Paul Krugman warns of 'GOP fanatics' in power: 'The inmates will be running half the asylum'

03 January 2023

Respected economist Paul Krugman recently shared a critical assessment of the current Republican Party and its lawmakers in an op-ed published by The New York Times.

In his piece, Krugman expressed concern about the possibility of the political party's unhinged aggressive movement will have supporters spending "much of 2023 feeling nostalgic for the good old days of greed and cynicism.”

At one point in the piece, Krugman insisted Republicans' culture wars are “no longer just posturing by politicians mainly interested in cutting taxes on the rich” because “many elected Republicans are now genuine fanatics.”

He also expressed concern about the impending shift in the House chamber as Republican lawmakers prepare to become the majority in the House of Representatives.

According to Krugman, the party's control of the chamber “means that the inmates will be running half the asylum." Krugman also offered his take on the possibility of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) becoming Speaker of the House.

McCarthy, currently the House Minority leader, has entered his bid for House Speaker and he's gone to great lengths to secure the votes he'd need to win. However, Krugman has expressed concern about McCarthy leading the chamber. He warned that even if McCarthy wins based on votes, “actual power will obviously rest in the hands of people like Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

In conclusion, Krugman also expressed concern about how "the government is going to function" with these types of lawmakers in power.

“And what I don’t understand is how the U.S. government is going to function,” Krugman concluded. “How do you deal with people who believe, more or less, that the 2020 election was stolen by a vast conspiracy of pedophiles? I don’t know the answer, but prospects don’t look good.”

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