In a sprawling economic address today in New York City, Barack Obama broadly outlined his approach to to solving our current economic crisis. The speech was relatively long and addressed the current housing debacle, a better economic regulatory approach, and providing an economic stimulus package to help jump-start the economy.
You might think that, considering the very real economic peril with which the country is faced, that there might be a deliberative debate over what happened to place us in this barely tenable economic position; and, what needs to be done to pull ourselves out of it.
Of course--if you thought that, you would be wrong.
I grew up in the South, specifically Florida and Georgia in the 1980s. The cement shoes to fit on any political candidate at that time was the moniker "liberal." In the 1988 Florida Senate race between Republican Connie Mack and Democrat Buddy McKay. Fairly even throughout, Mack's campaign ran advertisements late in the race that ticked off McKay's positions on issues and ended with the tag-line, "Hey Buddy, you're a liberal." You could almost here the collective gasp of twelve million Floridians.
It was an epithet; a dark family secret best left unspoken, and the immediate end to any candidacy on which it could be hung. It was more than a word - it was all the baggage that came with the word, especially the notion of "tax and spend" and "big government." The term "liberal" denoted a dearth of ideas and imagination, relying instead on tired and worn liberal practices. The play-book was always the same: A liberal wanted to raise your taxes and spend your hard earned money. The liberal's political solution was always the same no matter what the problem entailed. Almost twenty years later, "conservative" is the new liberal.
I note this because we are living in an inverse 1988. No matter the country's problems or the evidence at hand the solution is always the same - more tax cuts. If the data shows that tax revenues have been lower every year than they were before the first round of tax cuts in 2001 - no worries, make `em permanent. "Tax cuts & free markets" are to conservatives today what "big government" was to liberals in 1988.
The RNC sent along this beaut today in response to recent economic addresses of both Sen. Obama & Sen. Clinton: "Obama and Clinton’s economic plans are what you expect from two senators who think that big government is the solution for just about every problem. Obama and Clinton’s plans for more taxes, spending and regulations will
And Sen. McSame stated today that: "There is a tendency for liberals to seek big government programs that sock it to American taxpayers while failing to solve the very real problems we face."
I think we've been getting "socked" plenty good these past seven years, with all due respect to Mr. Make-the-Tax-Cuts-Permanent Express.
The fact is, the conservative play-book is old, tired, and worn. It's as if they have three or four talking points that are stuck in an endless mind-numbing loop: "big government," "liberal," "tax & spend," and "socialized medicine;" to name a few. It's the same response every single time. And no matter how often conservatives robotically recite their tired creed, Americans are ready to move on.
It's past time to consign this version of "conservatism" to the ash-bin of American politics.