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Looks like Joe Scarborough owes Paul Krugman an apology

September 27, 2009 3:07 pm ET by Jamison Foser

Last week, former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough denounced Glenn Beck:

SCARBOROUGH: You cannot say that the president of the United States, Mike Barnicle, hates all white people. You cannot call the president of the United States a racist. You cannot wallow in conspiracy theories as he did for about a month, suggesting that FEMA might be setting up concentration camps and going on Fox & Friends and saying, "I can't disprove it," and then wait a month. You can't stir up that type of hatred -- calling the president a racist.

...

I know how these stories end. I always know how they end -- and I'm talking to you Mitt Romney, and I'm talking to anybody who wants to be president in 2012. You need to call out this type of hatred, because it always blows up in your face.

Now that Scarborough has discovered the danger of the far-right extremism on display on Fox News, maybe it's time he apologize to Paul Krugman?

See, back in June, Krugman wrote that "right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment" and went on to state that "the likes of Fox News and the R.N.C. ... have gone out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric, just as they did the last time a Democrat held the White House."

That led Scarborough to lash out: "Paul Krugman, like a lot of I would say extremists on the right, they only see their side. They have a close-minded worldview."

Well, Scarborough's comments last week look an awful lot like Krugman's from June, don't they?

Come to think of it, this would probably be a good time for Scarborough to apologize for his misinformation about that DHS report on far-right extremists, too.

Tags: Joe Scarborough, MSNBC, Morning Joe, Paul Krugman

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    • Author by rwmacdonald2091 (September 27, 2009 3:09 pm ET)
      2  
      I'm not holding my breath on this one!
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    • Author by The_Cat (September 27, 2009 3:42 pm ET)
      2  
      It's a bit surprising how many folks in both radio and TV cannot admit they were wrong.

      *That's not what I meant. Let me explain it again.
      *That's not what I meant. Look at the context.
      *That's not what I meant. Look who else said it, see (pointing)

      But very rarely, "I was wrong. I'm sorry." It says a great deal about their character, or lack thereof.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by juliajayne1 (September 27, 2009 4:57 pm ET)
      5  
      I have a problem with Joe Scarborough. And that's that he's a here and now type of character. He can't see context, until or unless it happens to him. Then he'll call it out.

      He has little common sense, but he disguises it by talking alot. And he's not really very consistent on what he does say. And some take that as him being open minded. I.e. he often talks out of both sides of his mouth.

      He seems to be confused, and in between what is called classic conservatism and movement conservatism. I believe a lot of people are there right now. And I sort of feel sorry for them in a way.

      But when the going gets tough, they seem to bow to the loud, rude and radical fringe. Unless and until it hurts them. And then they speak out.

      That's what I see as a failure of courage of conviction. 'Cause face it, it's too hard to do. And that's why classic conservatism is DEAD.

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      • Author by mary59 (September 27, 2009 5:37 pm ET)
        6  
        Well said, jj. Mark Hatfield was conservative. Here in Oregon, a republican governor in the 1970s, Tom McCall, was a conservative. He pushed through our great environmental laws and the first bottle bill.

        It's really a joke to refer to the nutcases that have taken over the Republican party as "conservatives."
        .
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        • Author by juliajayne1 (September 27, 2009 5:43 pm ET)
          3  
          Yeah, real conservatives actually are less ideologically driven, and are more about getting stuff accomplished. It's too bad they seem to be losing out to the loud, rowdy, rude dog part of their party that seek to destroy everything, rather than work for constructive change.
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    • Author by lookoutoftheyard2251 (September 27, 2009 5:45 pm ET)
      1  
      Paul Krugman is Joe Scarborough's "go-to" guy when he needs what he considers to be a narrow-minded liberal to beat up on, and when he needs an example on the left of how blindly people tend to follow those in power. To Joe, Krugman is not so much a Nobel laureate as he is a snob who flounces his Nobel Prize around in order to claim that he's right. Krugman's a punching bag to him, plain and simple.

      Joe will apologize to Krugman when pigs fly.
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      • Author by juliajayne1 (September 27, 2009 7:07 pm ET)
        2  
        People like Joe will beat up on people like Krugman because of two things. Jealousy, and because Krugman is a pretty soft spoken effacing personality and Joe is a typical bully personality.
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    • Author by Sonya (September 27, 2009 7:49 pm ET)
      1  
      Joe can apologize to Krugman right after he apologizes to Nancy Pelosi. For the DHS report and about the CIA lying. She was proven right on both accounts. Of course Joe will never say he's sorry but he should.
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