Tuesday, November 14, 2006

What populist reforms will (need) the Dems undertake, opinion,

True Blue Populists
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times

Monday 13 November 2006

Senator George Allen of Virginia is understandably shocked and despondent. Just a year ago, a National Review cover story declared that his "down-home persona" made him "quite possibly the next president of the United States." Instead, his political career seems over.

And it wasn't just macaca, or even the war, that brought him down. Mr. Allen, a reliable defender of the interests of the economic elite, found himself facing an opponent who made a point of talking about the problem of rising inequality. And the tobacco-chewing, football-throwing, tax-cutting, Social Security-privatizing senator was only one of many faux populists defeated by real populists last Tuesday.

Ever since movement conservatives took over, the Republican Party has pushed for policies that benefit a small minority of wealthy Americans at the expense of the great majority of voters. To hide this reality, conservatives have relied on wagging the dog and wedge issues, but they've also relied on a brilliant marketing campaign that portrays Democrats as elitists and Republicans as representatives of the average American.

This sleight of hand depends on shifting the focus from policy to personal style: John Kerry speaks French and windsurfs, so pay no attention to his plan to roll back tax cuts for the wealthy and use the proceeds to make health care affordable.

This year, however, the American people wised up.

True to form, some reporters still seem to be falling for the conservative spin. "If it walks, talks like a conservative, can it be a Dem?" asked the headline on a CNN.com story featuring a photo of Senator-elect Jon Tester of Montana. In other words, if a Democrat doesn't fit the right-wing caricature of a liberal, he must be a conservative.

But as Robin Toner and Kate Zernike of The New York Times pointed out yesterday, what actually characterizes the new wave of Democrats is a "strong streak of economic populism."

Look at Mr. Tester's actual policy positions: yes to an increase in the minimum wage; no to Social Security privatization; we need to "stand up to big drug companies" and have Medicare negotiate for lower prices; we should "stand up to big insurance companies and support a health care plan that makes health care affordable for all Montanans."

So what, aside from his flattop haircut, makes Mr. Tester a conservative? O.K., he supports gun rights. But on economic issues he's clearly left of center, not just compared with the current Senate, but compared with current Democratic senators. The same can be said of many other victorious Democrats, including Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, Sheldon Whitehouse in Rhode Island, and Sherrod Brown in Ohio. All of these candidates ran on unabashedly populist platforms, and won.

What about Joe Lieberman? Like shipwreck survivors clinging to flotsam, some have seized on his reelection as proof of Americans' continuing conservatism. But Mr. Lieberman won only through denial and deception, for example, by rewriting the history of his once-fervent support for the Iraq war and Donald Rumsfeld. He got two-thirds of the Republican vote, but managed to confuse enough Democrats about his positions to get over the top.

Last week's populist wave, among other things, vindicates the populist direction that Al Gore took in the closing months of the 2000 campaign. But will this wave be reflected in the actual direction of the Democratic Party?

Not necessarily. Quite a few sitting Democrats have shown themselves nearly as willing as Republicans to bow to corporate interests. Consider the vote on last year's draconian bankruptcy bill. Mr. Lieberman voted for cloture, cutting off debate and ensuring the bill's passage; then he voted against the bill, a meaningless gesture that let him have it both ways. Thirteen other Democratic senators also voted for cloture, including Joe Biden, who has just announced his candidacy for president.

The first big test of the new Democratic populism will come over reform of the 2003 prescription drug law. Democrats have pledged to repeal the clause in that law preventing Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. But the fine print of how they do that is crucial: Medicare reform could be a mere symbolic gesture, or it could be a real reform that eliminates the huge implicit subsidies the program currently gives drug and insurance companies.

Are the newly invigorated Democrats ready to offer a real change in this country's direction? We'll know in a few months.

1 Comments:

At 10:36 PM, Blogger Seven Star Hand said...

Hello again Paschal and all,

Eleven Roars Loudly

Here's some background information behind recent watershed events (Macaca, Foley, Ted Haggart, David Kuo, the US election, etc., etc.) that should prove enlightening. I want you to pay very close attention to the fact that my birthday was August 11th, the day of Mr. Allen's "Macaca" gaffe. His defeat during month 11, along with many of his ilk, was an apt belated birthday present for me. Also notice that my last name is Page, matching the so-called "page" scandal associated with Mr. Foley. Furthermore, I have been writing and exposing religious deception and hypocrisy and Ted Haggart's downfall and David Kuo's book, along with a string of other events, served to prove my earlier assertions in stunning fashion. Inspect my photo in my Free Ebook... to see the hat I'm wearing and you'll better appreciate the full scope and import of these recent events.

The following article will further expand your understanding of the nature and purpose of the current social "earthquake". Notice the statement "11 Roars Loudly" As you will see throughout my articles and books, the number 11 holds very special and purposeful meaning by symbolizing truth and justice and serving as a hidden key to prove the truth and accuracy of my writing and deeds. Many have scoffed at my assertions in recent years, but I have provided stunning and comprehensive proof of who I am, what I truly represent, and what I have accomplished.

NOTE: The referenced messages contain heavily symbolic leading paragraphs, they are not to be taken literally. Let Wisdom's Seventh Chapter unseal the symbols

Now comes the truly important work of preventing the excesses of the last six years from ever happening again. As long as people cling to money, religion, and politics, these seemingly never-ending cycles of evil scoundrels, war, great struggles, and repeated injustices will never end.

These scoundrels need to be taught a lesson about truth and justice that all of humanity will take to heart, once and for all.

Did it ever dawn on you that money, religion, and politics are the prime sources of human struggle and continuing to beat a dead horse (or donkey, or elephant) will never solve our seemingly never-ending cycles of calamities? One good lesson to take from this election is that politics is a repeating cycle that will always produce greedy scoundrels who must later be defeated or else. Why beat your heads against the same old wall any longer when the door has been sighted and waiting for you to open your eyes and "see the light?"

Truth, Wisdom, and Justice are non-political, non-religious, and non-monetary. Here is Wisdom !!

Read More...

Peace...

 

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