Finding The Main Idea In Politics

My comments and essays usually tie culture–insights of strategies, trends, and meanings behind acts and speech–to national and local politics. The laughable request of the freshman Republicans to the White House to stop attacks on theirr support for Ryan’s medicare plan is a cultural strategy tied to a political purpose. (“Mercy,” I’m an orphan, he cried. “Yes, but you killed your parents.” They seek relief from the very conditions they caused.) Every Republican utterance has two purposes: the first is to mislead the public or raise the passions of the base; the second, is to advance the mission of privatizing the government for the purpose of reaping profit. Cut it, if the money doesn’t go into a concentration of corporate hands. Purge it by making the negatives feel good. So Milt Romney today describes the Ryan medicaid plan as introducing “choice” without acknowledging it takes away benefits: his choice is less. Romney describes Ryan as introducing “market forces,” a feel good negative for a voucher system that means take it or leave it or pay for it yourself.

So the freshman suddenly demand a truce, a peace, actually very similar to the requests of Arab political leaders who seek to freeze the status quo for political advantage and to stop the momentum of the opposition.

Of course, all Republicans say they are channeling the desires of the American people. To assure us of this, Republicans, in policy discussions, are drawing comparisons against earlier times in order to support their policies. I call these false positives; the analogies and examples have serious flaws and inaccuracies. But the flaws are covered by fears which the GOP assures everyone they can cure. Constantly scaring people and promising to fix it is the communications strategy of the Republicans. Against the confusion and calm they promise, truth has a diminishing chance.

Yet diminishing returns are kicking in. The fear Republicans spread is coming home to rest. It is harder and harder to hide their positions behind their words. They are protecting tax breaks for big oil, they are demanding drilling when 70% of leased land remains unexplored, they are dismantling workers rights, and they have a full legislative assault on women’s rights and health. They are privatizing the public treasury and diminishing public benefit. They are creating no jobs. Their tax cuts are opposed by the American people. And Republicans are de-coupling their national policy from their draconian state-level legislative agendas.

Democrats must develop a campaign that proves they can make America stronger by passing legislation in the Senate that draws a line in the sand. Cut Pentagon spending, end tax breaks and subsidies, find a way to significantly slow the costs of health care. But first, add jobs.

  Hopefully, in the next election cycle, common sense will prevail.