There is no Mithridate

Alan Simpson – as in former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson – is anxious for the blood bath he says is coming in April.
by Charlie Leck

The Dictionary.com word of the day for me today is MITHRIDATE [“a confection believed to contain an antidote to every poison”].

If you’re an observant reader of my blog, you know of my respect and admiration for Paul Krugman, op-ed columnist for the NY Times. He’s a Nobel Prize winner. He’s trained in economics. He’s a clear and concise writer. He’s very bright.

Krugman also has strong opinions that most people to the right of the center line detest. The problem they need to deal with is that Krugman is or has been proven correct in most cases regarding most of his opinions.

His column yesterday (November 22) nails former Senator Alan Simpson pretty toughly and exactly.

“So here’s what the very serious Mr. Simpson said on Friday: ‘I can’t wait for the blood bath in April. ... When debt limit time comes, they’re going to look around and say, What in the hell do we do now? We’ve got guys who will not approve the debt limit extension unless we give ’em a piece of meat, real meat, meaning spending cuts.

“‘And boy, the blood bath will be extraordinary,’ he continued.

“Think of Mr. Simpson’s blood lust as one more piece of evidence that our nation is in much worse shape, much closer to a political breakdown, than most people realize. ’”

The term to concentrate on in this column is “political breakdown.”

That a former U.S. Senator, who is considered a sensible moderate, is talking eagerly about a coming political blood bath – well – that pretty much says everything that needs to be said about politics in America right now.

The Republicans are savages! And, they fully intend to savage the Democratic Party. It will lead to an absolute political breakdown.

Too bad! In the end, it will also bring great shame upon the Republican Party. You really should read the 22 November column by Krugman.

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