War of Attrition

That is what we're facing in Washington at the moment. Democrats hold the fort and are damned and determined to keep the Republicans on the out, while Republicans have apparently circled the wagons and launched a siege/guerrilla campaign. While I don't completely endorse what the leading Democrats seem to be doing politically, the fact is that the Republicans aren't doing anything to endear themselves to anyone except their own core. Short version? Republican have adopted a strategy of obstructing, filibustering and fighting tooth and claw everything the Democrats are putting out. They reason that, A: they are scoring points as responsible objectors and B: that eventually the political momentum of the left will be spent and then they can work on rebuilding their own majorities again. Delay, distract and derail are the watchwords of the right in Washington today.

Unfortunately for them, this sort of thing requires time and worsening conditions. Neither of which seem to be in their favor; the recession is expected, by even the most pessimistic economists, to start turning around no later than the 4th quarter this year and the administration is running on all six cylinders in getting the stimulus money out the door and into the economy. Topping it all off, the American people seem to be demonstrating remarkable patience.

The other major problem that the Republican have is the rapidly proliferating consensus regarding their attitude and actions. "The Audacity of Nope" is the new tag line, drawing a lovely contrast with the positive message of the Obama campaign. Its a good hook, its stuck and it just seems to be a better fit every time the Republican leadership opens it's mouth. As an example, the general consensus in the country now favors the so-called "Green Revolution", yet Republican leaders like Boehner are doing their level best to demonize appropriate policies;

“‘Cap-and-trade’ is code for increasing taxes, killing American jobs, and raising energy costs for consumers. Middle-class families are struggling during this recession, and the last thing they need is even higher costs of living and weaker job security, which is exactly what ‘cap-and-trade’ would deliver.”

Now first of all, look at the language of this statement. Its both a prophesy of doom and an accusation of secret malevolence; as if there was a conspiracy among Democrats to wreak hardship on their own constituents, complete with secret codes and hidden agendas. Come on, are you really that paranoid? Or is it simply that your campaign donors don't want to increase the cost of their business? If so, then just say so; trust me when I say that people will give you a great deal more respect for raising and negotiating over legitimate business concerns than for trying to invent conspiracies where there aren't any.

Secondly, if we look at the statement itself we note it makes an assertion about the terrible effects of 'cap & trade' on voters, specifically identified as "Middle-class families" but no effort is made to explain exactly how this will occur. Now I see two possibilities for this omission, either the Congressman can't demonstrate something that won't happen or else he recognizes that by identifying the method he would facilitate its remedy. Neither of these helps him in trying to agitate the emotions of the voting public though, so they are summarily ignored.

Realizing that legitimate argument isn't going to serve them in a majority of discussions, the Republicans feel compelled to resort to procedural wrangling instead of trying to meet Democrats in the middle; admittedly further left than they might like to go, but still further right than they'll get if the Democrats just have to keep ramming legislation through. Why? In brief: pure pig-headedness. The fact is many Republicans are staunch conservatives, they consider it a "Matter of Principle" to oppose government spending or involvement in any aspect of public life beyond the military. While most of us can admire someone for standing up for their principles, you cannot run a government without a degree of compromise.

For the time being the right seems to be intent of trying to insulate itself against the rest of the country and the 21st century. Everywhere you turn they're once again exulting the altar of Reagan and using the language and tactics of the 80's. It seems doomed...but maybe one of them has invented time travel.