It was inevitable, and predicted by many (including Morning Fog) that the current crop of Republican leaders would profess to misread the election results of November 2, pretending to see in them a landslide of voters endorsing the Republican platform hook, line, and sinker.
We might not have expected it so soon, though. Prior to their meeting with the President today, that irrepressible pair of perpetually confused-looking politicos, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, released a statement, carried in most major media, claiming that the Republicans got "the message" the voters delivered at the polls:
"That's why we made a pledge to America to cut spending, rein in government, and permanently extend the current tax rates so small-business owners won't get hit with a massive tax hike at the end of December. That's what Americans want."
This statement makes me smile because it reminds me so much of the strippers in the musical Gypsy doing the tune "Give 'em what they like, the way they like it..." In short, it's pandering (a habit Boehner and McConnell have fallen into for several years now).
If the Republican mantra is really to "give 'em what they want," then we must assume that four years ago, the voters wanted -- among other desiderata -- a debilitating recession, underwater mortgages, the loss of their jobs, unsafe food supplies, and a slipshod healthcare system that leaves millions of people uncovered. The voters changed their minds again, I guess, in 2008 but the GOP mysteriously refused in that case to give them what they wanted.
Should politicians pander? Certainly it benefits them to do so. But we used to have political leaders who would lead. And that would entail, in this case, starting to point out the hard truths that two bipartisan commissions have now laid out regarding our economic future, namely, that we can't solve our long term problems without both cutting back on expenditures and increasing taxes.
It's natural for the Republicans to be posturing at this point, interpreting the elections wishfully (you see, they give themselves what they want, too!), and generally trying to set the tone of political dialogue for the next two years. No one expected much of anything to emerge from the meeting today anyway, and according to early reports, nothing did.
Come January, however, what I believe people really want is the kind of pragmatic compromise that will start to solve our problems rather than kick them down the road. Let us hope that Boehner and McConnell can make the transition from political hack to leader.
Comments