Paul Krugman, upon hearing the news from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell that "virtually every Republican" believes the Bush tax cuts increased revenue, engaged in a little debunking. At the end, he confesses,"How am I supposed to pretend that these are serious people? The facts really do have a well-known liberal bias."
That's not exactly how I'd put it -- maybe liberals have a factual bias -- but I had the same thought the other day when I read this quote from a Republican congressional candidate:
"We have already seen our freedom of health care abolished and with that an encroachment on religious freedoms; for example Obamacare will make hospitals, even Catholic hospitals, provide taxpayer funded abortions," he said. "This goes against the Catholic religious belief."
Our "freedom of health care abolished"? What does that even mean? Maybe he's referring to the individual mandate, but wouldn't that be freedom from health care, and I'm guessing he hasn't even thought it through that far. Of course, there will be no taxpayer-funded abortions as a result of this bill, and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals, endorsed the health-care reform bill.
Still, this is what's coming down the pipe if Republicans secure real gains in the fall elections -- doctrinaire ideology divorced from reality. It's depressing to consider, but at the same time, it may be exactly what the Democrats need: Two years of presidential vetoes and opposition to remind them of what they have in common with their fellow Democrats, rather than an election cycle that forces them to focus on their differences.
-- Tim Fernholz
