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March 1, 2010
When They're Playing a Different Game
When people behave irrationally, there are fundamentally two possibilities: incompetence or calculation. I fear that Andy McCarthy may be right that we're looking at the latter, in Washington:
I hear Republicans getting giddy over the fact that "reconciliation," if it comes to that, is a huge political loser. That's the wrong way to look at it. The Democratic leadership has already internalized the inevitablility of taking its political lumps. That makes reconciliation truly scary. Since the Dems know they will have to ram this monstrosity through, they figure it might as well be as monstrous as they can get wavering Democrats to go along with. Clipping the leadership's statist ambitions in order to peel off a few Republicans is not going to work. I'm glad Republicans have held firm, but let's not be under any illusions about what that means. In the Democrat leadership, we are not dealing with conventional politicians for whom the goal of being reelected is paramount and will rein in their radicalism. They want socialized medicine and all it entails about government control even more than they want to win elections. After all, if the party of government transforms the relationship between the citizen and the state, its power over our lives will be vast even in those cycles when it is not in the majority. This is about power, and there is more to power than winning elections, especially if you've calculated that your opposition does not have the gumption to dismantle your ballooning welfare state.
Actually, we're looking at both calculation and incompetence. The Democrats are operating by ideological calculation, while the Republicans lack the competence to recognize the inevitable. They'll take their victories, in November, and then attempt to moderate in order to pick up Democrat constituencies for the welfare/healthcare state. In the long term, it won't work, and the statist Dems will have a huge head start as tea-party types find they have to build a political party from scratch in order to combat them.
Perhaps there's still time to have hope that Republicans will start campaigning on repeal as soon as healthcare is rammed into the law... and then actually follow through when they're elected.
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"hope that Republicans will start campaigning on repeal as soon as healthcare is rammed into the law... and then actually follow through when they're elected."
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” Dr. Seuss
Posted by: John at March 1, 2010 6:47 AMWhat do you mean by that, John? Do you favor the Democrat healthcare reform pending in Congress?
Posted by: Monique at March 1, 2010 8:21 AMThere is no need for Tea Party types to form a third party. The easiest path for genuine conservatives is to take over the Republican Party leadership and restore the principles set down by Reagan and Buckley, and a few of their political heirs. It's time to clearly define the Republican Party as the Party of the Constitution and the Founders' original intent.
One of the best ways to do that is to join the RI Republican Assembly, the Republican wing of the Republican Party.
Posted by: BobN at March 1, 2010 8:26 AMBobbin
Which founders? Hamilton? Madison? Washington?
Posted by: Phil at March 1, 2010 8:53 AMNo Monique, I do not favor the Democrat bill (btw, I would never call that monster "healthcare reform").
I am expressing my lack of faith in the GOP to "follow through when they're elected." Once this camel's nose is in the tent, following through will end up with us having a less regulated government run healthcare system which will lead to unchecked corruption. By that I mean that the camel will be entirely in the tent, including his back end and we will have to live with what comes out!
When that happens, Barney Frank will be out there blaming the GOP for lessening the regulations and promoting the corruption.
This bill must be stopped now!
Posted by: John at March 1, 2010 9:37 AMRecall that last summer the Democrat leadership was pounding the inevitability drum as well.
I'm not convinced that the Democrats have the votes. The leadership is 100% behind socialized medicine, no matter the cost, and so to a good portion of the rank and file.
But a good portion of the rank and file are conventional politicians seeking reelection.
The key is for the public, particularly those who live in their states / districts, to escalate the heat.
This is particularly true since, while they've been solid so far, we can't rely upon the Republicans in office or the GOP leadership -- which only cares about putting more warm "R" bodies in office next November, not about what's good for the future of our country.
Posted by: Ragin' Rhode Islander at March 1, 2010 10:29 AMYes Phil. Better than your founders: Marx, Bismarck, Wilson, Mussolini, Sanger, Shaw, Frankfurter, Gramsci and the Roosevelts.
Posted by: BobN at March 1, 2010 11:40 AMFunny, there was nothing wrong with reconcilation when Bush pushed through tax cuts, right?
Posted by: rhody at March 1, 2010 12:15 PMRemove the Nebraska and Louisiana giveaways (appeasement for conservative Dems that should never have been made - they turned liberals against the bill and helped make Scott Brown a senator), restore the public option and pass the mother.
BobN
Things must be slow in the consulting biz. Not making many Benjamins lately?
Posted by: Phil at March 4, 2010 7:19 AMI'll throw Franklin in there too. You can keep your list.