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Krugman's Absurd Column On the Baucus Bill

By Big Tent Democrat

Coming from Krugman, this is shockingly absurd (as opposed to Robert Reich, who gets it exactly right, as does Booman):

There’s enough wrong with the Baucus proposal as it stands to make it unworkable and unacceptable. But that said, Senator Baucus’s mark is better than many of us expected. If it serves as a basis for negotiation, and the result of those negotiations is a plan that’s stronger, not weaker, reformers are going to have to make some hard choices about the degree of disappointment they’re willing to live with.

(Emphasis supplied.) After writing so well on the stupidity of the political bargaining on the stimulus bill, it is shocking to read this ridiculous column from Krugman. Indeed, Krugman writes:

So this plan has to change. What matters now is the direction in which it changes. It would be disastrous if health care goes the way of the economic stimulus plan, earlier this year. As you may recall, that plan — which was clearly too weak even as originally proposed — was made even weaker to win the support of three Republican senators. If the same thing happens to health reform, progressives should and will walk away.

Is there any doubt which way this will go IF BaucusCare is treated as the basis of negotiation, as Krugman endorses? Of course it will get worse, not better. Krugman must know this.

Krugman does health care reform a grave disservice with his column today. He should know better. What a disappointment.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 18, 2009 (boomark / email).