November 5, 2008, 8:25 am
The Conscience of a Liberal (NYT)

THE MONSTER YEARS

Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.

What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.

And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”

Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness.

--Paul Krugman

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1.November 5th,
2008
9:53 am The monsters did not get to the positions they held without the help of the American people. There was something inside of us that said that these monsters were acceptable. What does that say about America?

— Posted by Vrob125
2.November 5th,
2008
10:18 am Sen. McCain behaved like such a monster, too. He ran a campaign with many racist, nationalist (not patriotic), homophobic, anti-Musilim,and divisive strains that was the most negative in recent history.

This cannot be washed away by a gracious concession speech.

We need to keep in mind that these forces, although not in the majority now, are still out there.

— Posted by -bert
3.November 5th,
2008
10:18 am I highly doubt these monsters will be banished to the wilderness. In fact I suspect the monsters might even rear their ugly head before the end of 2009 with Palin playing a pivotal role. I further predict that the monsters might split from the main party and create their own faction. What the last few months have showed me is that we’ll end up with an ultra-right wing fascist party that fiscally conservative, socially progressive Republicans, as well as the Dems, will have to contend with.
Just my pessimistic 2 cents.

— Posted by jim from nyc
4.November 5th,
2008
10:20 am Banished to the wilderness? I wish I could agree, but I can’t…not nearly, not yet. Re-elected were Inhofe, Roberts, Collins, Cornyn and Coleman. Re-elected were Bachmann, Issa, Hunter, Rohrabacher, Jean Schmidt, and a host of others. Rove gone? I think not. And with the exception of about 2 hours a week on MSNBC and a few minutes a week on CNN, the wingnuts still control the tv airwaves, not to mention radio. Tom DeLay might no longer be in the House of Reps, but he still gets plenty of tv airtime to spew his filth. We surely must expect that the storm of bigotry and rightwing hatred and ridicule will continue if not intensify in the months and years ahead, that the monsters will continue to roar even in the op-ed pages of the New York Times.

— Posted by texasbob
5.November 5th,
2008
10:31 am Thank you for putting it so succinctly. The last eight years have been governed by the worst human qualities. We were governed by hatred, greed, theft, fear, superstition, bigotry, Know Nothingism, cruelty and divisiveness. “The monster years” sums it up.

When McCain’s monster campaign faltered I dared to think that we might be ruled by hope rather than fear. Today? Today it is 40 degrees and raining. But I feel like the sun is shining and Spring has come.

— Posted by Todd Ellner
6.November 5th,
2008
10:34 am Brought to mind last night was the relief US citizens felt in the 1970s upon hearing the words: “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

Last night we watched the entire world breath a collective sigh of relief - hopefully our long international nightmare is over.

— Posted by Pat H
7.November 5th,
2008
11:30 am Or to California, Florida, and Arizona, where last night wasn’t exactly a victory for tolerance - especially not if you’re a married gay person.

— Posted by John
8.November 5th,
2008
11:31 am Great solace and comfort will be taken by the couples in California whose marriages were just declared illegal.

— Posted by Kevin P.
9.November 5th,
2008
11:47 am Thank you, Paul Krugman, for telling it like it is. The Republican Party has been hijacked by a cabal of nasty people masquerading as Christians. Let’s not delude ourselves or sugarcoat the issue–these people love to rail about the “extreme left” when they have pulled the GOP to the extreme right and made it the party of intolerance and fear/hate-mongering.

— Posted by Vivi21
10.November 5th,
2008
12:15 pm There are monsters everywhere, but many are found out and neutralized. The fact that our monsters had sympathizers in Congress & the media who intimidated the critics is what allowed them to flourish.

Thanks for calling a monster a monster.

— Posted by maxzj05
11.November 5th,
2008
12:34 pm I agree that it’s a major step forward, but we’re not the whole way there, yet: Michelle Bachmann got reelected, and Virgil Goode is within 600 votes on holding on.

— Posted by Darius
12.November 5th,
2008
12:34 pm Really?

I wish I could agree with you. But this morning my joy at the election of Senator Obama quickly vanished when I learned that Prop. 8 passed in California, that Ted Stevens and Rep. Bachmann were reelected.

So what was the message from last night? You may see that it as the end for some “monsters”, but I certainly don’t see it that way.

Imagine waking up this morning to learn that you are no longer legally married, that it is now written in the Constitution that you are considered less than a full citizen — and that this new status was voted in by your fellow Americans — Democrats included?

And what is the electorate saying in Minnesota? Should we start an investigation into the question of whether members of Congress are anti-American? What is the electorate saying in Alaska? Should we pass a law giving members of Congress immunity from all criminal prosecution?

This morning I woke up and suddenly all the bad memories of the past eight years came rushing back: the Democrats who voted for the war, and Pelosi’s epic efforts to keep Bush’s war funded; the passage of the Patriot Act, the passage of the bankruptcy law, the FISA bill — all things passed with the consent of the Democrats, many when the Democrats were in the majority.

Now we have voters in California who voted for Obama also voting to deny their fellow citizens the right to be, and stay, married. I may be straight, but the denial of one Americans basic rights is the denial of all Americans of their basic rights. America, and the Democratic Party, still represents bigotry and authoritarianism to me.

This morning the sun came out, but my joy quickly disappeared. As long as Democrats, and Americans in general, continue to want to oppress their fellow citizens, as long as they continue to tolerate bigotry and criminality, America will have accomplished nothing, and will have learned nothing.

Bush and Cheney may be leaving the scene in January, but there are plenty of others around to take their place — many are already there in Congress, and many continue to vote — many, apparently, even voted for Obama.

— Posted by D-Chicago
13.November 5th,
2008
12:50 pm Look at what we had to endure for 8 years in order to bring about such a sweeping change. The Monster will exist for a long while, but it is currently busy licking its wounds and blaming everyone but itself. A look in the mirror is all it would take to know who to blame.

— Posted by Tom
14.November 5th,
2008
12:57 pm Well said - helps to put things into perspective. Now we have the opportunity to show that progressive liberals do not have horns and forked tails. It’s as it the country has been under the spell of an evil demon, and now we have been awakened.

The oddest thing about the last 12 years is that the monsters have gotten the American public to vote against their own self-interest, through fear of the “other”.

— Posted by Jon Monday
15.November 5th,
2008
1:04 pm And yet, the monsters aren’t gone forever. Michelle Bachmann still won reelection in MN-6. California voters still rejected freedom and equality.

To me, this election was, at best, a remission from the monster years, and hopefully the beginning of the end. We will need to continue to work hard for years to come to finally and irrevocably drive the monsters out.

— Posted by wheels
16.November 5th,
2008
1:06 pm Shouldn’t monsters be accountable for their monstruosities? You talk about them being banished, but this could lead our society to forget what they did, surely paving the way for their return. I think that they should be brought in front of the competent justice, kept into the spotlight until together we draw the lessons of all these years and exile those monsters forever.

— Posted by Joan-Marc Miralles
17.November 5th,
2008
1:16 pm I disagree. Until we have some serious Truth and Reconcilation commissions, the monsters will have plenty of political cover and plenty of airtime on the Fox alternate reality network. Rush Limbaugh signed a huge 8-year contract on the assumption that Obama would win.

Unless we hold his feet to the fire, I’m afraid Obama’s drive for reconciliation will pass up Truth stage.

— Posted by John Evans
18.November 5th,
2008
1:37 pm I certainly hope you are right, but we are not through with intolerance. As my brother Tim Hornor pointed out, it’s extremely troubling that based upon the results of two propositions on the California ballot, voters are more concerned about the dignity and rights of farm animals than they are about the dignity and rights of gay people.

The monsters in politics got their strength from the bigotry, hatred, and fear in our communities. Hopefully, the strength and hope that elected Barack Obama president, will bring an end to the meanness in our communities.

— Posted by David Barach
19.November 5th,
2008
1:57 pm It would be nice if the “center” was moved back to the middle where it’s supposed to be instead of halfway between the mainstream and fascism. I am amazed that people can say things like “Obama will be the most liberal president ever”, “He’s a socialist”, etc., and manage not be dismissed as hysterics or candidates for a rubber room. This toxic mixture of zealotry and ignorance really needs to be purged from our system: it’s time to start treating cranks as if they were cranks!

— Posted by MinuteMan
20.November 5th,
2008
2:10 pm While we may see a national mandate for tolerance, what about in California and Florida? Gay marriage is a tricky issue, but surely there’s a better solution than to ban it with a constitutional amendment. Majorities don’t think so.

— Posted by Zach Borichevsky
21.November 5th,
2008
2:55 pm Thanks for having the bald-faced honesty to call these malefactors by their proper names. For them, it was never about governance or government; it was always self-aggrandizement and self-inflation. The country has been wounded grievously, and only our capacity for self-delusion has allowed these radicals to exist for as long as they have. They almost succeeded in toppling the system, and it will take years to purge the rot. Please continue to be frank and honest with us, Dr. Krugman! We need your voice and intellect.

— Posted by Bill
22.November 5th,
2008
2:56 pm Mr. Krugman, I hope you are correct that the monsters have been banished to the wilderness. The comments I’ve read last night and today on many websites suggest that these monsters’ supporters feel cornered and are erupting with madness in their hearts and minds; it appears they plan to attack us, not with words or veiled threats, but now with their weapons, as well. I feel they have never been more dangerous to our country than they are today, and only hope that sane Americans will recognize their danger and report them or have them arrested.

To the sane Americans… keep your guards up, protect your new-found pride in our country, and defend your new President and help keep him safe.

— Posted by Susan
23.November 5th,
2008
3:26 pm You are absolutely right! And calling them monsters is, in fact, an understatement. They should all be relegated to their own Guantanamo, and if the facilities are soon overcrowded, so much the better! The list of such monsters (including how many financial criminals?) is long indeed, and the devastation they caused will be with us a long time as well.

— Posted by Jason W
24.November 5th,
2008
3:28 pm It would be nice to think they have been banished, but they still inhabit our electorate, they are still our neighbors, and we still live with them and work with them every day. A process of reevaluating our views as a society is needed.

Certainly political ethics rules, education policies, human rights issues, and responsibilities in international relations need to be revisited, reexamined, refined and reformed. We need to do that by (ughh, yech) including the monsters in our discussions to understand what drives them and what truly is needed to correct the problems created during the past administration’s tenure.

— Posted by John Nihau
25.November 5th,
2008
3:28 pm I am glad someone said it. Perhaps “monster” seems a bit strong. But I doubt our language has a more apt term. Reagan too, by the way, was a monster.

One of the chief reasons for this phenomenon in American politics seems to be that the right has disfavored reason and compromise, while favoring gut instinct, intuition, decisiveness and sudden inspiration — in short, faith. When the right ceases to be a party of brutal senselessness, the country’s politics will have gained a great deal of civility.

As it is, they can be expected to continue to track rightward, and to bring forth monsters for the forseeable future.

Only the collective reason and wisdom of the netroots can stop them. The MSM is to enthralled to do anything useful against the right. And the Dem party remains ineffective. Lets hope Obama cleans house at the DNC (though I would like to see Howard Dean retain the chair), and that the old guard in the state parties are replaced with young, grassroots-savvy Obamacons.

— Posted by dunder hoof
26.November 5th,
2008
3:33 pm You are exactly correct, and the worst part of it was that, by dividing people so effectively from each other, they made everyone feel that they were surrounded by fellow citizens who were also “monsters.” I had to reassure my sons and my friends again and again that people were better than that and they were simply being horribly manipulated.

I thank you for your courageous columns over the years, and also the internet that allowed us to get other sides to all stories than the one-sided, over-orchestrated, and highly fictionalized opera of power we were fed by our rulers and a subservient press.

— Posted by juliet Flower MacCannell
27.November 5th,
2008
4:08 pm No, they have not been banished to the wilderness. They have been banished to minority party status, but not to the wilderness. They will be around making noise and spewing hate for many years yet. The Republican Party has to come to grips with the fact that the politics of smear will only work against weak candidates, not strong ones, and that if they are to return from minority party status they will need to go back to core principles and run a positive race. GWB may have won a second term by smearing his opponent, but he diminished himself as well as his opponent by doing so and the result was an inability to govern. Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” campaign may have been as bogus as a $3 bill, but Reagan at least knew he had to present a vision of the future that was compelling to the voters in order to counter the Democratic trend of the times. The current Republicans, alas, do not appear to be capable of doing so — the only vision that McCain’s 99% negative ads presented was, “my opponent has cooties”. How mature. In the end, those ads hurt him more than they hurt his opponent.

— Posted by Badtux
28.November 5th,
2008
4:12 pm Thank you for calling monsters, monsters. Here’s to the end of a long Orwellian nightmare, and to our country rejoining the world community. Here’s to the end of failed unilateralism. And here’s to an end of the politics of fear and loathing.

— Posted by Mary Owens
29.November 5th,
2008
4:13 pm Well and thoughtful representation for a future which strive and dare to welcome peace, humanity, humbleness, understanding of diverse culture in a very diverse world. Without a doubt a first step towards peace and humble world where international justice will get its share of floor to advocate more prosperous world.

— Posted by Bhutto
30.November 5th,
2008
4:24 pm You’re right, of course. We needed a 180 degree course correction and (finally!) a majority of the people agreed. A return to America’s best ideals is the best thing for the country and for the world. I have very high hopes for President-elect Obama.

We need to continue with the passion and fervor that we have shown the past 21 months. If we work hard enough and follow the correct path, we can shape the future of this country for the next hundred years. Let’s chase our idealism and goodness! Let’s show the “monsters” that the people of America will never support another illegal war, another pilfering of our treasure, or another war crime committed in our names.

I hope we all can recognize that our real work is only beginning and that true progress will take a lot of hard work by a lot of good people.

— Posted by Winston Smith
31.November 5th,
2008
4:25 pm I second that thought. On election day, a woman with a Palin shirt on called me names because I had on an Obama shirt. Something in the GOP leadership shifted, and not in a good way.

I hope that we can perhaps start working on becoming the United States, rather than red states and blue states.

— Posted by Anna
32.November 5th,
2008
4:26 pm There will always be monsters Paul. We just need to be willing to look them squarely in the eye and stare them down. Barack showed us how.

— Posted by dixie-chik
33.November 5th,
2008
4:29 pm I believe Dr. Krugman is right, but the responsibility for not reining in monstrous behavior must be shared, something that might be termed a “willing suspension of disbelief”. The tax cut of the first Bush Term, the extensive debt-financed expenditures for everything except infrastructure support within the Country and the consistent choice of amateurs to run critical posts in government, was aided and abetted by Congress. We can and should fault the leadership that initiated this morally bankrupt two term debacle, but we should remember that our system of checks and balances failed as well.

— Posted by Michal C. Moore
34.November 5th,
2008
5:21 pm The grassroots organization that supported Obama must now be used to organize for the mid-term elections. This battle to win back the hearts and minds of enough people who know a monster when they see one is just beginning. If memory serves, a full 16,000,000 Americans told pollsters that they still think W has done a good job. Those people don’t do away.

— Posted by Joe D
35.November 5th,
2008
5:22 pm Although I share Mr. Krugman’s sense of relief, it is a mistake to attribute “monstrosity” to one side, especially when those sides are defined by our two parties. Many Dems were responsible for allowing the monstrosity to continue. Obama was not in the Senate during the war vote, and so he had my support. But many of those who capitulated are still in the govt, and one is VP. Neither Biden, Edwards, nor Clinton got my support because of their histories during the Bush years. For Dems, to see “evil” or “monstrosity” only in other parties is to forget a bit too easily.

— Posted by jcr
36.November 5th,
2008
5:25 pm I so agree with you, but let us not forget that the most recent administration has put “its people” far deeper into the government than the usual top management positions that most administrations change to reflect their policies. Middle management and even front line workers have been ousted in favor of loyal cronies. Folks who have failed time and again to do the jobs they were supposed to do. The worst example was revealed in the wake of Katrina, the lawyers fired for political reasons achieved public attention, but all areas of government have been affected. The folks Obama chooses to lead the various areas of our government need to thoroughly check the competence of those beneath them. Undoing the damage of cronyism will be an important first step to restoring a government that works.

— Posted by heartfelt
37.November 5th,
2008
5:26 pm Calling a few individuals monsters is a little like attributing the financial collapse to a few greedy individuals. Better explanations lie in policies, large social forces, and a degraded media-driven brand of politics.

And what’s with the Larry Summers appointment? Doesn’t he represent some of the same failed ideas of globalization and free markets that we are now trying to change?

— Posted by Smith in Colorado
38.November 5th,
2008
5:27 pm Tolerance for everyone except gay people in California sadly.

— Posted by Chris
39.November 5th,
2008
5:28 pm There is joy in Idaho among members in both parties today. It looks like Bill Sali, our monster, is staying home this year. Hopefully the Republican party will return with serious candidates.

The coverage at the Times during the election and economic crisis has been fantastic and a very steady place to stay during the national shake up. Thank you.

— Posted by Michael