Remind Me, or Know-Nothing Politics

The next time I think of praising Thomas Friedman for anything he wrote, remind me to go back and watch this video clip.

As Atrios said:

Though, it must be said, what we did wasn't just posturing. The dead are all still dead.

He was commenting on Paul Krugman's latest effort which is worth reading itself and includes this gem.

Republicans, once hailed as the "party of ideas," have become the party of stupid.

Now, I don't mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don't mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism -- the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there's something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise -- has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party's de facto slogan has become: "Real men don't think things through."