Stealing Republican Thunder
“Obama is positioning the Democrats as the party of order, responsibility and small-town values,” David Brooks writes in the New York Times today. “If he pulls this mantle away from the Republicans, it would be the greatest train robbery in American politics.”
Where the conservative Brooks sees theft, the less ideological may find an expectable reaction to eight years of Bush lawlessness and loony laissez-faire. There is an indication of this in new Gallup figures on the relative mistrust of business and government
Historically, Americans have always been more wary of those who want political power than money. In handing out control of the then-limited capacity of radio and later television, for example, they set severe limits on the sales of ideas but practically none on peddling everything else.
That traditional mistrust of government power, Gallup reports, “expanded greatly in the 1990s–reaching a high of 65% in 1999 and 2000.”
But Bush changed that: “In 2002, after the wave of accounting scandals at companies like Enron and WorldCom, opinions shifted, and the percentage mentioning big business as the greatest threat peaked at 38%, while concern about big government dipped below the majority level for the first time since 1981,” then returned to normal “until the recent financial crisis caused more to fear the power of big business.”
Now Americans, to Brooks’ consternation, are putting their faith in big government to clean up the mess.
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9 Responses to “Stealing Republican Thunder”
'“Obama is positioning the Democrats as the party of order, responsibility and small-town values,” David Brooks writes in the New York Times today. “If he pulls this mantle away from the Republicans, it would be the greatest train robbery in American politics.”'
Somehow I don't think Obama has to “pull this mantle away from the Republicans”. I think the Republicans have already abdicated it.
Seriously… which Republican leaders are offering serious, alternative proposals to the Dems'?
My thoughts exactly, StockBoy. The GOP sacrificed the middle on the altar of dogmatic purity. To my delight, they continue to run ever farther right in the weird belief that they weren't “pure” enough. I think we can count on the GOP to cling ever tighter to the very things that Americans no longer trust.
Which party of the Bush Administration was the laissez-faire part. I do not believe that treating travelers like criminals was laissez-faire. I do not believe that forcing employers to fingerprint employees for homeland security reasons was laissez-faire. I do not bleieve that forcing banks to give loans to minorities without documentation was laissez-faire?
What party of open borders, increasing entitlements, and greater security regulation can be reconciled with anything ever said by a Republican during a election? I doubt if any of it can. What killed the Republicans is the Karl Rove idea that elections and governng are separate things.
However, I dbout if the coming energy, enviornmental, labor, health, and education regulations will be considered small town. When the Obama Administration is in front of the Supreme Court arguing that the government should be able to discriminate on the basis of race and that whites can be punished for being white, I doubt if any tranditional Repulbican will see it as small town, order values.
Because we all know that our corporate elites will give up their privileges and compensation for the greater good of their companies, communities and country.
Just like the Democrats in Congress will give up their perks, payola, backdoor contributions, earmarks, funneling money to pet projects and friends, and actually allow the ethics committee to do their job investigating fraud (one of their key planks, mind you), for the good of the country.
Frankly, I would rather have self-serving crooks that CANNOT take my money against my will via taxes than self-serving crooks that CAN. And there is at least SOME investigation and criminal liability that happens to the worse of the corporate offenders. Congress, with the Democrats in charge, seems unable to find anyone to want to hold accountable.
Oh, wait, except for a Democrat that didn't tow the line (Harman). She will get thrown under the bus.
The Republicans did abdicate the position but the Democrats have done nothing to earn it either except by default of being “not Republicans.”
This thread appears dead, but I'll comment anyway. One of the ways the GOP abdicated the trust of the middle is by pocketing the surplus, which could have been used to address crumbling infrastructure. The surplus is gone, but the Dems are beginning to address major issues, including three huge ones: the establishment of a green economy, helping businesses nationwide and countering unemployment. This administration has applied stimulus money to help correct energy efficiency in millions of private homes and businesses. The stimulus money given to states is now funding projects to weatherize buildings and homes, and install alternative energy. It's working. Homeowners are getting help to insulate, which saves energy, employs local installers and national manufacturers. THAT is effective trickle down, not shoveling money into the pockets of the already wealthy.
Greendreams,
The stimulus is nothing but an enormous amount of pork. The economy has improved slightly and very little of the stimulus money has been spent. The states are in charge of infrastructure but decide to increase payrolls, increase benefits, and make long term obligations based upon inflation property tax receipts. The idea of the green economy is laughable and is more of a voodoo economy than anything that Reagan ever talked about.
The Obama Administration is probably doing to double the national debt during their eight years. the schools are not going to get better, the job market will probably move sideways, and the economy cannot get better also long as the borders are wide open.
The Republicans failed because they failed at being conservatives. If Bush was going to have a 20% approval rating at least he could have balanced the budget.
GreenDreams, “The surplus is gone, but the Dems are beginning to address major issues, including three huge ones: the establishment of a green economy, helping businesses nationwide and countering unemployment. This administration has applied stimulus money to help correct energy efficiency in millions of private homes and businesses. The stimulus money given to states is now funding projects to weatherize buildings and homes, and install alternative energy.”
Yes, I agree the Dems are spending money wisely then the GOP. They are creating jobs, addressing environemntal issues, lowering our dependence on foreign oil, etc. Whereas the GOP cut the taxes on the wealthiest, who only buy more houses in France, eat French food, wear French (and Italian) fashion and vacation in the French Riviera (not knocking the French, but showing how ridiculous it was for Bush to declare war on all things French during the 2004 campaign).