I think the Republican and right-wing true believers (occasionally, but not necessarily, the same folk) are in for a real shock at what happens politically in DC and Austin over the next two years. Many of them feel like they’re participating in a revolution — a takeover of the government from the bad guys by the good guys. They’re looking for tax relief, improved health coverage, an improved economy, better schools, and better infrastructure (including more roads and more services such as police). Not only all that — but a return to a more old-fashioned morality. All this, they believe, will be accompanied and accomplished by smaller government, less regulation, and a trimmed bureaucracy. Isn’t the contradiction here more than obvious?
On the other hand, citizens who primarily vote Democrat are now over any illusions about how effective government can be. I lost my rosy sunglasses about the time of Eugene McCarthy’s run for president. As often as not, we’re voting against somebody we think will do something worse, rather than in favor of somebody we think will do something better. I don’t mind paying taxes, and I passionately believe in the social safety net, but I don’t think the last few decades of mostly Democratic rule have been much more successful than some right wingers do, though for different reasons. Democratic voters are used to the disappointment and disillusionment that follows successful elections. Politics is compromise, governing difficult, the abilities of government limited and the complexities of modern society overwhelming. Turning around government policy is like steering an ocean liner — it’s slow going.
Much of what the government does, it has to do — reformers of any stripe find themselves stymied by the logic of everyday politics. Consider those politicians that ran on term limits but when they hit their own decided to stay. Some of this may be ego and the privileges of power, but some of it is commitment to public policy, and the realization that the first two terms are spent as much learning about both the issues and the process as they are accomplishing much (term limits are not only stupid but anti-democratic).
Council Member Daryl Slusher spent most of a decade here at the Chronicle lighting verbal Molotov cocktails and tossing them at developers, elected officials, and city staff. Once elected to public office he became much more moderate and willing to compromise — not because he “sold out” — but because he discovered the intricacies of governing. Overwhelming consideration has to be given to the law, the Constitution, and the fact you represent all the people and not just the relatively narrow constituency that elected you. Almost as importantly, no sole legislator can pass laws or direct policy — lawmakers have to work together. Which means you have to understand where other officials are coming from and their agenda, as much as you want them to understand yours.
The reality is that most people want the same thing, though they might split on how to achieve or define it. We genuinely differ on some issues like abortion or the war or guns, that’s obvious. Most people, however, want — first and foremost — safety for their families and themselves. We also share a common desire for decent employment, strong educational possibilities, working infrastructure and services (i.e. roads, mass transit, public hospitals, airports, etc.), the ready availability of food, clothes, and other goods. Most, in the abstract, if they are taken care of, also wish these for most of the population — provided it doesn’t come at too much of their expense.
The Republicans have come to power promising a new idea of government. Right now we see the president, with the Congress soon to follow, accomplishing the goals of the Republicans’ biggest supporters — the rich, big business, and industry. Ideologically they believe in less government, less regulation, and less taxation. The Bush administration is licking its lips over more tax cuts, regulatory agencies are being guided to be lax, and all kinds of business-friendly legislation is proposed or already instituted. The civil service system is facing its greatest assault in over a hundred years, workers’ pensions are being compromised, and industry is being accommodated at the cost of labor and the environment.
So we’re going to have less regulation and less taxation. What I find astonishing is how the Republicans have managed to wrap a legislative package that favors the rich and powerful in rhetoric that appeals to the middle and lower classes on which it is going to have the most adverse impact.
Less government? We have the new sprawling Dept. of Homeland Security. Less regulation? The government now has unprecedented powers to monitor civilians. Less taxation? The budget for security and the Pentagon is ever expanding, the Congress is passing legislation that makes them look more like the Pork Growers Association than legislators.
So how’s the government going to trim the budget? Firing workers and/or restricting their overall compensation, eviscerating social service programs, cutting back on the commitment to education, and so on. Many of these efforts will affect the working middle and lower class a lot more than they realize now. The tax cuts will not only favor the rich, they’ll lead to huge deficits. These have to be dealt with at some point. Temporarily there may be a few hundred or even a few thousand extra dollars in most people’s pockets. This isn’t money you’re getting back from the government, this is money you’re taking out of the pockets of your children and grandchildren. The environment — especially air and water — if not respected is going to have to be dealt with at some point. Who will pay for it? At the state level, what about Perry’s ambitious road-building program? Not only how will that be paid for but when and by whom? You can be sure not industry or the super rich — look at the toddler at your feet.
Government does some things very poorly, these we all notice. It also does an astonishing range of things well, these often affect us and just as often we don’t notice. We will, when they start disappearing.
In two years, all our lives will probably have changed very little on a day-to-day basis except for fewer services and, ultimately, more taxes, though they may be hidden in any number of ways. I wonder how the right-wing revolutionaries will lay the blame on Bill Clinton. I only know they will.
They have to blame somebody.
This article appears in December 13 • 2002.