If Republicans Campaigned On What They Were Going To Do
by Dave BradleyThere is a story about Dick Cheney reacting to a question about how a new policy was going to go against the campaign rhetoric that he and Bush employed in the 2000 campaign. I can’t find the exact quote, but the story goes that when Cheney was asked, he responded “Promises in campaigns? That’s just to get elected.”
That story keeps going through my mind this last couple of months as we see the most radical legislation ever being rammed through national and state legislatures. It seems like an umbrella meme, such as “budget crisis” can be used to justify almost anything.
Now we have Iowa as the latest in a line of Republican led states that creates a “budget crisis” and then offers a set of solutions that have nothing to do with the problem they created. The problems have been created in every case by cutting back way too far on taxes for those who are the financiers of our elected officials. The solution is to cut services to the poor and cut wages and benefits for government workers.
This should not be a surprise. Republican policies since Reagan have been to cut revenue while increasing spending on programs that benefit the rich and cutting spending on programs for the poor. But every time they take power they create a scenario where they discover some crisis and some bogeyman that “forces” them to enact such policies. And using their near monopolistic control of the media, they sell the story 24-7 to the point where gullible Americans actually believe in welfare queens and quarter-million dollar a year teachers.
So why do they not campaign on what they are really going to do? Well let’s create some campaign promises that would reflect eventual reality and you can evaluate whether or not this is a campaign promise that a majority can get behind.
Here we go:
“We cut the taxes for the rich because they create jobs. Sure those jobs are in China, India and Viet Nam, but nothing's perfect. “
“Of course I take my orders from corporations. They paid for me to be elected.”
“I will work my rear end off to see that public unions are busted and former union members will no longer be getting luxurious salaries and benefits.”
“Teachers are a drain on society. There is no reason that a teacher should make a full salary working only 9 months a year. Nor should class sizes be so small that a teacher can learn each child’s name.”
“Of course the state should have control of every aspect of every woman’s reproductive system.”
“Regulations cause productive people to violate laws. Therefore we must do away with regulations.”
“Workers should have no say whatsoever in benefits, working conditions or terms of employment.”
“Social Security should no longer exist as a separate system. Any government assistance should be voted on yearly if there is any money left.”
“There should be no system to guarantee access to the health system. If you want health care, you have to pay your own way. Rates will be set by the insurance companies.”
“Public transportation? Seriously, if you want to get someplace figure out how to get there yourself or hire a private carrier.”
“Air and water should no longer be government concerns. These will be great profit industries in the future. Private industry can provide these.”
Well, see any winners in there? Yet this is what the Guardians Of Privilege (GOP) stands for these days. And yet they can fool enough people to get elected and put policies like this into effect.
Finally – I heard Michael Moore use a phrase a couple of weeks ago. It gives a name to the outrage against Republican policies and actions throughout the country. And hopefully it will carry on through the 2012 election to sweep in policy makers who work for the poor and middle class, not just the rich.
Moore called it the Madison Movement. ~Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.” An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty, Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.“ E-mail Dave here
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