Here are some random musings on matters surrounding the Tuesday elections, which is now set to be a very bad day for Democrats, especially entrenched, older Democrats.
As I watched President Obama's appearance on The Daily Show last week, which by mine and most critic's estimations did not go well, I noticed how he still tenaciously clung to the notion that the health care bill was a popular and crucial piece of legislation. I wholeheartedly disagree, and now with unemployment still hovering around ten percent, and the mortgage crisis only just now starting to slow, one thing is clear. It was a huge political and logistical mistake to put health care before the economy as a priority, and it will cost many Democrats their jobs tomorrow. Yes, I know the man pushed through bailouts for banks and auto makers, but that has yet to trickle down to the American people in any serious way and I doubt it ever will. It has failed to stimulate serious job growth. When Franklin Roosevelt started the Works Progress Administration during the great depression, it was because he understood that the economy would be stimulated by adding workers to the job pool. I doubt throwing a lot of money at failing companies would have had the same effect back then. There was a lot of criticism thrown towards the Bush administration over infrastructure issues we have in the U.S.(dams, bridges, etc.). It now seems to me that Obama should have initiated a modern WPA program to put people back to work immediately on these necessary projects. Note: During Roosevelt’s first term in office, unemployment dropped from 25% to 14.3 by 1937, while the overall economy grew 58% between 1932 and 1940.
And now the president’s priorities are going to cost the Dems dearly. The Tea Party and other Republicans have been able to successfully paint "elite" democrats like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as out of touch with the nation. The rejoinder from the left has largely been one of scorn and derision directed at voters, which is not the kind of rhetoric that's going to sway anyone towards their message. And they don't seem to understand that at all.
Now mid-terms are usually a referendum on the sitting party in power, and many critics have pointed out that presidents like Reagan and Clinton were able to recover from terrible situations in similar circumstances. But this mid-term feels different, and I think it’s because of the nature of the president’s campaign, and his failure to deliver on what were some amazingly audacious goals. The man inherited a mess, and the public were looking for precisely the message he delivered: hope and change. But the change we needed so desperately was with the economy and the mortgage crisis, not universal health care. And at a time when many people were wondering if they were going to lose their homes, the government spent the nation even deeper into debt with a health program that it now seems few Americans wanted and that even less understood.
But the Republicans need to be mindful of one thing, and Scott Rasmussen in the Wall Street Journal put it very well: this is not a vote for the GOP; this is a vote against democrats. There is such a stigma around them right now that almost any alternative would seem like the lesser evil. So this creates an opportunity for the Republicans to do two things. One, deliver an actual program, not a plan, to get the nation out of the mess it’s in financially, and cutting taxes in the manner which we’re accustomed won’t be enough to kick start the economy. Second, they must either find a way to assimilate the Tea Party, or jettison it. I have a very strong feeling, based on what I’ve seen and read that most Tea Party folks, nice though they may be, are simply not qualified to serve, not based on their lack of experience, but on their own comments. I have a clear vision of many of them seeming like deer caught in headlights when their ideals are trumped by the real monster that Washington can be.
This is an extraordinary opportunity from the right to be the better, smarter party. People are tired of the Democrats aloofness towards voters, but they’re also sick of the conservative media noise machine. Republicans need to reclaim their party from its extremes, and present reasonable, intelligent solutions. And I hope they do that. Boy, do I hope they do that.
Mike Grefski
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