Paul Krugman's analysis is, once again, right on target. The reason the Republican party was able to usurp and maintain power over the last 30+ years was the age-old advice: divide and conquer. The Republicans used people's fear and prejudice against minorities as a way to keep them voting for Republicans, even against their own economic interests. Below are some excerpts from Krugman's article. See whole piece here.
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...But America in 1993 was a very different country — not just a country that had yet to see what happens when conservatives control all three branches of government, but also a country in which Democratic control of Congress depended on the votes of Southern conservatives. Today, Republicans have taken away almost all those Southern votes — and lost the rest of the country. It was a grand ride for a while, but in the end the Southern strategy led the G.O.P. into a cul-de-sac.
Mr. Obama therefore has room to be bold. If Republicans try a 1993-style strategy of attacking him for promoting big government, they’ll learn two things: not only has the financial crisis discredited their economic theories, the racial subtext of anti-government rhetoric doesn’t play the way it used to.
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