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Paul Krugman: Republican Party's Base 'Is By And Large Elderly White People Arguing With Empty Chairs'

Paul Krugman Mocks Republican Base
By 

Economics writer

Paul Krugman really appreciated Clint Eastwood's performance at the Republican National Convention, since he thinks it highlighted a larger truth about the Republican Party.

"The Republican Party is where it is because that's where the base is," Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "And you watched that whole primary process; Republican candidates had to appeal to their base, which is by and large elderly white people arguing with empty chairs."

Krugman was referring to Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Convention, in which the 82-year-old actor and director argued with an empty chair representing President Barack Obama.

Though some critics have called the Republican and Democratic National Conventions political theater, Krugman said he found the conventions to be "enormously informative" and "extremely effective educational programs." In addition to mocking Eastwood, he offered up the example of the Republican vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan.

"We saw the implosion of Paul Ryan," Krugman said, "because people got to see him speaking at length on national TV."

Krugman's criticism of Republicans came as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, argued on "This Week" that the Democratic Party "is ahead of history" because it is more inclusive of minorities and gays and lesbians than the Republican Party.

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Before You Go

Paul Krugman's Greatest Takedowns
Chris Christie(01 of09)
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Krugman has slammed Christie for touting a New Jersey comeback, even when the state still faces a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. He's also criticized the governor for his decision to raise taxes on low-income New Jersey residents, while vetoing a temporary tax boost for millionaires. (credit:AP)
Ron Paul(02 of09)
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Krugman hasn't been shy about criticizing Ron Paul's economic theories, particularly his dislike of the Federal Reserve. Krugman said of Paul's interest in keeping the government out of monetary policy during a debate on Bloomberg TV: "If you think that you can avoid that you're living in the world that was 150 years ago." Krugman's also called returning to the Gold Standard -- a view Paul's touted for years -- "an almost comically (and cosmically) bad idea." (credit:AP)
Paul Ryan(03 of09)
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After presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced that Paul Ryan would be his running mate, Krugman wasted little time deriding the Wisconsin Republican's views on the economy and budget. Krugman wrote of Ryan that he "evidently gets his ideas largely from deeply unrealistic fantasy novels." (credit:AP)
Niall Ferguson(04 of09)
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After Harvard professor Niall Ferguson (left) penned a Newsweek cover story arguing President Obama doesn't deserve a second term, Krugman demanded that the magazine issue a correction, starting a bit of a spat with the Newsweek columnist and historian. Krugman said of the cover story on his blog: "There are multiple errors and misrepresentations in Niall Ferguson's cover story in Newsweek -- I guess they don't do fact-checking." The Atlantic's Matthew O'Brien did a full fact-check of Ferguson's piece, which Ferguson defended himself against. (credit:Getty)
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (05 of09)
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Krugman argued that perhaps Estonia shouldn't be held up as a model for successful austerity measures in a 67-word blog post in June. The country's president Toomas Hendrik Ilves took to Twitter to slam Krugman, calling him "smug, overbearing & patronizing." (credit:Getty)
Andrew Ross Sorkin, "Squawk Box"(06 of09)
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Krugman appeared on "Squawk Box" in July to discuss his book, but was upset to find out that they "never actually got there." Instead, Krugman wrote on his blog that the appearance consisted of "one zombie idea after another -- Europe is collapsing because of big government, health care is terribly rationed in France, we can save lots of money by denying Medicare to billionaires, on and on," adding that people counting on the shows for sound information are getting "terrible advice." (credit:AP)
Mitt Romney(07 of09)
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Krugman hasn't been shy about criticizing Mitt Romney's plans for America's budget and economy, and he's taken the former CEO of Bain Capital to task for touting his business career. In a column titled "Off and Out with Mitt Romney," Krugman wrote, "the truth is that even if Mr. Romney had been a classic captain of industry, a present-day Andrew Carnegie, his career wouldn't have prepared him to manage the economy." (credit:AP)
Rich People(08 of09)
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Krugman has argued that the rich embrace Republican economic policies both because they want more money and simply because they're more inclined to buy into theories that justify their wealth. In a May interview with Reuters, Krugman said that rich people "want the world to praise them for their wealth, so they want economic theories that praise rich people as the salvation of the rest of us." (credit:AP)
Wall Street(09 of09)
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Krugman has been critical both of Wall Street's current practices and of the industry's ability to escape punishment for its role in the financial crisis. In a February interview with Playboy, Krugman said "It's hard for me to believe there were no crimes. Given the scale of [the financial crisis], given how many corners were being cut, some people must have violated laws. I think people should be in jail." (credit:Getty)
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