Bradley in DC
01-11-2008, 08:38 AM
[nb I am NOT a fan of Mr. Gerson's yet this op-ed merits reading.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011003238.html?wpisrc=newsletter
The Party of Ideas Needs Some
By Michael Gerson
Friday, January 11, 2008; Page A17
A few weeks ago, during a phone conversation with a press person from one of the major presidential campaigns, I asked, "What creative policy is your candidate most proud of?" The operative paused a long moment and replied, "You know, I've taken hundreds of press calls over the last few weeks, and no one has asked me that."
This reflects both on the campaigns and on the media. Major policy addresses by the candidates have been rare, particularly on the Republican side, where innovation involving the federal government is sometimes viewed as ideological treason. And coverage has focused, as usual, on the political horse race, as though Iowa and New Hampshire were Churchill Downs and Pimlico.
But the New Hampshire outcome established that the media have all the predictive powers of a sideshow medium. All that can be reliably and usefully said at this point is that the race is fluid. John McCain may harvest Republican discomfort with Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, win Michigan and become a genuine front-runner -- or not, raising the prospect of a fractured race even beyond Feb. 5.
So it might be worth stepping back from the business of predictions to ask some substantive questions of the Republican candidates.
McCain: There is little question that he is a genuine budget-cutter. But does he really embrace the theories of economic growth that have inspired the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan? In opposing the Bush tax cuts, McCain employed all the cliches of class warfare -- the reductions came "at the expense of middle-class Americans" and were "for the rich." These tax cuts, it turned out, helped produce six years of economic growth, more than 8 million new jobs and rising tax revenue that has dramatically reduced the deficit. Does McCain believe that the traditional Republican budget hawks were wrong on the Bush tax cuts?
Romney: The former governor's main problem is not merely his shifting stands on issues; it is the dark, seedy places those shifts have taken him. He began as a Chamber of Commerce Republican, selling his ability to manage government like a business. In Iowa, however, he savaged Huckabee for granting pardons and commutations as governor -- in a commercial that credited Romney for the fact that he had "never pardoned a single criminal." But the president's pardon power is found in Article II of the Constitution -- and it is hard to imagine how a lack of mercy is a qualification for that office. Romney also attacked Huckabee for allowing the children of illegal immigrants to get tuition breaks -- once again accusing an opponent of the crime of having humanity.
Romney seems guided by the Nixon-era silent-majority playbook -- harnessing resentment against illegal immigrants, criminals and the Kyoto Protocol. But that resentment is not universal. Republicans will eventually need to win young, Hispanic and independent voters. They will need to appeal to the Rick Warren vote, not the Voldemort vote. What policies has Romney put forward to inspire that kind of support?
Huckabee: The latest man from Hope has wisely chosen a message of economic inclusion to expand his appeal beyond evangelicals. Lower- and middle-income concerns about education and health-care costs are real even in a growing economy. And a stalled economy would only intensify those fears. But Huckabee's policy suggestions are superficial -- and where they are specific, they seem as if they were picked randomly off the Internet. The "fair tax" -- a 30 percent tax on all consumption -- would punish anyone who earns a little but spends a lot, especially the elderly and young families. If Huckabee were the Republican nominee, this proposal alone might be enough to defeat him. Why doesn't he give a serious policy address, distancing himself from this regressive proposal and outlining some practical ideas to increase upward mobility?
Giuliani: Where to start? The political question is obvious: How can he be considered in the top tier of candidates when he invests so much time in New Hampshire and finishes in a dead heat with Ron Paul? But we are supposed to be considering policy. Why doesn't this successful, reformist former mayor -- a trailblazer on crime and welfare policy -- present a creative agenda of reform on education, health care or . . . anything? Instead, Giuliani has focused on foreign policy experience -- of which he has almost none. It is a serious problem when a candidate's main appeal is actually a major weakness.
Any Republican will face a swift and adverse political current in November. It will be overcome only by broadening the party's appeal through creative ideas. For Republicans, the most important primary is the policy primary -- and here all the candidates need to run stronger.
michaelgerson@cfr.org
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011003238.html?wpisrc=newsletter
The Party of Ideas Needs Some
By Michael Gerson
Friday, January 11, 2008; Page A17
A few weeks ago, during a phone conversation with a press person from one of the major presidential campaigns, I asked, "What creative policy is your candidate most proud of?" The operative paused a long moment and replied, "You know, I've taken hundreds of press calls over the last few weeks, and no one has asked me that."
This reflects both on the campaigns and on the media. Major policy addresses by the candidates have been rare, particularly on the Republican side, where innovation involving the federal government is sometimes viewed as ideological treason. And coverage has focused, as usual, on the political horse race, as though Iowa and New Hampshire were Churchill Downs and Pimlico.
But the New Hampshire outcome established that the media have all the predictive powers of a sideshow medium. All that can be reliably and usefully said at this point is that the race is fluid. John McCain may harvest Republican discomfort with Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani, win Michigan and become a genuine front-runner -- or not, raising the prospect of a fractured race even beyond Feb. 5.
So it might be worth stepping back from the business of predictions to ask some substantive questions of the Republican candidates.
McCain: There is little question that he is a genuine budget-cutter. But does he really embrace the theories of economic growth that have inspired the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan? In opposing the Bush tax cuts, McCain employed all the cliches of class warfare -- the reductions came "at the expense of middle-class Americans" and were "for the rich." These tax cuts, it turned out, helped produce six years of economic growth, more than 8 million new jobs and rising tax revenue that has dramatically reduced the deficit. Does McCain believe that the traditional Republican budget hawks were wrong on the Bush tax cuts?
Romney: The former governor's main problem is not merely his shifting stands on issues; it is the dark, seedy places those shifts have taken him. He began as a Chamber of Commerce Republican, selling his ability to manage government like a business. In Iowa, however, he savaged Huckabee for granting pardons and commutations as governor -- in a commercial that credited Romney for the fact that he had "never pardoned a single criminal." But the president's pardon power is found in Article II of the Constitution -- and it is hard to imagine how a lack of mercy is a qualification for that office. Romney also attacked Huckabee for allowing the children of illegal immigrants to get tuition breaks -- once again accusing an opponent of the crime of having humanity.
Romney seems guided by the Nixon-era silent-majority playbook -- harnessing resentment against illegal immigrants, criminals and the Kyoto Protocol. But that resentment is not universal. Republicans will eventually need to win young, Hispanic and independent voters. They will need to appeal to the Rick Warren vote, not the Voldemort vote. What policies has Romney put forward to inspire that kind of support?
Huckabee: The latest man from Hope has wisely chosen a message of economic inclusion to expand his appeal beyond evangelicals. Lower- and middle-income concerns about education and health-care costs are real even in a growing economy. And a stalled economy would only intensify those fears. But Huckabee's policy suggestions are superficial -- and where they are specific, they seem as if they were picked randomly off the Internet. The "fair tax" -- a 30 percent tax on all consumption -- would punish anyone who earns a little but spends a lot, especially the elderly and young families. If Huckabee were the Republican nominee, this proposal alone might be enough to defeat him. Why doesn't he give a serious policy address, distancing himself from this regressive proposal and outlining some practical ideas to increase upward mobility?
Giuliani: Where to start? The political question is obvious: How can he be considered in the top tier of candidates when he invests so much time in New Hampshire and finishes in a dead heat with Ron Paul? But we are supposed to be considering policy. Why doesn't this successful, reformist former mayor -- a trailblazer on crime and welfare policy -- present a creative agenda of reform on education, health care or . . . anything? Instead, Giuliani has focused on foreign policy experience -- of which he has almost none. It is a serious problem when a candidate's main appeal is actually a major weakness.
Any Republican will face a swift and adverse political current in November. It will be overcome only by broadening the party's appeal through creative ideas. For Republicans, the most important primary is the policy primary -- and here all the candidates need to run stronger.
michaelgerson@cfr.org