Paul Krugman:The Politics of Spite

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/opinion/05krugman.html?_r=1

There was what President Obama likes to call a teachable moment last week, when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.

“Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful.” “World Rejects Obama,” gloated the Drudge Report. And so on.

So what did we learn from this moment? For one thing, we learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old.

But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.

(snip)
The key point is that ever since the Reagan years, the Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

He sometimes says something caring and empathetic to Lisa or Homer and realizes the error of his ways.

Democrats think it's a fucking tea party or something. That's why we lose.

You said tea!!

:rofl:

and some on the left see it as Failure. They want it so bad.

That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time.
snip
No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work......You've got to practice.
snip
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
snip

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8682908

Is that they never seem to learn anything from their failures, jut how to be more nasty and spiteful. It eventually boils over, and we have to suffer.

Do I need to name how?

...and/or "If Republicans think something might be good for a northern, Democratic-leaning urban area, especially if that area has a large African-American population, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America."

can be all levels of Terroism.

:sarcasm: :banghead: :grr: :puke:

I find it appalling how many idiots there are in this country who actually believe this crap!!!

I had a conversation with a friend a couple of days ago. She is not a dummy..a math teacher, and usually pretty up on things. She started spouting all that "socialized medicine' crap and how "terrible" things are in Canada. I think I may have gotten a bit hot under the collar.
I told her that I was surprised that she was falling for all that lying crap that was being spread by the drug companies and insurance companies. I told her about 4 of my friends who are Canadian, and are pissed as hell about the lies that are being spread about their health system.
I told her about the article I read here on DU, and the confirmation by a DUer..about some folks who had moved to Canada and cannot afford to move back - even if they wanted to - due to chronic illness in the family which would bankrupt them if they returned.
I hope that I showed her that she did not really know what was going on...but I would be reluctant to bet on it.

I saw that interview in the Michael Moore movie with all the American ex-pats who were saying they were thrilled with the health coverage they were getting in England/France. They all said they knew they could not afford such coverage if they returned to the US.

It is very depressing to know that there are so many idiots who actually buy into that "socialized medicine" crap and have no idea that they are being used as tools by Big Pharma and the insurance companies.