Today's Economic History: The Pace of Innovation in the Eighteenth Century--and Political Uproar

Monday Smackdown: What Should We Believe: Marco Rubio or Math?: More David-Brooks-Is-in-on-the-Con Blogging from Jonathan Chait

Jonathan Chait: What Should We Believe: Marco Rubio or Math?: "Many of us have noted that Marco Rubio has carried out an eerie reprise of George W. Bush’s 2000 strategy...

...which uses a combination of personal authenticity, small-bore policy concessions, and rhetorical misdirection to portray his conventionally Republican, supply-side policy agenda as a refreshingly moderate departure from party orthodoxy. The parallel can be seen, too, in the swooning coverage both figures have attracted from commentators who don’t worry too much about how it will all add up. David Brooks... supplies the kind of reaction Rubio’s campaign is counting on:

At this stage it’s probably not sensible to get too worked up about the details of any candidate’s plans. They are all wildly unaffordable. What matters is how a candidate signals priorities. Rubio talks specifically about targeting policies to boost middle- and lower-middle-class living standards.

Don’t focus on the substance of his policy commitments, argues Brooks. Focus on the rhetoric in his speeches. Because when politicians talk upliftingly about their hopes and dreams for hardworking Americans, that is when they reveal their most genuine selves. Pay no attention to the $6 trillion tax cut behind the curtain!.... This is how Republican budget logic works in general. When you add up fanatical opposition to higher revenue, a political need to protect current retirees and a commitment to higher defense spending, you wind up either blowing up the budget deficit or inflicting massive harm on the poor. There are different ways to handle that problem. One of them is the Paul Ryan–circa-2011 plan of just proposing enormous cuts in anti-poverty programs. Another is the Paul Ryan–circa-2014-to-the-present plan of keeping those cuts in the budget but insisting they’re not your actual ideas. Then you have the Rubio-Dubya method.... You don’t get Ryan-esque praise as a serious budget hawk.... But liberating yourself from any pretense to obeying the laws of arithmetic provides certain upsides that seem profitable for Rubio.... The only flaw in the plan is the possibility that reporters will focus on the substance of your agenda instead of the ‘signals’ you send with your political messaging. If David Brooks is any indication, Rubio doesn’t have much to worry about.

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