The Mailing List

On Paul Krugman's "Fears and Failure"

"(Who sends out the memos telling people what to worry about, and why don't I get them)" is a very humorous aside. The answer is not nearly as funny.

During the course of the mid-term elections, we heard the Republicans pound continuously on the failure of the Democrats to deal with the massive unemployment problem in our nation. The mantra was that once they were given the opportunity, things would be different. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

Once the mid- terms were behind them, the thoughts of the Republicans turned to 2012 and the course of the conversation shifted. If the economy continued to sputter, it could only work to their advantage. This, they will be sure to remind us in the coming months, is still a government under Democratic leadership. So, the Republican machine has misdirected us to theoretical disasters of tomorrow, rather than the actual concerns of today. The result is an anemic and stalled recovery, unrelenting unemployment, and a government that fails to address adequately the most urgent need of its population. If this downturn lingers, and it shows all the signs of doing so, the Republicans will lay blame directly at the feet of their opponents. The call for jobs, jobs, jobs, it turns out, was nothing but a con job.

One of the principle failures of this administration has been an inability to direct the discussion or choose the topics. In response to Mr. Krugman's question, the Republicans send out the memo, and until that ceases to be the case, he is never going to be on the mailing list.