Swimming Against the Current

I don't usually support the Federal Reserve, but this NY Times op-ed piece by Paul Krugman has me cheering on Ben Bernanke and the US Federal Reserve. Here's the key bit:

So what’s really motivating the G.O.P. attack on the Fed? Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues were clearly caught by surprise, but the budget expert Stan Collender predicted it all. Back in August, he warned Mr. Bernanke that “with Republican policy makers seeing economic hardship as the path to election glory,” they would be “opposed to any actions taken by the Federal Reserve that would make the economy better.” In short, their real fear is not that Fed actions will be harmful, it is that they might succeed.

Hence the axis of depression. No doubt some of Mr. Bernanke’s critics are motivated by sincere intellectual conviction, but the core reason for the attack on the Fed is self-interest, pure and simple. China and Germany want America to stay uncompetitive; Republicans want the economy to stay weak as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House.

And if Mr. Bernanke gives in to their bullying, they may all get their wish.

It is pretty despicable to win election by destroying your own country, but that has been the policy of the Republicans for nearly two years. They saw success in the mid-term elections, so they are encouraged to continue the "scorched earth" policy. It is a tragedy, but for ideologues, the phrase "we had to destroy this village to save it" is luminous clarity and glorious rationality.