Comments for David Brooks Tells Us That His Populist Agenda Won't Appeal to Moderates (or People Like Him) at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://www.cepr.net Sun, 19 May 2013 23:34:07 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18615 "David Brooks tells us that Obama has three choices for "big ideas." Big Ideas? I don't think Brooks has ever even read Edmund Burke. - Donald Pretari Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:42:23 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18609 Dean said: "[Obama] could pursue a competitive dollar policy that will push the dollar down to levels where U.S. goods and services are better able to compete internationally." Could you expand on exactly what policies would accomplish this goal? Tariffs is the only one that I can think of. It would be helpful to understand what it means to have a "strong dollar policy", how administrations implement that and how a "weak dollar policy" would differ. I really appreciate the clarity of your explanations and value the work you are doing with this blog. - Bill Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:04:36 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18606 If you read David Brooks, you'll find that he's remarkably consistent in his advice to political candidates and parties. When David Brooks says, "Here's what Republicans need to do so that they can fare better in elections," he is giving advice that he sincerely believes that, if followed, will improve the Republican Party's chance of victory. When David Brooks says, "Here's what Democrats need to do so that they can fare better in elections," he is giving advice that he sincerely believes that, if followed, will improve the [i]Republican[/i] Party's chance of victory. - Aaron Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:04:41 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18600 If you live in the Washington DC (or Boston or San Fran), you often envy the fact that you can buy a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in Omaha for $125,000. Not sure what that will buy you in DC (a fixer-upper efficiency?). So if one is going to cap mortgage interest deduction, wouldn't one need to take into acount regional differences in the real estate market? - lbou Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:49:27 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18597 what exactly are the protectionist barriers for lawyers that you always refer to? (Far) less than 1% of all lawsuits go to trial. This means that more than 99% of cases can be outsourced to a foreign lawyer (and for the other 1%, the briefing and research can be done abroad too). The reason companies don't outsource their legal work very often is simple: they think American lawyers are better at doing American law. Whether this is wrong or right I don't know, but it has nothing to do with protectionism. - andrew clearfield Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:56:05 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18596 Most of these ideas regurgitated by Brooks are not silly, they are standard progressive ideas, and many of them have been advocated at one time or another by Obama. Of course Republicans have made it perfectly clear that as long as they have so much as 40 votes in the Senate none of these things will ever become law. Brooks frequently adopts progressive rhetoric (this is about as far as he has gone in my memory), but when it comes down to brass tacks he is almost always a solid Republican partisan. Now he says that Obama doesn't deserve a second term because he hasn't done the things which the Republicans have completely blocked, and he blames Obama for Congressional partisanship - these are themselves standard Republican talking points. - skeptonomist Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:45:55 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/david-brooks-tells-us-that-idiot-populism-wont-appeal-to-moderates-or-people-like-him#comment-18586 Is Brooks caving in to Baker or is Baker lowering his standards to coddle Brooks? Next on MSM, The economic battle between two populist memes, those who want more for less, known as the Pitchfork Efficiency Hawks, and those who already have more for less, known as the Economic Rent Wealth Hawks. - Last Mover Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:23:23 +0100