Here are the highlights of Tapped's typology of Krugman bashers:
Pro-Bush Partisans. This group includes Sullivan, as well as a variety of conservatives (many of whom were left without a target for their anger when Anthony Lewis retired). Their motive: To take a bite out of the one pundit who is probably the single most effective Bush critic in the country. (Leveling Krugman is all the more important because Krugman's special skill is to unpack the Bush administration's chief brand of dishonesty; that is, budget and tax policy.) Their method: Gin up bogus charges of mendacity or conflict of interest, bounce them around the blogosphere, Lucianne.com, and FreeRepublic.com, and get the Wall Street Journal and the National Review to pick them up....
Offended Neoliberals. Among top Washington political writers of the center-left, the most cherished journalistic value is "counterintuitivity." This value is best honored by the periodical writing of articles explaining why one's own side is completely and utterly wrong about everything (and also stupid or "idiotic.") The greatest sin, on the other hand, is to be a consistent partisan -- someone who prefers to focus on attacking the other side. By these standards, Krugman is something of an abomination: A credentialed smart guy who shares the neoliberal pedigree but now has the bad taste to bash only Bush. Their motive: Cut Krugman down to size.Their method: niggling catalogues of minor errors, blown up to fantastic proportions, and repeated ad nauseum.
I oppose partisan consistency for its own sake as much as the next wanna-be-pundit but having something nice to say about Bush's tax, budget and economic policies makes about as much sense as praising the Texas Rangers pitching staff.
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