COMMENT: No Michael, the proper response is NOT renovation. The proper response is for us, the citizens who send our representatives to Congress, to learn to treat each other with dignity and respect, and THEN demand our representatives do the same. If they fail to do this, then we must hold them accountable at the ballot box. It really is that simple.
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Politics should repair, not destroy
In 2015, we need leaders who will channel populism to positive change.
By Michael Gerson, December 26, 2014
The 113th Congress was not, by most measures, productive. But its endgame was at least instructive.
As a trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill trundled into law, the populist wings of both political parties declared themselves both revolted and in revolt.
The bill, complained Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, “does nothing, absolutely nothing to stop President Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional amnesty.”
“Who does Congress work for?” asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Does it work for the millionaires, the billionaires, the giant companies with their armies of lobbyists and lawyers?”
While this unexpected alliance of outrage did not prevail, it managed to preview some of the most important debates leading up to the 2016 election.
The challenge from the populist right is now familiar, but it’s far from spent. Conservatives offended by the omnibus — and even more offended by Obama’s immigration executive order — wanted to do something. This is often the whole substance of conservative strategy: “Do something.”
After blowing up the Senate process and disrupting the travel plans of their colleagues, Cruz and company demanded a point-of-order vote on whether Obama’s executive order was constitutional. Only 22 senators supported it.
The open revolt of the populist left is more novel. In this case, it was a rebellion against a sitting Democratic president, joined by former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, forcing the White House to conduct a last-minute scramble for votes.
The main provision at issue was the swaps “push-out” rule of the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill. But Warren used the occasion to throw a large rock into the Democratic pond. The ripples radiate.
There is an element of progressive populism that’s looking for a leader — and it isn’t Hillary Clinton. In 2008, Clinton was beaten by a primary opponent (Obama) from the anti-war left. There may be a similar market, this time around, for a candidate from the anti-Wall-Street left. MoveOn.org is circulating a draft-Warren petition.
Clinton’s attempts at Occupy Wall Street rhetoric are laughable. This is the Democratic equivalent of Mitt Romney trying to sound “severely conservative.” The maneuver is not just awkward; it’s the reduction of politics to a game of pretend.
This is the current challenge to both parties, raising some of the largest questions in our politics: Can establishment figures restore the tarnished legitimacy of governing institutions? Will Clinton or, say, Jeb Bush be able to constructively channel populist anger, or will they be overwhelmed by it?
Many American institutions — starting with the House and Senate, and extending to the manner in which we tax ourselves, fight poverty, care for the old and educate the young — are in disrepair. This must be recognized and confronted.
But some populists thrive on further delegitimizing institutions. They use Congress as a stage for their anger, not as an instrument of reform. They set unattainable goals that encourage political alienation. They adopt a conspiratorial mindset, in which systems are not just broken but rigged by scheming opponents. They demand to do “something,” but end up doing things that serve narrow political and fundraising goals.
America is in desperate need of a politics of repair, not a politics of demolition and rebuilding. We need leaders who take populist discontent seriously, but direct it toward projects of practical reform.
America’s distrust of institutions is a fact. But it’s a problem, not a goal. The proper response is the renovation of institutions that allow us to live a decent, compassionate, orderly life together.
This is the dignity and importance of the political profession.
...................................................................................................................................................................
Politics should repair, not destroy
In 2015, we need leaders who will channel populism to positive change.
By Michael Gerson, December 26, 2014
The 113th Congress was not, by most measures, productive. But its endgame was at least instructive.
As a trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill trundled into law, the populist wings of both political parties declared themselves both revolted and in revolt.
The bill, complained Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, “does nothing, absolutely nothing to stop President Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional amnesty.”
“Who does Congress work for?” asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Does it work for the millionaires, the billionaires, the giant companies with their armies of lobbyists and lawyers?”
While this unexpected alliance of outrage did not prevail, it managed to preview some of the most important debates leading up to the 2016 election.
The challenge from the populist right is now familiar, but it’s far from spent. Conservatives offended by the omnibus — and even more offended by Obama’s immigration executive order — wanted to do something. This is often the whole substance of conservative strategy: “Do something.”
After blowing up the Senate process and disrupting the travel plans of their colleagues, Cruz and company demanded a point-of-order vote on whether Obama’s executive order was constitutional. Only 22 senators supported it.
The open revolt of the populist left is more novel. In this case, it was a rebellion against a sitting Democratic president, joined by former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, forcing the White House to conduct a last-minute scramble for votes.
The main provision at issue was the swaps “push-out” rule of the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill. But Warren used the occasion to throw a large rock into the Democratic pond. The ripples radiate.
There is an element of progressive populism that’s looking for a leader — and it isn’t Hillary Clinton. In 2008, Clinton was beaten by a primary opponent (Obama) from the anti-war left. There may be a similar market, this time around, for a candidate from the anti-Wall-Street left. MoveOn.org is circulating a draft-Warren petition.
Clinton’s attempts at Occupy Wall Street rhetoric are laughable. This is the Democratic equivalent of Mitt Romney trying to sound “severely conservative.” The maneuver is not just awkward; it’s the reduction of politics to a game of pretend.
This is the current challenge to both parties, raising some of the largest questions in our politics: Can establishment figures restore the tarnished legitimacy of governing institutions? Will Clinton or, say, Jeb Bush be able to constructively channel populist anger, or will they be overwhelmed by it?
Many American institutions — starting with the House and Senate, and extending to the manner in which we tax ourselves, fight poverty, care for the old and educate the young — are in disrepair. This must be recognized and confronted.
But some populists thrive on further delegitimizing institutions. They use Congress as a stage for their anger, not as an instrument of reform. They set unattainable goals that encourage political alienation. They adopt a conspiratorial mindset, in which systems are not just broken but rigged by scheming opponents. They demand to do “something,” but end up doing things that serve narrow political and fundraising goals.
America is in desperate need of a politics of repair, not a politics of demolition and rebuilding. We need leaders who take populist discontent seriously, but direct it toward projects of practical reform.
America’s distrust of institutions is a fact. But it’s a problem, not a goal. The proper response is the renovation of institutions that allow us to live a decent, compassionate, orderly life together.
This is the dignity and importance of the political profession.
...................................................................................................................................................................
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