Opinion – Paul Krugman: How can Democrats fight a crazy Republican Party?

Normally, one would expect a political party that has suffered a severe electoral disappointment – ​​falling far short of typical mid-term gains, despite high inflation and consumer discontent – ​​to moderate its positions, seek a middle ground to achieve at least some of its political objectives.

But the modern Republican Party, in case you haven’t noticed, is not a normal political party. He has barely any political goals, aside from an almost automatic desire to cut taxes on the rich and deny aid to the needy. He certainly has no political ideas.

Republicans spent much of the election talking about inflation. But at a news conference shortly after securing a narrow majority in the House, Republican leaders declared that their top priority would be… investigating the Biden family.

Then the Republican Party will not help govern the United States. Indeed, it will almost certainly do its best to undermine governance. And Democrats, for their part, must do everything they can to stop political sabotage and make would-be saboteurs pay a price.

Before we get into the ways Democrats might do this, let’s talk about two reasons why Republicans are likely to be even more destructive and irresponsible than they might have been if the red wave they so confidently expected had happened.

First, the narrowness of the Republican majority in the House means the next president, likely Kevin McCarthy, will need the support of all or almost all members of his caucus (five races still to be decided) — which will mean emboldening extremists and election deniers. . As one former congressman put it, McCarthy may have the title, but Marjorie Taylor Greene could very well be president in practice.

You might object by pointing out that Nancy Pelosi has only had a narrow majority over the past two years, yet she has managed to unite moderates and progressives around her political agenda. But McCarthy is not Pelosi — and progressive Democrats are infinitely more serious and interested in getting things done than MAGA Republicans.

Second, the economic environment, which has been a headwind for Democrats this year, will likely (though obviously not certain) start to look better in 2024, prompting frantic efforts by Republicans to make things worse.

Specifically, inflation appears to drop substantially, especially as a drastic leveling off of rental rates in the market has yet to be filtered through official price measures. And while there is a possibility of a recession next year, it will likely be mild, if it happens, and end well before the next election.

So over the next two years we can expect Republican leaders, being what they are, to do as much damage as they can, both to appease the more extreme elements of their party and to undermine what might otherwise look like successful governance. from Biden.

Unfortunately, the Republicans will indeed have great opportunities to wreak havoc unless the Democrats use the next few weeks, during which they will retain control of Congress, to avoid them. Two issues in particular stand out: the debt limit and aid to Ukraine.

For historical reasons, current law in the United States requires Congress to vote the budget twice. First, it authorizes spending and sets tax rates; then, if that legislation leads to budget deficits, he must vote separately to authorize borrowing to cover those deficits.

It’s not clear why this ever made sense. In the current environment, it allows politicians who lack the votes to change policy through normal procedure to hold the economy hostage, as Republicans did during the Obama years, or simply blow it up out of sheer spite – why not raise the debt would likely cause a global financial crisis. Does anyone expect the next Republican House to behave responsibly?

As for Ukraine, while the Ukrainians have been incredibly brave and remarkably successful in stopping the Russian invasion, they need a continual influx of Western aid, both military and economic, to continue the fight against their much larger neighbor. But it is very likely that a Republican Party that follows many of Tucker Carlson’s suggestions will try to block that aid.

The good news is that Democrats can, as The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent puts it, “freak out” policy during the “lame duck” session by raising the debt limit enough that it’s not an issue and ensuring enough bailouts. for Ukraine to get through the many months of war that are sure to come. And Democrats would be… well, crazy not to do these things ASAP.

Furthermore, Democrats can and should attack Republicans for their extremism, for focusing on phony riots and scandals rather than trying to improve Americans’ lives.

Seasoned political analysts will no doubt scoff at such efforts. But those will be the same ones who insisted inflation would dominate the midterms and mocked President Biden for speaking out about the threat Republican extremists posed to democracy — which turned out to be a major issue of the election after all.

Republicans will certainly behave badly in the next couple of years. But Democrats can limit the damage and try to make bad actors pay a political price.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves