Here’s what the townhalls are not:
This is not a rebellion of white men against a black president with whom, as Chris Matthews would charge, they “will never be comfortable.” Arlen Specter was castigated at his latest town hall meeting, and he is not a black man. Neither is HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelious or Maryland Senator Ben Cardin. Yet they too have faced angry crowds.
Nor is this a well-organized campaign by insurance company operatives. If some mastermind were organizing these protests, they’d screen out the lunatics who insist on bringing automatic weapons to political events.
So what is going on?
Perhaps Americans feel they are being hustled. One president and 535 members of Congress are overhauling 17% of the nation’s GDP and forever changing government’s place in our lives. Surely such a momentous decision deserves more attention than it has received in the span of my kids’ summer vacation. Haste does not make for good governance – especially haste that seems driven by desperate awareness that the Democrats’ poll numbers are deflating day by day.
Which takes us to a deeper story. In every way we can measure, we have seen rising frustration with government that seems simultaneously intrusive and remote, overbearing and incompetent. Elected leaders can collectively run up multi-trillion dollar deficits, waste money in ways that would make a businessman shriek – actually go out of business – and then look you in the eye and say “don’t you trust me?”
The latest Rasmussen poll (August 7) shows that only 14% of Americans give Congress good or excellent marks and that 56% believe they are doing a poor job. Arlen Specter recently offered that [the protesters] “are not representative of America.” Yet with just 36% public support in his state now, his collapsing poll numbers show differently. He should have taken his cue from Republican Chuck Grassley: “It seems to me that people are expressing, not just on health care, but people are just very scared about the direction the country is taking.”
Republicans must remember that it is they who drove the country from surplus to deficit – and that it was a Republican who presided over the economic collapse of 2008. “You work for us!” one angry protester shouted as the crowd applauded wildly. Yet what they have seen instead is a group of self-interested, mendacious, professional politicians who often seem to work for shadowy interests. Before Republicans start assigning the committee chairs for 2011, they need to remind themselves: 1) the mid-term elections are still a long way off; 2) it isn’t just about healthcare, or the Democrats. It’s about all of them.
18 responses so far
1 Raider1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 8:41 am
Makes sense. GOP better not get too cocky.
2 barker13 // Aug 18, 2009 at 11:57 am
“In every way we can measure, we have seen rising frustration with government that seems simultaneously intrusive and remote, overbearing and incompetent. Elected leaders can collectively run up multi-trillion dollar deficits, waste money in ways that would make a businessman shriek – actually go out of business – and then look you in the eye and say “don’t you trust me?””
Exactly.
“Republicans must remember that it is they who drove the country from surplus to deficit – and that it was a Republican who presided over the economic collapse of 2008.”
Fair enough… to a point. It was also Republicans who created the “surplus” (which really wasn’t btw, but let’s not go off on a tangent) when they controlled Congress with Bill Clinton America’s President.
And as for 2008… the Dems took both Houses of Congress back in 2006. (*SHRUG*)
But for the sake of the discussion, Brad, I get your point.
So… your solution…??? Assuming the GOP can recapture one or both Houses of Congress in 2010 what’s your proposed game plan, Brad? Specifics please.
Assuming the GOP recaptures the White House in 2012 what’s your call for our new president?
Finally… what’s your take on this whole democracy thing. (*SHRUG*) I mean you’re basically telling us that Republicans are going to screw up… Democrats are going to screw up… say the GOP retakes both Houses of Congress in 2010 and retains control in 2012 along with winning the White House. How many years till they go back to their same old tricks?
I suppose what I’m getting at is… who thinks democracy as it now exists here in the United States “works” or even can work?
Point to ponder. (*SHRUG*)
BILL
3 Raider1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Barker I think you’re missing his point here of the piece. You are asking him to come up with a blueprint for what the GOP should do when it gets back in power. Schaefer seems to be saying instead that the Repblicans better not get too cocky and misread general anger at ALL parties (including our own!) as anti-Democrat alone. It’s a good point. Alot of right wingers especially are gloating — they may be in for a rude awakening.
4 blake.seitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I would tend to think that town hall dissent is *slightly* more partisan than Brad suggests, but for all intensive purposes he’s correct.
5 Raider1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Blake. Yes I do agree that the TH meetings were probably not 50/50 democrat and republican. LOL.
6 barker13 // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Re: Raider1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 12:33 pm (#3) –
“Barker, I think you’re missing his point here of the piece.”
No. (*SMILE*)
“You are asking him to come up with a blueprint for what the GOP should do when it gets back in power.”
Partially.
“Schaefer seems to be saying instead that the Repblicans better not get too cocky and misread general anger at ALL parties (including our own!) as anti-Democrat alone. It’s a good point.”
Yes. (*CHUCKLE*) I see his point. I saw his point! I agree with his point. Now moving on…
(*SHRUG*)
Anyway… * Brad… ya gonna deal with my questions?
BILL
** Oh… and not to be rude… Raider… you wanna take a shot at addressing the points I brought up? How’bout you, Blakeseitz? I mean we’re all in agreement with Brad’s point… but I’m challenging folks to go beyond Brad’s point.
7 blake.seitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:41 pm
“I mean we’re all in agreement with Brad’s point… but I’m challenging folks to go beyond Brad’s point.”
I’ll put in my two cents worth:
In the long term, the Republican Party will need an image makeover (part superficial, part ideological) to regain potency.
Maintaining the status quo *might* work in the short term (if Obama drops the ball on health care in a big way, for example, or starts World War III), but only because voters would be choosing the lesser of two evils–NOT because they suddenly regained faith in the Grand Ol’ Party.
Back to the makeover: superficially, I think it’s important to cater to the youth vote–break the stigma of the crotchety old white man. Ideologically, we should be advocating conservatism in the classical sense (I’m preaching to the choir here, I know). Once we gain office, we should ACT according to ideology, slashing the national debt and generally corralling government: the policies might be unpopular (nobody likes cutting back), but if the White House does a good enough PR job (explaining the NECESSITY of budget cuts and the scrapping of unwieldy programs), they will ultimately be accepted by the public.
8 ottovbvs // Aug 18, 2009 at 6:29 pm
……Er……how many protesting “Democratic” townhallers are there?……this is astroturf pure and simple……motivations?…….many of course……there is a bit of racism despite the ritual denials but I don’t think it’s the dominant strain…….more likely just anger because they lost and see this as a means of continuing the battle…….how else to explain seniors screaming “get the govt out of my healthcare.”…….these are in the main ignorant and stupid people who have been talked into showing up at these events…..for some reason movement conservatives on the right think screaming is going to move people in their direction……I don’t disagree with some of Schaeffer’s conclusions but let’s not kid ourselves what this is all about.
9 barker13 // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Re: Blakeseitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:41 pm (#7) –
(*THUMBS UP*)
BILL
10 ottovbvs // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:41 pm
blakeseitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:41 pm
” Back to the makeover: superficially, I think it’s important to cater to the youth vote–break the stigma of the crotchety old white man. Ideologically, we should be advocating conservatism in the classical sense (I’m preaching to the choir here, I know). Once we gain office, we should ACT according to ideology,”
……….You mean lie about about our positions and once we get in office ignore everything we’ve said…..okaaaay…….just as long as we keep it “superficial” it will be fine…..okaaay
11 ottovbvs // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:42 pm
barker13 // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Re: Blakeseitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:41 pm (#7) –
(*THUMBS UP*)
BILL
………Needless to say Baarking thinks blatant lying is totally admirable
12 steelyblades // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:53 pm
To me the most fascinating thing about the health care debate is how it seems to have hit so many different nerves in our society. From what I have been able to observe, I don’t see any one strain being dominant–I don’t think, for example, that it is predominantly partisan motivation, nor ideological, nor generational, nor racial. It’s all of these to some degree, but they are all mixed up, and the general level of fear and apprehension is tremendous.
Let’s face it: a lot of things are changing dramatically in our country right now. And while a majority of people did vote us down this path, change of this magnitude is always scary. The health care issue touches every segment of our society, and thus it stirs up incredible waves of angst and fear for a whole variety of reasons. And I’m sure there is some residual partisan motivation getting swept into the same bucket. But health care reform is about as significant as any issue we face as a nation, and thus it really opens the floodgates to all sorts of irrational angles of debate. I expect that a majority of people would agree that our current system sucks, and it will continue to get worse if we just let it ride. But it’s the devil we know, and fear is a huge motivator when facing changes which are potentially this dramatic.
I wonder if the urgency for health care reform on Obama’s part might be twofold:
1. He is not likely to have the political capital in six or twelve months that he has presently. So this might be his best shot.
2. He feels the effects of reform will take time to implement and create an impact. So he needs to act now if he wants his reforms to bear fruit in time for 2012.
Whatever the case, thanks Brad for an interesting post.
13 blake.seitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I’m advocating moderation in policy and moderation in action–not lying.
“Superficial” change was typed with regard to the party’s image and its demographic–who we move out to the polls. In this case that means less screaming, more intellectualism.
14 SFTor1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 8:52 pm
There is a disconnect in the reasoning that I think is worth mentioning.
Mr. Schaefer is equating “distrust in government” with “dissatisfaction with where the country is going.” There is a likely correlation, but not causation.
The only, and I mean the only solution: K Street must be blown up and turned into a parking lot.
15 ottovbvs // Aug 19, 2009 at 8:17 am
blakeseitz // Aug 18, 2009 at 7:54 pm
“I’m advocating moderation in policy and moderation in action–not lying.”
……….ohhh you mean as in”
“Ideologically, we should be advocating conservatism in the classical sense …….
Once we gain office, we should ACT according to ideology, slashing the national debt and generally corralling government: the policies might be unpopular”
16 barker13 // Aug 19, 2009 at 8:28 am
Re: Sftor1 // Aug 18, 2009 at 8:52 pm (#14) –
“The only, and I mean the only solution: K Street must be blown up and turned into a parking lot.”
(*THUMBS UP*)
For what it’s worth, Sftor1, I damn Tom DeLay for being an overreaching, unprincipled son of a bitch whose “K Street Project” was a stain upon the GOP.
BILL
17 Raider1 // Aug 19, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Sftor1…cant they BOTh be in play? Distrust in government and dissatisfaction in direction? They are related no?
18 The Rage of the Common Man « The Truth in Black and Right // Oct 20, 2009 at 12:38 pm
[...] are hopping mad that universal health care isn’t being passed. Conservatives are mad that years of supposedly conservative governance has led to massive deficits. Both are mad about [...]
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