So Unpopular, Yet Not

I have been driving myself crazy wondering how the Republican Party espouses such extreme and unpopular positions without paying a price. They opposed any efforts to give the economy a boost. They want to end medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program. They want to fix the budget imbalance with tax cuts only (even Republican voters want some balance).

The one thing they did a price over was the debt ceiling fight, though the only price is a low Congressional approval rating which may not turn into any real price at the ballot box. Think about that though - a party that controls one half of one branch of government (unless you add in the Supreme Court) is able to dictate demands on budgets by threatening not to increase the debt ceiling* and causing America to default on its debts. And it might do this twice. And still not pay by losing elections.

But Republicans don't pay a price because Democrats react so weakly. As a party, we are afraid to make bold but unpopular stands. And sometimes, if it is unclear what is popular or not, Democrats are afraid to say anything. And when Democrats do respond, it is gimmicky and unconvincing.

The democratic response so far to the budget debate was the Buffet Rule. Republicans are arguing that we need to only cut programs. Instead of showing how important government programs are, or reminding the public that the pain should be shared equally, Democrats propose a modest and symbolic tax increase. While Paul Ryan gets credit for being disingenuous about how his very real budget affects poor people, Democrats do nothing.

Republicans are presenting a very real, very ugly, and very unpopular vision of government. Democrats are largely sitting on the sidelines. This is why we might have a fully Republican budget in 2012. It is the Democrats own fault. 


*I haven't commented on this before, though I have meant to. The debt ceiling is the most ridiculous Congressional invention. Congress passes a budget - voted on by both houses and signed by the president. Yet they also have a debt ceiling that restricts the level of government debt regardless of the budget just passed. So Congress can pass a budget that will clearly violate the debt ceiling, but the debt ceiling is still in effect - resting on the assumption that they will just raise it as a matter of course later.

In other words, they have to agree twice to spend the same money. Only Congress.