Democrats in the last election ran away from Obama as
if he had leprosy. One reason, the main reason, this is worth questioning is
because there is very little evidence to indicate that the ACA is unpopular
with most Americans and even less evidence that it isn’t working fairly well.
So, if this doesn’t advance the Democrats chances of winning the 2016
elections, why do it? It just doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Ah, but it
would make sense if one drops the assumption that our political class is
actually interested in real reform, however minimal, as opposed to maintaining
their own power and privileges or the current political regime. Under the
allegedly “mistaken” idea that the country is going in a “conservative”
direction and that she needs to move in that direction to become president,
Hillary is sounding more and more Republican each day. But is her main
objective getting elected or helping to preserve the status quo, a situation
that has made her and her husband both powerful and wealthy?
As has been
noted here, more than once, one of the prevailing fantasies about American
politics is that both parties care only about winning each election that
occurs. This cannot be demonstrated by the evidence – for example, the 2014
midterms where the Democrats seemed content to lose by sounding like
Republicans – but that does not stop this fantasy from flourishing. Krugman
gets close to exposing it for what it is but stops short.
It is an
interesting situation.
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