Brad DeLong, Berkeley economist, and longtime blogger about just about everything including, of course, economics, is part of a new effort towards "equitable growth." The new think tank, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will be headed by Clinton advisor, John Podesta, and DeLong's blog will "move a significant portion of his writing to a new blog being started by the center," according to the Times.
DeLong writes that the new Center "will try to bring to your attention people who think differently than we do and who have done their homework, are not engaged in intellectual three-card-monte, and are being smart." Just escaping from the card tricks -- and the shame and anger they have brought to America -- would be good enough.
DeLong adds this this effort will be aimed at those of us who "would like to see a 21st century that is an American Century in a these-are-people-to-emulate rather than we-fear-their-drones-and-their-blackmail sense."
Amen to that.
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Historian and policy advisor, Bruce Bartlett, anticipates the passing of the tea party as support for their drama and hysteria dwindles.
Another growing concern of the wealthy and business groups is the recognition that they lack any control over the Tea Party. A major problem is that Tea Party people are only interested in nominating Republicans based on their rigid adherence to right-wing principles, even if they make such candidates unelectable in the general election.
A number of Senate elections have been lost in recent years because Tea Party insurgents upset in primaries or party conventions some mainstream candidates who probably would have won their races. This appears to be happening again in the Virginia governor’s race, where Republicans nominated for governor and lieutenant governor two candidates who are very far to the right in a state that is trending left.
The business community is especially upset by having the Tea Party repeatedly throw away winnable races and is trying to inject more political realism into the nominating process. Some business groups are even reaching out to Democrats. The Fairfax Chamber of Commerce in Virginia, for example, endorsed the Democratic candidate for governor this year for the first time since 2001.
It isn’t only rich people feeling guilt over their riches and pragmatic business groups that are dissenting from the Tea Party orthodoxy. Some Republicans and conservative intellectuals are now saying that cuts to the welfare state have gone too far as well.
On Oct. 28, the Republican governor of Ohio, John R. Kasich, blasted his party for its “war on the poor.” He said that the G.O.P. implicitly believed that “if you’re poor, somehow you are shiftless and lazy.” Against Tea Party opposition, Governor Kasich recently expanded Medicaid in his state under the Affordable Care Act – an act of virtual treason against Tea Party dogma. ...Economix,NYT