New York Times columnist Paul Krugman insisted that the GOP's historical precursor is the Ku Klux Klan. (FBI)
In a new piece, New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman attempted to illustrate the alleged "extremism" of the current Republican Party. Krugman claimed that the modern GOP’s true "historical precursor" is the Ku Klux Klan.
In this column, Krugman warned of the dangers of the Republican Party and tried to figure out which historical evil would provide the best comparison for readers.
"Many political analysts have spent years warning that the G.O.P. was becoming an extremist, anti-democratic party," he began, adding that even before Donald Trump, scholars "declared that the party had become ‘an insurgent outlier’ that rejected ‘facts, evidence and science’ and didn’t accept the legitimacy of political opposition."
He continued, "Even now, with Republicans expressing open admiration for Viktor Orban’s one-party rule, I encounter people insisting that the G.O.P. isn’t comparable to Fidesz."
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in 2009. (REUTERS/Chip East)
"Why not?" Krugman asked, "Republicans have been gerrymandering state legislatures to lock in control no matter how badly they lose the popular vote, which is right out of Orban’s playbook."
The author claimed the past few days in American politics have shown new proof of this GOP extremism. "The Jan. 6 hearings have been establishing, in damning detail, that the attack on the Capitol was part of a broader scheme to overturn the election, directed from the top. A Republican-stuffed Supreme Court has been handing down nakedly partisan rulings on abortion and gun control," he explained.
The columnist also warned about another extreme imminent Supreme Court decision, stating, "And there may be more shocks to come — keep your eyes on what the court is likely to do to the government’s ability to protect the environment."
"The question that has been bothering me — aside from the question of whether American democracy will survive — is why. Where is this extremism coming from?," he asked.
Krugman actually dismissed fascist comparisons. "Comparisons with the rise of fascism in Europe between the wars are inevitable but not all that helpful. For one thing, bad as he was, Trump wasn’t another Hitler or even another Mussolini." He also argued that America hasn’t suffered the hardships that were the backdrops to the Nazi regime.
American extremism’s roots are much closer to home according to Krugman, who finally provided his revelation. "I’ve been spending a lot of time lately looking for historical precursors — cases in which right-wing extremism rose even in the face of peace and prosperity. And I think I’ve found one: the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s."
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He explained, "It’s important to realize that while this organization took the name of the post-Civil War group, it was actually a new movement — a white nationalist movement to be sure, but far more widely accepted, and less of a pure terrorist organization."
"And it reached the height of its power — it effectively controlled several states — amid peace and an economic boom," the columnist added.
Krugman wrote that the book, The Second Coming of the K.K.K.: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition, "portrays a ‘politics of resentment’ driven by the backlash of white, rural and small-town Americans against a changing nation."
"The K.K.K. hated immigrants and ‘urban elites’; it was characterized by ‘suspicion of science’ and ‘a larger anti-intellectualism.’ Sound familiar?," he asked.
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He concluded his column by declaring, "And because G.O.P. extremism is fed by resentment against the very things that, as I see it, truly make America great — our diversity, our tolerance for difference — it cannot be appeased or compromised with. It can only be defeated."
Republican Elephant graphic, the symbol of the Republican Party. (Getty Images)
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