Liberal Suicide March

[Danno 1,228]

An Obama Fan speaks up.

Liberal Suicide March

By DAVID BROOKS

It was interesting to watch the Republican Party lose touch with America. You had a party led by conservative Southerners who neither understood nor sympathized with moderates or representatives from swing districts.

They brought in pollsters to their party conferences to persuade their members that the country was fervently behind them. They were supported by their interest groups and cheered on by their activists and the partisan press. They spent federal money in an effort to buy support but ended up disgusting the country instead.

It’s not that interesting to watch the Democrats lose touch with America. That’s because the plotline is exactly the same. The party is led by insular liberals from big cities and the coasts, who neither understand nor sympathize with moderates. They have their own cherry-picking pollsters, their own media and activist cocoon, their own plans to lavishly spend borrowed money to buy votes.

This ideological overreach won’t be any more successful than the last one. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday confirms what other polls have found. Most Americans love Barack Obama personally, but support for Democratic policies is already sliding fast.

Approval of Obama’s handling of health care, for example, has slid from 57 percent to 49 percent since April. Disapproval has risen from 29 percent to 44 percent. As recently as June, voters earning more than $50,000 preferred Obama to the Republicans on health care by a 21-point margin. Now those voters are evenly split.

Most independents now disapprove of Obama’s health care strategy. In March, only 32 percent of Americans thought Obama was an old-style, tax-and-spend liberal. Now 43 percent do.

We’re only in the early stages of the liberal suicide march, but there already have been three phases. First, there was the stimulus package. You would have thought that a stimulus package would be designed to fight unemployment and stimulate the economy during a recession. But Congressional Democrats used it as a pretext to pay for $787 billion worth of pet programs with borrowed money. Only 11 percent of the money will be spent by the end of the fiscal year — a triumph of ideology over pragmatism.

Then there is the budget. Instead of allaying moderate anxieties about the deficits, the budget is expected to increase the government debt by $11 trillion between 2009 and 2019.

Finally, there is health care. Every cliché Ann Coulter throws at the Democrats is gloriously fulfilled by the Democratic health care bills. The bills do almost nothing to control health care inflation. They are modeled on the Massachusetts health reform law that is currently coming apart at the seams precisely because it doesn’t control costs. They do little to reward efficient providers and reform inefficient ones.

The House bill adds $239 billion to the federal deficit during the first 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It would pummel small businesses with an 8 percent payroll penalty. It would jack America’s top tax rate above those in Italy and France. Top earners in New York and California would be giving more than 55 percent of earnings to one government entity or another.

Nancy Pelosi has lower approval ratings than ####### Cheney and far lower approval ratings than Sarah Palin. And yet Democrats have allowed her policy values to carry the day — this in an era in which independents dominate the electoral landscape.

Who’s going to stop this leftward surge? Months ago, it seemed as if Obama would lead a center-left coalition. Instead, he has deferred to the Old Bulls on Capitol Hill on issue after issue.

Machiavelli said a leader should be feared as well as loved. Obama is loved by the Democratic chairmen, but he is not feared. On health care, Obama has emphasized cost control. The chairmen flouted his priorities because they don’t fear him. On cap and trade, Obama campaigned against giving away pollution offsets. The chairmen wrote their bill to do precisely that because they don’t fear him. On taxes, Obama promised that top tax rates would not go above Clinton-era levels. The chairmen flouted that promise because they don’t fear him.

Last week, the administration announced a proposal to take Medicare spending decisions away from Congress and lodge the power with technocrats in the executive branch. It’s a good idea, and it might lead to real cost savings. But there’s no reason to think that it will be incorporated into the final law. The chairmen will never surrender power to an administration they can override.

That leaves matters in the hands of the Blue Dog Democrats. These brave moderates are trying to restrain the fiscal explosion. But moderates inherently lack seniority (they are from swing districts). They are usually bought off by leadership at the end of the day.

And so here we are again. Every new majority overinterprets its mandate. We’ve been here before. We’ll be here again.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

David Brooks isn't exactly an Obama fan. He is making a very valid point here.

The [healthcare] bills do almost nothing to control health care inflation. They are modeled on the Massachusetts health reform law that is currently coming apart at the seams precisely because it doesn’t control costs. They do little to reward efficient providers and reform inefficient ones.

Interestingly, Romney (whose baby this seemingly failing project is) went on record not too long ago lamenting that the Massachusetts model is the one that should be implemented and the one that will work for America. Oops.

[nowhereman 1]

Obama has actually gone against the liberals more often than not (i.e. taking a centrists approach in many cases) so I disagree with the premise of the article. As for Obama's numbers going down that is true & my conclusion is that Americans are losing patience. I attribute this (at least partially) to the propensity for most Americans to want instant gratification... we live in a society that both wants instant results & yet everyone is so quick to blame everyone else but themselves (e.g. the bitter divide between the Republicans & Democrats is worse than I have ever seen).

I am not saying that we should expect results from Obama's policies... he was elected to fix the mess he inherited. However is 6 months a reasonable amount of time to expect change? Right or wrong Americans are starting to think so.

[Peikko 1,575]

Everything is spun so, it's giving me a headache. I want off the helter skelter, bring back proper journalism!

[The_Dude 1,142]

His numbers are dropping because his honeymoon phase is over. I do agree that people want instant gratification. Unfortunately, the problems that he's choosing to tackle are on a macro level and not something that can be corrected in 6 months to a year. You simply cannot fix an entire economy in 6 months. You cannot overhaul a healthcare system that spends billions each year to maintain the status quo. It's not possible, and those who want it all fixed now really should get a clue, or at least a library card.

[Danno 1,228]

David Brooks isn't exactly an Obama fan. He is making a very valid point here.

Well he's not a fan from the Liberal camp but it would be harder to find a more glowing admirer from the center-right crowd.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

David Brooks isn't exactly an Obama fan. He is making a very valid point here.

Well he's not a fan from the Liberal camp but it would be harder to find a more glowing admirer reasonable argument from the center-right crowd.

[nowhereman 1]

David Brooks isn't exactly an Obama fan. He is making a very valid point here.

Well he's not a fan from the Liberal camp but it would be harder to find a more glowing admirer from the center-right crowd.

The article makes some valid points but it also mixes in plenty of rhetoric (e.g. Liberal Suicide March is the title). I see a lot of criticism but no alternatives. It's easy to complain but a whole lot harder to fix something.