Paul Krugman is exactly right:
…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.
I hear a lot from friends that we need to reach out and talk to rightwingers, that we can convince them, persuade them. But, as Krugman says, extremists can’t be mollified. And compromising is preposterous when the retort is: “If your father makes you pregnant at 13, you’re still carrying a baby.” I see no way to compromise with that statement, no way to appease the person saying it. And I see no reason to engage with them. But I do think it makes sense to do whatever I can to make sure that person is never, ever close to a position of political or cultural influence.
And this points to the necessity of effective, evidence-based tactics. What they are — beyond voting, running for office, or aspiring to become a judge — is mostly beyond my skill set. And while, I certainly don’t believe for a second that trying to persuade Trumpists to think rationally or compassionately is remotely worth the effort, I would certainly suggest that we work on our rhetoric. I mean, are you still calling anti-abortion activists “pro-life???” Seriously, folks, these are crazy coat-hanger-fetishizing nihilists. Agreeing to call them “pro-anything” is just gross.
BTW, one thing Krugman is wrong about in the column:
OK, the modern G.O.P. isn’t as bad as the second K.K.K.
Really? How easily we forget the deaths and the confederate flag in the Capitol on Jan 6; state-sanctioned torture; Trump’s violent brown-shirts cracking heads on George Floyd protestors; the use of the MOAB in Afghanistan; and the systematic murder of abortion doctors — only the last wasn’t publicly sanctioned by elected Republicans (with the stress on “publicly”). And back in the day, the KKK merely succeeded in controlling “several states,” as Krugman put it. The extremist GOP controls not only far more states than the KKK could ever lay claim to but also controls the Supreme Court and is once again about to take over the US Congress (unless Democrats change their tactics, stat).
Sorry, Dr. Krugman, but somewhere, in some hell realm, the Grand Wizards of the KKK are chortling wildly and exchanging white power OKs.