Democrats running for President should offer bold public policy solutions to important problems. But they must also be prepared to respond to the rhetoric of “limited government” that forms the core of the ideological right’s attacks on proposals such as universal health coverage, the Green New Deal and financial regulation.
As is the case with many GOP taking points, “limited government” has an innate appeal to political neophytes because, in the abstract, it is a very simple concept. Most people inherently want to be in control of their own affairs, even if they also desire a certain level of security that can only be brought about by large-scale government programs. Presidential candidates must be ready to embrace that dichotomy in a way that helps people understand exactly what Republicans mean when they say “limited government.”
If I were running for President, my pitch would go something like this:
“We Democrats have some big ideas for this country. Ideas that will help a lot of people create more secure, less stressful lives for themselves and their families. Now some of these ideas, like universal health insurance, have been around for awhile. But time and time again, the American people have been distracted by another perfectly reasonable idea: Limited government. And sure, nobody wants the government telling them what they can do in their personal lives. Nobody wants a government whose regulatory burden makes it impossible to start and run a business. We do live under a Constitution whose main task is to define the limits of government power, and Democrats have no problem with that.
“Limited government” is a phrase you hear all the time from Republicans. But the dirty little secret is that these words do not mean what most people think. When you hear a Republican say ‘limited government,’ hold onto your wallet, because the first thing it means is huge tax cuts for people who don’t need them, at the expense of investments in things like education and infrastructure. When you hear a Republican call for ‘limited government,’ or an end to ‘big government,’ make sure you have enough money in the bank, because what they’re really talking about is getting rid important rules that prevent things like the 2008 financial crisis. And the next time you hear a Republican politician calling for limited government, make sure your health insurance is up to date, because what they’re really calling for is a system where everybody is on their own, left to the whims of private insurance companies.
When a conservative says limited government they are pressing for a return to a time in this country when workers had no rights, when corporations were free to pollute without any consequences and a time when women and minorities suffered injustice on an unimaginable scale. While this may seem like a ‘utopia’ to those on the hard right, Democrats recognize that this vision of so-called ‘limited government’ completely undermines our own Declaration of Independence, which defines unalienable rights as ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ We will not undermine those who seek to forge new paths to prosperity, but we will also not ignore the needs of our people at the expense of some fanciful notion of ‘limited government’ that has failed time and time again throughout our history.”
Democrats too often make the mistake of focusing solely on the specific policies they want to enact, without tying those policies to a central theme or message. Republicans, it seems, operate in the exact opposite way, focusing instead on broad themes like freedom, security, and of course “limited government.” It is well past time to turn their rhetoric against them in service of promoting a progressive vision.