Krugman: GOP elites are clueless

The New York Times columnist argued that GOPers "deluded" supporters into thinking they could repeal the law

Published August 19, 2013 1:28PM (EDT)

Paul Krugman                                                                                                                                                                       (Reuters/Anton Golubev)
Paul Krugman (Reuters/Anton Golubev)

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman dismissed reporting about how Republicans are split about the party's relentless push to repeal Obamacare, writing that "those leaders don’t deserve any sympathy. For one thing, that irrational base is a Frankenstein monster of their own creation. Beyond that, everything I’ve seen indicates that members of the Republican elite still don’t get the basics of health reform."

He continued:

I guess that after all the years of vilification it was predictable that Republican leaders would still fail to understand the principles behind health reform and that this would hamper their ability to craft an effective political response as the reform’s implementation draws near. But their rudest shock is yet to come. You see, this thing isn’t going to be the often-predicted “train wreck.” On the contrary, it’s going to work.

"This achievement will represent a huge defeat for the conservative agenda of weakening the safety net," Krugman continued. "And Republicans who deluded their supporters into believing that none of this would happen will probably pay a large personal price. But as I said, they have nobody but themselves to blame."

Read the full column here.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

MORE FROM Jillian Rayfield


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Barack Obama Healthcare Reform New York Times Paul Krugman Republicans