The example inspiring the title's observation is the Republican Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the national President of the Republican Mayors Association, Mick Cornett. He's a big fan of regressive taxation and would no doubt come down on the wrong side of any issue involving sex or procreation. But he still seems a lot different from the run of the mill Congressional Republicans in terms of his appreciation of taxpayer investment in worthy public improvements, infrastructure and education. He made the following remarks in an NPR interview that supports this thesis:
We, for the last 20 years, have additional penny sales tax that we've invested in a lot of capital projects and we've improved the quality of life.
snip
Well, it's not just services. It's amenities. You know, it's sports arenas, it's performing arts centers. You know, we put a canal through our entertainment district. We've built dams and built waterfronts, you know, for our river. There's a lot to the quality of life that a person is looking for. And we've been able to convince the people that live in the suburbs that the vibrancy of the core is directly proportionate to the quality of life in the suburbs.
snip
You know, it's very fragile but, you know, we have the confidence of the majority of the voters today - and we're very careful not to do anything that might jeopardize it - because, you know, these types of government spending, you know, especially in a conservative city like Oklahoma City, come under great scrutiny. And you know, we do a lot to try and make sure that we spend it wisely.
snip
You've got a lot of big cities dealing with unfunded mandates and at the same time trying to deal with long-term capital issues that there's just no escape. If you're in a big city on the East Coast, chances are you've got deferred maintenance that leaves you upside down for as long as you can see. And I don't see Washington even beginning to address those types of things.
Not to sabotage this guy's future in the party, but he almost sounds reasonable some of the time. Any semblance of reason in virtually any Republican position on any issue has been so rare as to cause one to stop and notice.
The mayor has a point. I know Oklahoma City and its politics very well, having lived there from 1981 - 1993 and served directly under three different state wide elected officials at the Capitol. Once upon a time, I enjoyed a beautiful view from the 1st floor of the West wing of the Oklahoma State Capitol, out over the South lawn toward one of the oil rigs operating ostentatiously on the premises and down Lincoln Boulevard past the Corporation Commission and the Historical Society buildings. Oak woodwork and details; big brass door nobs displaying the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma. Sigh.
The state was modified one party, Democrat, when I arrived there, and, when I moved on to other things, trending toward its present, opposite, modified one party Republican status, or perhaps fully one party.
But I can attest that under a certain kind of Republican leadership, Oklahoma City has made investments of it's 1% extra sales tax that have very substantially paid off for the community, at least by some measures. Oklahoma City is now a major league town, with an NBA franchise they pirated from Seattle, that plays in a publicly subsidized arena. The canal mayor Corbett mentioned serves a major tourism area including a fine minor league baseball park, restaurants, music clubs and shopping, in a very congenial, modern space and waterfront along finger lakes created by low water dams on the sometimes thirsty Canadian River that flows past downtown OKC.
Still, even back in the Democrat controlled days, public spending for such things in Oklahoma had a strong bias in favor of whatever might profit the already wealthy business class. Tax breaks for General Motors to build a plant? No problem. Build a stadium for the minor league baseball club owned by local nabobs? Why not? Create an amenity laden district for the benefit of the holders of the nearby real estate? Duh!
But it is notable that even in the politically reddest heart of the Heartland, this kind of realism about the benefits of public investment in the community still survives. If anything ever saves the Republicans. This might be it.