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We Stalked. He Balked. The Truth Squad is getting to Mr. Krugman.
National Review Online ^ | May 7, 2003 | Donald Luskin

Posted on 05/07/2003 6:18:15 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds

It's beginning to work. The Krugman Truth Squad has America's most dangerous liberal pundit — columnist Paul Krugman of the New York Times — on the run.

Since we first exposed Krugman's egregious lies about President Bush's tax cuts in his April 22 column, he has now published no fewer than seven increasingly defensive and desperate responses on his personal website. Reacting to his first column on the subject, we caught him claiming that Bush's tax cuts would cost $500,000 for each $40,000 new job they created, although that $500,000 is a ten-year cost (and the highest possible estimate of that cost) and the $40,000 is only a single-year's salary.

His seven responses have been spread over five postings (one, two, three, four, and five). Since we reported on his first response, his strategy has been to conceal his tax-cut falsehood under an increasingly smelly heap of academic economic jargon, charts, and graphs — all designed to bamboozle the unsophisticated into thinking there's a rationale that explains his lie, and that he had that rationale in mind all along.

The good news is that Krugman is clearly shaken by the new experience of having somebody dare to challenge his insouciant lying. He's even starting to get personal — referring to me in his latest posting as his "stalker-in-chief." But he's definitely feeling chastised. In his last three columns for the Times he hasn't dared to mention Bush's tax plan.

But he is still America's most dangerous liberal pundit. Even his serially debunked lies inevitably get used as talking points by liberal politicians and other left-leaning pundits who are too lazy to make up their own lies. Several ex-officio members of the Krugman Truth Squad let me know that Congressman Harold Ford (D., Tenn.) repeated the Bush tax-cut lie to Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan during a question-and-answer session in the House Financial Services Committee last week. (Greenspan just rolled his eyes and moved on.) Larry Kudlow, my National Review Online colleague, told me that congressman Ben Cardin (D., Md.) repeated the lie last week on CNBC's Kudlow and Cramer — and Kudlow delayed a commercial break while he shoved it back down Cardin's throat.

A Truth Squad mole, one planted deep in the limousine-liberal bowels of Goldman Sachs, told me that the same Krugman lie has even been repeated (without attribution) in the "Talk of the Town" column of this week's New Yorker, that former bastion of fanatical fact-checking and brave bulwark against casual plagiarism. How the mighty have fallen. If we can't trust the New Yorker on tax cuts, how can we trust it on Eminem?

So, what about Krugman's columns since the infamous April 22 effort? Don't worry — Krugman may be chastened a bit, but the Truth Squad has not let down its guard.

Last week, one of his columns attempted to prove that while Bush may have won the war with Iraq, it was an illegitimate war to begin with. Krugman wrote,

Sure enough, we have yet to find any weapons of mass destruction. It's hard to believe that we won't eventually find some poison gas or crude biological weapons. But those aren't true W.M.D.'s. . . . Remember that President Bush made his case for war by warning of a "mushroom cloud." Clearly, Iraq didn't have anything like that — and Mr. Bush must have known that it didn't.

Poison gas or crude biological weapons are not true WMDs? Try telling that to a dead Kurd gassed by Saddam Hussein. Be that as it may, Krugman Truth Squad member Mathew Hoy wonders on his blog, HoyStory.com, why Krugman is in such a hurry to find WMDs:

Krugman and his starry-eyed doves were willing to give U.N. weapons inspectors many more months (or years) to find banned weapons, but want the U.S. armed forces, which were until very recently fighting a war, to have these things found yesterday.

And how about Bush's "warning of a 'mushroom cloud'" when he "must have known" that Iraq didn't have nuclear weapons? Truth Squad member Tom Maguire points out his blog, Just One Minute, that if you go back to Bush's October 8, 2002, speech, he gave this supposed "warning" precisely in the context of admitting that he didn't know absolutely whether or not Iraq had nuclear weapons, but that he didn't feel it was prudent to wait. The president said, "Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof — the smoking gun — that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."

Yesterday's column was another attempt by Krugman to rain on Bush's post-Iraq parade. It mocked Bush for his dramatic jet landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln, and portrayed it as a betrayal of the decent traditions of the American presidency. According to Krugman,

. . . American presidents traditionally make a point of avoiding military affectations. Dwight Eisenhower was a victorious general and John Kennedy a genuine war hero, but while in office neither wore anything that resembled military garb. . . . There was a time when patriotic Americans from both parties would have denounced any president who tried to take political advantage of his role as commander in chief. But that, it seems, was another country.

This is all the worse because, according to Krugman, Bush "skipped more than a year of the National Guard service that kept him out of Vietnam." There's even a source citation for that claim — practically a Krugman first! — and it's none other than the Boston Globe, an affiliate of the Times. But Krugman Truth Squad senior member Andrew Sullivan has discovered that the Times, after subsequent investigation, reported that "some of those concerns may be unfounded."

An ex officio Truth Squad member showed me that National Guard magazine (the official magazine of the National Guard Association of the United States, and not affiliated with the Times in any way except to defend it in time of war) explained in its January 2001 issue that some "reports charged that [Bush] was absent for a year." But that's meaningless. It was the accumulation of the required number of days of service that earned Bush his honorable discharge.

As I pointed out on my blog, The Conspiracy To Keep You Poor And Stupid, Krugman is again lying when he suggests that Bush is the first president to take advantage of his role as commander in chief. Ex officio Truth Squad members have sent me ample proof. Here's one item: a picture (courtesy of the Special Electronic Mission Aircraft site) of President Clinton wearing something that most assuredly "resembled military garb." And if memory serves, weren't there some questions about the enthusiasm with which Clinton embraced his military obligations?

Krugman Truth Squad member Robert Musil points out on his blog, Man Without Qualities, that Democrat Michael Dukakis played soldier while he was a candidate for the presidency. Musil writes,

Michael Dukakis (in)famously donned military garb and climbed into a United States army tank in his failing attempt to obtain the Presidency. Unfortunately, his opponent, George H. W. Bush, ran a highly effective campaign commercial making use of the fact that Mr. Dukakis looked like a ridiculous twerp during his tank ride. . . . The Bush commercial juxtaposed Mr. Dukakis's obvious lack of familiarity with, and discomfort in, that tank with his generally anti-defense positions.

For Krugman to strike the same chord with the American public that Bush the Elder's commercial did, George W. Bush would have to be as uncomfortable and foolish in the role of commander in chief as Dukakis promised to be. But as Bush's performances during the Iraq war and on the deck of the Lincoln show, he is neither uncomfortable nor foolish — and based on the polls, the American people know it.

In fact, it's Paul Krugman and the liberal opponents of Bush who are looking uncomfortable and foolish these days.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bushtaxcuts; ccrm; krugman; lamestreammedia; lies; nytimes; paulkrugman; presstitutes; truth
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To: rebel_yell2
The other $15,000 comes from Uncle Sam.

It does not come from Uncle Sam.

And why are we talking about tax cuts as a 'cost'? Whe should not be comaring the 'cost' of tax cut to 'benefit' of jobs. We should be ADDING the BENEFIT of the tax cut to the EXTRA BENEFIT of new jobs. so over 10 years $500,000 tax cut +$400,000 job created = $900,000 benefit per person.

Are we trying to stake out a position left of the Democratic Underground?

21 posted on 05/07/2003 9:38:32 AM PDT by On the Road to Serfdom
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To: On the Road to Serfdom
Actually I don't think there is a $500,000 per person tax cut so my numbers above need adjusting but the point is the tax cut and jobs created need to be added as two benefits, not contrasted as if one were a cost.
22 posted on 05/07/2003 9:42:18 AM PDT by On the Road to Serfdom
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To: LurkerNoMore!
HATE, Krugman. Hatehimhatehimhatehim. I'm talkin' Strobe Talbot level hatred.

Ben Cardin (D., Md.) repeated the lie last week on CNBC's Kudlow and Cramer — and Kudlow delayed a commercial break while he shoved it back down Cardin's throat

LU,UH,UH,UH,UH,UV Kudlow, though, 'specially when he's outraged by liberal legerdemain!

23 posted on 05/07/2003 9:43:46 AM PDT by Stultis
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To: *Presstitutes; *Lamestream Media; *CCRM; MEDIANEWS
Krugman's lies catching up with him alert!
24 posted on 05/07/2003 9:46:09 AM PDT by Timesink
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
Luskin's Weblog: The Conspiracy To Keep You Poor and Stupid
25 posted on 05/07/2003 9:48:04 AM PDT by Timesink
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To: finnman69
Krugman is such a dick.

Even other economists don't trust him any more. His Times columns are such blatant lies and hit pieces that now everytime sees Krugman's name on an academic work, they can't help but wonder if he's lied in there too.

26 posted on 05/07/2003 9:51:55 AM PDT by Timesink
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
Nothing can stand against God's truths.
27 posted on 05/07/2003 9:58:30 AM PDT by Search4Truth (When a man lies, he murders part of the world.)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
If the NY Slimes fired every reporter and oped writer who lied or mangled the truth to fit their left wing agenda, they would not have anyone working for them.

The NY Slimes corporate culture is built around lies and printing DNC mantras posing as news!
28 posted on 05/07/2003 10:16:05 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
The lies and DNC propaganda posing as news is being recognized by former readers of the NY Slimes. Their circulation is dropping as more intelligent people realize that they are reading lies in the NY Slimes not news.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906304/posts

Circulation of the nation's 20 biggest newspapers (NY Times slipping)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906304/posts
29 posted on 05/07/2003 10:20:09 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
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To: All

30 posted on 05/07/2003 10:22:40 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/893642/posts

Satire: NY Times Mobile Headline Lab Found in Iraqi Desert
CNSNews.com - Cybercast News Service ^ | April 15, 2003 | David Burge, CNSNews.com Embedded Satire Correspondent


Posted on 04/15/2003 8:09 AM PDT by Moosejaw


Ar Rutbah, Iraq (CNSNews.com) - Troops from the U.S. Army's 113th Mobile Pundit Reconnaissance Squadron Tuesday uncovered what appears to have been a secret New York Times headline facility in western Iraq.


The cache, called "disturbing" by military commanders, was discovered in a vacant lot adjacent to a medical clinic during a routine patrol in Ar Rutbah, about 350 kilometers west of Baghdad, according to Army Lt. Col. Tim Wright, a Zeitgeist Specialist with the 113th.


"It was in a poorly camouflaged bunker," said Wright. "In addition to 30 large barrels of contingency headlines, we also found three sneer quote generators, artificial conclusion synthesizers, hysteria protection masks, and trace elements of Maureen Dowd's liver spot cream."


Wright also said preliminary testing indicated that New York Times editor R.W. Apple and columnist Paul Krugman may have recently been in the area. "Our sanctimony and condescension detectors were definitely spiking," Wright said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/893642/posts
31 posted on 05/07/2003 10:26:04 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
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To: Stultis
I LU,UH,UV your passion!
32 posted on 05/07/2003 10:27:51 AM PDT by LurkerNoMore!
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To: All
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/904744/posts

DIVERSITY LUNACY AT NY TIMES: Paper kept black reporter - even after 50 corrections.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/904744/posts




33 posted on 05/07/2003 10:31:35 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
Since Bush had flown in to the carrier in a military jet, wasn't a flight suit appropriate or even mandatory? And since Bush WAS a pilot in the National Guard, it's not as if he was playing a role he'd never done in real life. Moreover, unlike Dukakis in the tank, Bush looked like he BELONGED in that flight suit.
34 posted on 05/07/2003 10:36:15 AM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: Steve_Seattle
A final thought - the Dems are just mad because Bush LOOKED GOOD in that flight suit, so they're trying to spoil the good PR it generated.
35 posted on 05/07/2003 10:41:17 AM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: Timesink
I always apply the LWF to any editorial from the Times but especially when I'm reading this ugly little troll's column.
36 posted on 05/07/2003 11:01:22 AM PDT by tom paine 2
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To: Cyber Liberty
Maybe the cap fits Clintoon, but the jacket is messy on him. I wonder if this is a last minute thing to protect from wind and cold??

For what it is worth, Clintoon is a felon because he didn't allow himself to be inducted in the military. I hope he will never run for office again and may his wife lose so badly if she runs for President!
37 posted on 05/07/2003 12:02:32 PM PDT by lizbet (Ready to go?)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
::Dancing a jig:: Goody, goody, goody! Glad to see that the Truth Squad is going after Krugman!!!
38 posted on 05/07/2003 12:03:51 PM PDT by lizbet (Ready to go?)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
What a nasty job. I'm glad someone is doing it.
39 posted on 05/07/2003 12:41:11 PM PDT by gcruse (Vice is nice, but virtue can hurt you. --Bill Bennett)
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To: Steve_Seattle
And since Bush WAS a pilot in the National Guard, it's not as if he was playing a role he'd never done in real life.

Pilot envy. I think you've nailed it.

40 posted on 05/07/2003 12:45:24 PM PDT by js1138
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