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Charles Krauthammer’s War Against the 1970s

by Frances Martel | 2:33 pm, February 19th, 2010

» 2 comments

Newsweek and The New Republic recently published “America the Ungovernable” and “Is America Ungovernable?“, respectively, making the case that perhaps the recent political, economic, and social turmoil in the country is not a product of bad leadership, but the nature of the nation. If two major news and political publications run with the story, it’s officially a trend.

Luckily, Charles Krauthammer is around to nip this mildly insulting talking point– we’re ungovernable as a people?– in the bud before it spreads like wildfire (to MSNBC). Simply put, Krauthammer is not buying the portrayal of the American people as an angry rabble of anarchists and contrarians because he was here when the media tried this to protect a weak Democrat the first time around.

In his Washington Post op-ed today, Krauthammer notes that putting the blame of an inefficient government on the people was all the rage in the late 1970s, when then-president Jimmy Carter was having trouble garnering bipartisan support for his policies:

“In the latter days of the Carter presidency, it became fashionable to say that the office had become unmanageable and was simply too big for one man. Some suggested a single, six-year presidential term. The president’s own White House counsel suggested abolishing the separation of powers and going to a more parliamentary system of unitary executive control. America had become ungovernable. Then came Ronald Reagan, and all that chatter disappeared.”

In the old days, Newsweek was trying to sell America as an irrational mob, also, he declares. But his ire is not limited to what he sees as a new wave of Carterism in the press, but to his fellow columnists elsewhere who have expressed some partisanship towards the President. He takes stabs at Tom Friedman‘s alleged desire to turn America into China and a flip-flop from New York Times‘ columnist Paul Krugman on the filibuster, which he claims Krugman was for before he was against it. “Just yesterday,” Krauthammer writes, “the same Paul Krugman was warning about ‘extremists’ trying ‘to eliminate the filibuster’ when Democrats used it systematically to block one Bush (43) judicial nomination after another.”

Such a multilateral attack to the left will likely push some buttons, though maybe not the people attacked in the article, but their counterparts on TV. At the very least, this would be worthy of a spot on Keith Olbermann‘s “Worst Persons” any other time of year when CPAC isn’t happening. Should Krugman et al choose to respond, however, someone should probably get the popcorn ready.

America, barack obama, charles krauthammer, msnbc, New York Times, Newsweek, Paul Krugman, The New Republic, Tom Friedman, Washington Post

Jim R

I would hope any publication worth its salt would wear Mr. Krauthammer’s vitriol and insults as a badge of honor, particularly in light of his tiresome fact-free historical revisionism.

The right is solely to blame for their own scorched earth policies of crying like babies and taking their ball and running home to momma when they get kicked out of power by the voters.

No amount of pending disaster for the American people is enough to make Republicans and right wing commentators think of the country before their own political personal gain; may history show them to be the hateful, selfish, corporate fascists that they are.

The data shows Democrats are always more willing to work with the opposition than Republicans, and no amount of projecting their hate will change that fact.
pyrope

Jim, sounds as though you’re talking about Al Gore when he lost to George W. Bush. And, if you really want to talk about getting kicked out of office, look what Ronald Reagan did. Can you say “landslide?”

As for Mr. Krauthammer, he’s brilliant. Get over it.

Now, look at who is trying to ram their unwanted policies down the throats of the voters.

Corporate fascists? I believe it was the fascists who nationalized their industries–not free market capitalists. Can you say “Government Motors?”

If you want a dose of reality, look at the history (not the “revised” version) of FNMA and FMAC–the “quasi-governmental” mortgage company that used to be totally government owned. Socialism sucks big time and when government seeks to run financial programs they always ultimately fail.

Just because you are not savvy or energetic enough to make it big in a capitalists system don’t assume everyone else cannot.

If you like socialism, may I suggest you go to Greece to see how that’s working out. I left there in 1973 to come to this country because, even back then, I could see what was coming their way.

America is a great country! It would be a lot better if it weren’t for the so-called “progressives,” liberals, socialists, communists, and fascists who have been slowly taking over for the last 100 years.

I am continually amazed–and often bewildered–by pukes like you who are always pissing in your own oatmeal and then complaining about the taste.