Saturday, October 25, 2014

Thought For The Day


From Paul Krugman:
[T]he political right has always been uncomfortable with democracy. No matter how well conservatives do in elections, no matter how thoroughly free-market ideology dominates discourse, there is always an undercurrent of fear that the great unwashed will vote in left-wingers who will tax the rich, hand out largess to the poor, and destroy the economy. [snip]
And now you understand why there’s so much furor on the right over the alleged but actually almost nonexistent problem of voter fraud, and so much support for voter ID laws that make it hard for the poor and even the working class to cast ballots. American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights — at least not yet. But if you follow the currents of thought now prevalent on the political right to their logical conclusion, that’s where you end up. 
Krugman goes on to discuss voter suppression and the struggle between democracy and plutocracy, which has rarely been clearer than it is in today's politics.  Worth a read.

BONUS:  Jon Chait, too.