Paul Krugman Exposes Maybe the Single Biggest Fraud in the GOP

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As sickened as Paul Krugman is by Trump's presidency, he may be even more disgusted by the so-called principled conservatives scuttling about Trump's party. 

In a scalding piece Friday, the New York Times columnist melted what he deems to be America's true "snowflakes": congressmen like Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who can't stand the heat of an angry town hall. "Many prominent Republicans haven't even gotten to the point of trying to respond to criticism," he writes. "They're just whining about how mean their constituents are being, and invoking conspiracy theories."

Despite what Republicans may tell themselves and the public, these protests are not a "paid, astroturf-type movement," as Sean Spicer calls them. Millions of Americans are distraught and enraged over the prospect of losing the health insurance and financial security that the ACA guarantees. "What could be worse than political action by the politically active?" Krugman asks caustically.

And yet the true object of his scorn is neither the indifferent chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform nor the White House's mendacious press secretary. It's House Majority Leader Paul Ryan, who has had years to produce his own alternative to Obamacare and come up with nothing. All he offers now are flat tax credits, which incidentally will provide a huge windfall to America's wealthiest. Cracks Krugman: "Funny how that seems to happen in every plan Mr. Ryan proposes."

For ideologues like Ryan, freedom is wealth — or at least the exclusive provenance of the wealthy. Here's what the Wisconsin congressman had to say about government healthcare earlier this week:

Freedom is the ability to buy what you want to fit what you need. Obamacare is Washington telling you what to buy regardless of your needs.

— Paul Ryan (@PRyan) February 21, 2017

"They hate Obamacare for two reasons," argues Krugman. "It demonstrates that the government can make people's lives better, and it's paid for in large part with taxes on the wealthy. [Republicans'] overriding goal is to make those taxes go away. And if getting those taxes cut means that quite a few people end up dying, remember: freedom!"

Read his column in the New York Times.