IT’S HARD to remember that long ago time, way back in October, when Republican recalcitrants in the House managed to shut down most of the U.S. government and, with it, their party’s hopes in next year’s congressional elections.
Americans may have been disgusted with both parties and the White House, too, at that stalled point, but the GOP got most of the blame, maybe even deservedly. At least that was the judgment of much of the public polled at the time. And it was understandable. Folks can get mighty upset, and understandably so, when government is prevented from governing. Especially if their Social Security checks or veterans’ benefits might stop coming in the mail.
Democrats can scarcely be blamed for making the most of that grand opportunity to scapegoat the opposition. That’s the nature of the two-party system and one of its great advantages. Each party serves as a check on the other-and its most energetic critic.
So a Democratic administration wasted no time shutting down the most visible tourist sites (like the World War II memorial on the National Mall) and pointing out how the military and its veterans were being treated, that is, shabbily.
The (not so) Grand Old Party’s instinctive gift for self-destruction had kicked in again, and Democrats took every advantage of it.
Democratic prospects had seldom looked better than last October, for Republican zealots had let themselves be maneuvered into playing Scrooge, despite the savvy counsel of leaders like Paul Ryan, the GOP’s budgeteer-in-chief, and John Boehner, long-time speaker of the House. Those two have been around the block a time or two, and knew this was a game their party couldn’t win and better not play. In the end, a compromise was hammered out that let the government function and the GOP off the hook. But the taint remained until . . . .
UNTIL the ever-unfolding debacle called Obamacare had replaced the Great Government Shutdown of 2013 in the headlines. Turnabout being fair play, now it’s Obamacare that’s proving a gift to Republicans-a gift that keeps on giving. The collapse of the president’s “signature accomplishment” threatens to go on not just through 2014 but approximately forever, embarrassing Democrats daily.
The whole misbegotten scheme-not just its disastrous rollout-shudders and shakes and stalls, and requires constant fixes that don’t really fix and explanations that don’t really explain. All the Republicans have to do at this point is just avoid all the falling debris and they may wind up with the upper hand in the coming year’s congressional races.
But whether the Republicans’ in-house zealots can exercise enough self-control to just stand back and let the Democrats go down with Obamacare remains to be seen; there’s still plenty of time for the GOP to overplay its hand again. And assure Democratic control of at least the Senate next year. For when an American political party prefers making ideological points to winning elections, it’s likely to go the way of the Whigs.
Republicans can’t say they haven’t been warned. “Elections have consequences,” as Paul Ryan warned his party not long ago when urging it to compromise on next year’s budget. “To really do what we think needs to be done,” he added, like controlling a runaway federal budget, “we are going to have to win some elections.” Which explains why he just led the effort to conclude an agreement with the Democrats’ Patty Murray in the Senate and avoid another government shutdown, which might also have shut down Republican hopes in the fast-upcoming elections.
Now the country can concentrate on Obamacare’s various problems, which show every sign not only of continuing but multiplying. The extent of this misbegotten attempt to reshape a sixth or more of the nation’s economy-health care-becomes visible day after day as it goes from embarrassment to fiscal, not to say medical, disaster.
But there may be no controlling the harakiri wing of the GOP-the types Arkansas’ own Mike Huckabee once described as Shi’ite Republicans, those more concerned about preserving their ideological purity than doing the hard, messy work of governing, which includes making compromises when politically necessary.
This state’s delegation in the House includes two congressmen who opposed Paul Ryan’s latest budget deal: Tom Cotton and Rick Crawford. The latter is scarcely a figure of national significance, but Captain and Congressman Cotton is already one of his party’s rising stars. Whether he’ll fulfill the hopes he’s raised among fellow Republicans across the country may depend on whether he can control his inner ideologue. And divert all that energy and idealism into constructive channels.
THERE’S little doubt about Tom Cotton’s star quality; he’s managed to excite interest far beyond Arkansas by his dedication to what he believes is right. He’s been willing to stand alone if necessary to defend his principles, like economy in government and dedication to the national defense, not to mention America’s once traditional role as a defender of liberty in the world. There’s no doubting Tom Cotton’s fervor, but can he temper it with judgment, so that he chooses his political battles with care?
Consider the congressman’s leading role in finally decoupling the farm bill from the food-stamp program. Combining the two was an almost perfect example of what the civic textbooks used to call log-rolling, a crass political tactic that unites different special interests for no good reason other than to reward both without much regard for the actual merits of their proposals. Or for the public interest.
The federal government’s vast and indiscriminate net of farm subsidies, some needed and others not just wasteful but harmful (like the ethanol boondoggle), should never have been linked to the food-stamp program. Despite popular legend, that program is one of Washington’s more effective operations, getting food to those most in need of it without a lot of bureaucratic folderol.
The federal government is actually pretty good when it sticks to distributing checks and/or commodities to the deserving (see Social Security, for example) without trying to micro-manage the American economy and Americans’ personal lives. As when it decides to tell every citizen just what medical procedures his health-care insurance must cover (abortions yes, vasectomies no).
Yes, the food-stamp program may need some tightening, and this administration’s habit of arbitrarily exempting favored states from its terms needs to be ended, but in general it’s well-designed and can be well-managed. Congressmen like Tom Cotton would do well to let different federal programs (like farm subsidies and food stamps) stand on their own merits. Or fall.
A still young Tom Cotton can choose to stay only a political star or become a statesman. The choice is his. And not just his career is riding on which choice he makes, but to a significant extent this state’s future and maybe the nation’s. He’s got the seeds of greatness in him. But they will need to be nurtured by a discriminating electorate.
Editorial, Pages 74 on 12/29/2013