Finally, a David Brooks column that I can agree with.
We?re only in the early stages of the liberal suicide march, but
there already have been three phases. First, there was the stimulus
package. You would have thought that a stimulus package would be
designed to fight unemployment and stimulate the economy during a
recession. But Congressional Democrats used it as a pretext to pay for
$787 billion worth of pet programs with borrowed money. Only 11 percent
of the money will be spent by the end of the fiscal year ? a triumph of
ideology over pragmatism.Then there is the budget. Instead of
allaying moderate anxieties about the deficits, the budget is expected
to increase the government debt by $11 trillion between 2009 and 2019.
Finally, there is health care. Every clich? Ann Coulter throws at the
Democrats is gloriously fulfilled by the Democratic health care bills.
The bills do almost nothing to control health care inflation. They are
modeled on the Massachusetts health reform law that is currently coming
apart at the seams precisely because it doesn?t control costs. They do
little to reward efficient providers and reform inefficient ones.Machiavelli said a leader should be feared as well as loved. Obama
is loved by the Democratic chairmen, but he is not feared. On health
care, Obama has emphasized cost control. The chairmen flouted his
priorities because they don?t fear him. On cap and trade, Obama
campaigned against giving away pollution offsets. The chairmen wrote
their bill to do precisely that because they don?t fear him. On taxes,
Obama promised that top tax rates would not go above Clinton-era
levels. The chairmen flouted that promise because they don?t fear him.That leaves matters in the hands of the Blue Dog Democrats. These brave moderates are trying
to restrain the fiscal explosion. But moderates inherently lack
seniority (they are from swing districts). They are usually bought off
by leadership at the end of the day.
