At this time, I invite you to walk with me as we assess the Republican Party not in ideological terms, but in the realm of the practical. The backdrop is Obamacare.
Republicans in recent years have put forward a curious combination of claims in order to justify us voting for them. On the one hand, they continue to remix new versions of their biggest hit, the one that seems equally beloved by rednecks and kabillionaires alike-- the Reaganesque premise that government doesn't work if it gets too "big." Conveniently, the meaning of "big government" is fluid. The kernel of truth in this concept is that it becomes unwieldy and sloppy, through a combination of overreach and bad management. (If you've ever seen the Andy Griffith episode where Barney Fife briefly takes over as acting sheriff, that's pretty much the picture. Andy is the GOP, and Barney is the Dems.)
But surrounding this kernel we find terms vaguely defined, and a double standard when assessing how well the government is working at any given moment. Although "big government" is bad because it's incompetent, expensive, and dangerous, anything that ticks those three boxes must also represent the vile intrusion of authority into the lives of citizens. When it comes to the question of whether big government behavior might include the intrusion into the sovereign states of non-white ethnic groups, the goalposts move in the shimmering and mystical manner of Rigadoon.
So, an ill-conceived and unresearched dive into bottomless quagmire wars is never big government. Rather, it's grimly and entirely unavoidable, and sanctified by the appealing combination of honor, flag, and really cool names. (It's generally a coin flip as to which group of people are more flat footed about naming things, politicians or prog metal bands.)
And if the protest from the left (always characterized as "howls" of protest, for some reason) gets too loud, that is, audible, it must be dismissed and discredited by comparing the protestors to spoiled children, or tarring them as traitors to the American experiment. I suppose both parties play this game to an extent, but somehow the right feels that they alone should be the deciders when it comes to our definition of what constitutes honorable dissent in the American tradition, and what can be easily seen through as the bleating of the self-indulgent. Interestingly, the distinction doesn't seem to have much to do with the stockpiling of weapons. When certain people diligently spit-shine their home arsenals in their spare time, and bring a few samples with them to a slumber party on government property, that's to be seen in a positive light. When certain others show their faces in public with angry expressions and bulging pockets, it's time for our police to react quickly and without the need for broadminded delay.
To return, inelegantly, to my basic point-- in the Reagan myth, liberal governance combines spectacular arrogance with spectacular incompetence, while Republicans waiting in the wings do their patriotic best to stem the tide of toxic liberalism. It's always implied that when the adults come home from their PTA meeting, the trains will finally run on time.
As we've been reminded endlessly, Obamacare has certainly had its share of missed opportunities and dishonest public relations campaigns. I'm even willing to concede arrogance, though I don't really buy it. But here's where the rubber (GOP policy) hits the road (American faces). Apparently while Obama and his team of self-regarders were cooking up their health care plan, the loyal opposition was mostly blowing smoke about how their version was so much better. (Like Nixon's secret plan to get us out of Vietnam.) I submit that they've had many years to come up with the correct way to fix this problem that they never tried to fix before (except in Romney's Massachusetts). Perhaps they spent too much time and money (ours) on the Benghazi scandal, when they could have been woodshedding policy ideas, but the evidence now seems to suggest that they are bitter and aggrieved over public and media pressure on Republicans to actually talk in concrete terms (or even in Play-Do terms) about what they'll put in place after they gut Obamacare. Do they have a plan? They say they do. Let us hear about it, and see it in action, then. I can't say I look forward to it, but when critics take the stage and become the performers, I want to hear a strong backbeat and more or less in-tune vocals. I don't want to hear one of those egregiously awful YouTube caterwaulfests that people are always linking to on Facebook. And I for damn sure don't want to hear any whining about unfair criticism.
No comments:
Post a Comment