World's Tiniest Violin

Seems that ex-Bush officials can't get hired anywhere these days. I am somehow unsympathetic! Krugman nails this:

Show some independence, and you’ll face a lavishly financed primary challenge from the Club for Growth. Be a loyal soldier, and you will be taken care of — through what’s commonly referred to as “wingnut welfare.”

Thus, lose an election, and a think tank with the usual funding sources will create an America’s Enemies program for you to direct. Mess up the occupation of Iraq, and you’ll be appointed to run the World Bank; mess up there, and there’s still a chair waiting for you at AEI.

But it appears that wingnut welfare is breaking down when it comes to former Bush officials. Is this the beginning of the end for movement conservatism?

At one level, the fact that Bush's minions are having trouble looking for work should be the least of their worries, compared to staying out of jail. But Krugman is right - if nobody can finance movement conservatives, it means that nobody can finance movement ideas. And that provides an opportunity for a different kind of Republicanism, one that would be good for the country.

As a side note, it was extremely odd to see Krugman and Nouriel Roubini - who the media insist on calling "Dr. Doom" while acknowledging that he got the whole financial crisis right - on the same ABC Sunday show panel this morning, along with George "I'm a lying sack of crap" Will and Suzy "Jack Welch's wife" Welch. Will was on his best behavior because he knew he'd get beaten down if he wasn't, so the result was a very elevated debate, for Stephanopoulos.