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AMATEUR HOUR FOR THE HOUSE GOP.
I cant quite decide whether to characterize Ross Douthat's post on the GOP budget as a defense or a different sort of attack, but in any case, he think I'm wrong to allege cynicism in the document. "Rather," he says, "there's a kind of deep innocence about it: The purity of its small-government vision is more detached from the grubby realities of American politics than any similar document I can remember."
I find this a bit weird. I think you could plausibly argue that the GOP budget represents a political misjudgment: Intended cynicism perverted by poor judgment. But naivete is trickier. The House Republicans are not a longtime minority party. They are not far removed from the realities of governance. Three years ago, they held power and wrote budgets. One year ago, it was a Republican administration signing the document. Unlike Gingrich's hordes, who hadn't written legislation in over 40 years, this isn't a group that lacks the memory of power and a familiarity with its attendant compromises. If they were confused about how to build a budget, they could have asked one of their colleagues who'd actually done it.
I'd say, rather, that this budget demonstrates the difficulty of building a minority platform. Serious players who might introduce moderating pressures are not, after all, interested in expending resources to better a piece of off-year messaging. AARP would probably have a lot to say to John Boehner if he proposed voucherizing Medicare from the majority but will probably ignore the fact that it was in Paul Ryan's fake budget. The Chamber of Commerce would have a few concerns about the repeal of the stimulus package if they thought it might happen. But with all those groups ignoring it, the GOP's budget was influenced mainly by the party faithful even as it was delivered straight to the media.
Which gets to the real import of the budget: Something has really gone awry in the House GOP's political operation. They should not have released this document. They certainly shouldn't have released its inane predecessor. And they certainly shouldn't have scheduled their press conference for April Fool's Day. It's really been amateur hour over there, and this budget debacle was simply what happened when they were suddenly challenged to play against the pros.
COMMENTS (10)
The biggest irony for me is that the Chamber of Commerce et al ignore the phony GOP alternative plans (the budget, their stimulus, etc) because they apparently agree with the GOP that presenting these plans is the best political strategy to regain the majority and ultimately pass bills that would be much more like what Obama's proposed than what the GOP's proposed, but different at the margins in ways that favor their interests.
I think they'd be a lot better suited to recognize that the GOP will be in the minority for the foreseeable future (4 years in the WH, at least 8 in the Senate, probably more than 4 in the House) and start to seek leverage with those in power.
Posted by: Zach | April 2, 2009 5:15 PM
Douthat is not naive. He's simply dishonest. I know folks like you, EK, feel the need to get along with him, but he's a liar.
Posted by: Obama / Steelers / etc | April 2, 2009 5:32 PM
This may not be a group that lacks the memory of power, but I can't recall them ever having much familiarity with its attendant compromises.
Posted by: bcamarda | April 2, 2009 5:32 PM
"Deep innocence"? Puleeeeze.
Yeah, right, Boener and his pals are little lambs.
I cannot wait to see the comment thread at the NYT (sorted by reader recommendations). It really fries me that there are so many great writers/thinkers/informed adults on the left (Ezra, Yglesia, Digby, etc) but hacks like Douthart get the big gigs. Wingnut welfare as far as the (corporate) eye can see.
Posted by: esaud | April 2, 2009 5:44 PM
When crazy, stupid and emotionally stunted people take over a political party, they drive away reasonable and intelligent people. For the last 20 years, everyone smarter and more mature than Rush Limbaugh has been made to feel unwelcome in the GOP. Sooner or later, the party was going to be left with the dregs.
Mike
Posted by: MBunge | April 2, 2009 5:49 PM
I know folks like you, EK, feel the need to get along with him, but he's a liar.
One of the benefits of age for me has been that I have acquired enough friends that I don't feel the need to form or maintain social ties with strident, dishonest conservatives.
Unless they're really, really hot. I'm not totally inflexible.
Posted by: Tyro | April 2, 2009 6:08 PM
ross douthat is what, 29? any similar document he can remember? like i care what he can remember; even if i grant him extreme precociousness, he's only been reading documents like this since he was 13 or so, meaning since clinton.
what kind of fatuous pseudo-sagaciousness is this when 29-year-olds pretend that they are entitled to the "than i can remember" formulation?
that's before we get to the basic fact that this is an incredibly dumbass response: there is nothing "innocent" about these people, who are not lambs but rather authoritarian propagandists whose situation was well described by mbunge at 5:49.
I will say that it is impossible to take seriously anyone who aspires to honest conservatism if they defend the contemporary gop.
Posted by: howard | April 2, 2009 8:44 PM
I like the way Douthat writes. He makes me think, just before the chuckles, laughs, and guffaws. He's smart enough to know he is lying, but that's OK; he needs a job and GOP country club dues are quite high.
Posted by: Bob Johnson | April 3, 2009 12:51 AM
Really? What is he dishonest about? I get that he's sexist and a religious nut, but I've never seen him commit anything worse than spin. Which is far from admirable, but by that standard everyone in politics and opinionated journalism is dishonest. (Which also may be true, but is so broad a definition that it's not really useful.)
Posted by: Cyrus | April 3, 2009 9:09 AM
"Momma said wonk you out"
You can never go wrong w/an LL Cool J subtitle (maybe BuckShot Shawty!) Hold that mirror up to dem Conservs. I wonder, though, if Reid and Pelosi are up to Big League pitching??
Posted by: Chico Escuela | April 4, 2009 4:00 AM