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Alexander's Column
Silver Linings on the CR and DC DebaclesGreat News for Conservatives -- If...
By Mark Alexander ·
October 17, 2013
Despite a colossal
political blunder derailing the conservative Republican Continuing
Resolution strategy three weeks ago, which in turn led to furloughs
(read: "paid vacations") for about 17% of "non-essential" federal
employees, which in turn collapsed approval ratings for anyone with an
"R" after their name, which in turn resulted in Republican submission to
Barack Obama's agenda, there are three silver linings on the horizon
that will pay rich political dividends.
Each of these favorable
outcomes will greatly benefit the campaigns of conservative Republicans
for a generation if, and only if, there is a cease-fire in the foolish
and fatalistic "Tea v. GOP infighting," which undermined the outstanding CR strategy House conservative were advancing on schedule four weeks ago.
I'll get to those opportunities in a moment, but first, let me recap where we were just four short weeks ago:
(For the record, this is not "hindsight 20/20" analysis, but precisely the winning strategy conservative House Republicans were advancing in early September -- which now seems like a political lifetime ago.)
So, how did conservatives convert a win to a loss?
Unfortunately, a unilateral diversion by Sen. Ted Cruz derailed the conservative House CR and DC strategy, leaving House and Senate Republicans on defense
with no way out and no ability to recover. Undoubtedly Cruz is smart --
after all, he is a graduate of Princeton and magna cum laude from
Harvard Law. But he just completed his first course in political
strategy, and failed, though he gained a lot of admirers who will be
chastising me for daring to break with Cruz's self-destructive
orthodoxy.
Consequently,
establishment Republican Senate and House leaders Mitch McConnell and
John Boehner acquiesced to Demo demands, passing a status quo CR and Debt Ceiling agreement,
ending the paid furlough and allowing the federal government to
continue borrowing money to pay debt service on money it already
borrowed -- basically a Ponzi scheme -- as we soar through the $17
trillion national debt mark. It punted any CR debate to January 15 and
debt ceiling debate to February 7. (Oh, and members of Congress and
their staffs will still receive their taxpayer-funded subsidies for
health benefits.)
On the Senate vote Cruz
said "I have no objections to the timing of this vote, and the reason is
simple. There's nothing to be gained from delaying this vote one day or
two days, the outcome will be same." In a tragic case of irony, that is
precisely the position he should've taken four weeks ago.
Obama, who has singlehandedly increased the nation's debt by 55%, could hardly contain his glee when signing the "deal."For the record, I have never witnessed such a dramatic reversal of political fortunes in the span of one month. The ability of a few Republicans to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory," be they of the "establishment" or "conservative" ranks, is astounding.
Disagree if you will, but
the consequences are clear. For example, in July, Republicans had a
12-point lead with independents. Now Demos lead by nine -- a dramatic
shift in a political group that typically determines national election
outcomes. And the GOP's overall favorability rating has dropped by 10
points to 28%. In the words of John Adams, "Facts are stubborn things;
and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our
passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
(Oh and while all eyes were on Washington Wednesday, in the New
Jersey Senate race to fill the seat of the late Frank Lautenberg,
Democrat Cory Booker trounced conservative Republican Steve Lonegan.)
First, this is the BIG one. Obama, the consummate narcissist, having even embraced the name "ObamaCare," will himself, along with every member of the House and Senate with a "D" after their name, suffer a significant reversal of political fortune after ObamaCare is implemented. And this will continue as long as ObamaCare exists. Why?
Because from October 1
forward, with increasing frequency, Americans of every political stripe
who have any issue with health care, whether a hangnail or heart
transplant, a delay in a doctor's office or in critical care for a loved
one, will tie blame for their discontent like a noose around the necks
of Obama and his Democrats, who were solely responsible for forcing this
abomination upon the American people. (And that was the basis for the
derailed Republican strategy to force Democrat House and Senate votes on
the "defund" and "delay" measures!)
Additionally, dealing with government clerical minions in this new
bloated bureaucracy will be no different than dealing with any other
huge government bureaucracy -- endless and infuriating. No matter how
Fab-Tastic ObamaCare may be for some Demo constituencies, Democrats are
going to be the target of every health care complaint -- and that
includes Hillary Clinton.Of course, there will be other pitfalls -- like the centralization of health and tax records within massive data hubs, many of which will inevitably be compromised and used for fraudulent purposes. Just wait until medical and tax records are accessible to 20,000 additional government clerks in the O'care bureaucracy. Within the "Terms and Conditions" source code of the ObamaCare web site, at least when it's working, is this disclaimer: "You have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system. At any time, and for any lawful Government purpose, the government may monitor, intercept, and search and seize any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system. Any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system may be disclosed or used for any lawful Government purpose."
And state exchanges have equally troubling "privacy policies,"
like Maryland's, which notes that it will "share information provided
in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement
and audit activities." And now there are warnings about impostor O'care
sites collecting private information -- for resale or identity theft.
It's all downhill from here!
"What is going to happen," Barack Obama recently crowed, "is when
it's working and everybody is really happy with it, Republicans are
going to stop calling it 'ObamaCare.'"
That's wishful thinking.
Beginning this week, Obama's dream of socialized medicine will become an
ever more terrifying nightmare. Actually, as the ObamaCare promises and
propaganda fade to black, as I have previously suggested, we should
refer to this behemoth as "DemoCare."
If Republicans successfully herd the inevitable health care consumer
dissatisfaction and anger in the direction of Democrats, the electoral
rewards will be substantial in 2014, 2016 and beyond. Of course, given
the Republican performance in the last month, that's a big "if."
Second, the consequences of the "Republican Sequester,"
as Obama dishonestly frames it, and the current partial government
shutdown, have had far less impact than trumped up by the Democrats,
despite their "make 'em suffer" strategy of shutting down high-profile
operations such as national parks. The consequence is that a lot of
Americans have now learned firsthand that the nation doesn't fall apart
when more than 1/6th of "non-essential" government clerks and
bureaucrats are not on the job. (Who would've guessed!)
Today, most Americans know someone who is a federal government
employee (not including uniformed military personnel or postal workers).
That fact, in and of itself, should be alarming.There are tens of thousands of good civilians working in government, but millions more are now the "walking dead," many of whom came into their job with a good work ethic but lost it to oppressive bureaucratic erosion. On the other hand, many enter government service because they know that little is required. The result is a costly, bloated and spirit-sapping bureaucracy rife with waste and poorly utilized personnel.
This gross bureaucratic inflation was made plain in a recent GAO report, "Actions Needed to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication," and echoed in countless analytical reports such as the Wall Street Journal's "Billions in Beltway Bloat." Last week, Time magazine featured an analytical piece titled "Most of Government is 'Non-Essential'."
Of course, eliminating "non-essential" government jobs is next to
impossible because those who hold them are shielded from discipline or
termination by their public sector unions.Early in Ronald Reagan's second term, I met with one of his agency heads -- a final interview for a job I thought I really wanted.
That meeting went well,
but I was offered some advice regarding government employment before
being offered the post. Having reviewed my thick application file (yes,
this was back when a file contained actual paper), and having paid
particular attention to an extensive personality profile, this career
military officer and senior Reagan appointee looked me in the eye and
said: "If you come up here and take this post, you won't make it six
weeks before you kill somebody."
After some elaboration, I declined the post.In the years since, I have known many very bright and capable government employees, particularly in agencies with law enforcement or intelligence functions. I have to tip my hat to them because they have a much higher threshold for dealing with non-essential bureaucrats who are indifferent, incompetent, unmotivated, overpaid and underworked -- and who outnumber them 10-to-1! Indeed, a universal truth pertaining to bureaucracies is this: As size increases, accountability decreases.
So, this question is now
embedded in the minds of voters across the nation: Is it possible that
only half the current government "workers" could accomplish everything
that the full contingent accomplish now, under the right management? Or,
metaphysically speaking: If a government shuts down and no one notices,
did it really need to be so big?
There is the opportunity to gain some discernment about political process, and to understand that building up toward common goals, rather than tearing down over disagreements, is the only way to continue adding conservatives at every level of government. Democrats have held the House for the better part of the last seven decades, and the Senate for many of those years. It will take more than a few election cycles for the modern Tea Party movement to restore the integrity of our Constitution.
Indeed, there is clear evidence of a conservative shift in public opinion as noted in a recent Washington Post guest editorial by Cornell political scientist Peter Enns.
This shift is nationwide -- but keeping that momentum going will
require some serious soul searching, and coalitions based on common
objectives.
Finally, did I mention
that the returns on these silver linings will be significantly
diminished unless there is a cease-fire in the foolish and fatalistic "Tea v. GOP infighting"? Yes, I think I did.
As always fellow Patriots, keep your eyes set upon the ultimate prize, Liberty!
In the words of John Hancock at the dawn of our Republic, "We must be
unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must hang
together."
Pro Deo et Constitutione -- Libertas aut Mors
Semper Fortis Vigilate Paratus et Fidelis  |
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