Something terrible has happened to the soul of the Republican Party. We’ve gone beyond bad economic doctrine. We’ve even gone beyond selfishness and special interests. At this point we’re talking about a state of mind that takes positive glee in inflicting further suffering on the already miserable. [snip]
To fully appreciate what just went down, listen to the rhetoric conservatives often use to justify eliminating safety-net programs. It goes something like this: “You’re personally free to help the poor. But the government has no right to take people’s money” — frequently, at this point, they add the words “at the point of a gun” — “and force them to give it to the poor.”
Krugman goes on to conclude a "pathological meanspiritedness" has gripped the Republican party. It's the prevailing ultra-right libertarian social Darwinism of Ayn Rand, the Koch brothers, Paul Ryan, the tea party and all the other sociopaths on the right that now forms the anti-soul of the Republican party. So, who "takes positive glee in inflicting further suffering?" Look up "sadist."It is, however, apparently perfectly O.K. to take people’s money at the point of a gun and force them to give it to agribusinesses and the wealthy.
P.S. It's also why we continue to call them "Rethuglicans."
