Karl Rove's America

Paul Krugman's column in today's NYTimes is a must-read (and relatively short) -- probably one of the most insightfully depressing pieces I've seen in a long time. He credits Karl Rove with making a critical discovery about American political life (I would argue that he helped create this reality more than discovered it, but the result is the same):

What Mr. Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we're not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. Instead, we're living in a country in which there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth. In particular, there are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.

I think he has captured the phenomenon perfectly. Only time will tell whether recognizing the beast is enough to help us slay it.

(via Medley)