Conversions on the Road to Reality
Conversions on the Road to Reality
A number right-wing Washington, D.C. politicians have headed back to their states as newly-elected governors. And their behavior, once they leave Beltway fantasyland for the real world, shows just how out of touch today’s conservative ideology is with solving real problems. For instance, as a congressman, Ernie Fletcher was a reliable vote for Bush administration cuts to health care and Medicaid. Now, as governor of Kentucky, Fletcher told Fox News in January that he’s “very concerned about any cuts” to Medicaid proposed by the President. Similarly, as a congressman, Bob Riley was a reliable vote for Bush-backed tax cuts to the richest 1 percent of the country. But as governor of Alabama, Riley pushed a statewide initiative to raise taxes on the rich and wealthy corporations.
But perhaps the biggest hypocrite of all is Mitch Daniels. As President Bush’s Budget Director, Daniels was a top point man in ramming massive tax cuts for the wealthy through Congress, and gutting spending for critical programs. Now, as governor of Indiana, he is facing the ramifications of his actions in Washington – and proposing exactly what he railed against. See for yourself:
THEN:
“It’s especially risky to talk about let alone a jack up today’s level of taxation.”
- White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 2/5/02
NOW:
“Gov. Mitch Daniels called for a one percent income tax increase to help balance Indiana’s budget.”
- Indianapolis Star, 2/20/05
THEN:
“[Mitch Daniels] is truly committed to cutting back the size of government.”
- Cato Institute fellow Stephen Moore on Daniels efforts to gut spending on safety net programs, 1/20/03
NOW:
“Instead of immediately shrinking state government [upon becoming governor, Daniels] expanded it, creating a Department of Child Services.”
- NY Times, 2/20/05
In some ways, it is laudable that Daniels and other right-wingers are embracing more progressive positions. But the sincerity of their ideological conversion is dubious – they are merely up against budgetary reality, and desperate for solutions.
And that is exactly why what they are doing is so dangerous to conservative hacks like Grover Norquist. The actions of Daniels and his fellow converts, motivated by a need to address reality rather than push ideology, provides proof that the progressive agenda can better address America’s real-world challenges.
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I guess flip-flop would be the word to for this?
February 21st, 2005 at 8:51 amThank you for an excellent post. I wish that more of our Congresscritters would have to live in reality, and realize what effects budget cuts have on real people. Sadly, George W. Bush’s tax cuts and high deficit will mean both raising taxes AND cutting budgets later.
February 21st, 2005 at 11:08 amThanks. I wish our media, including blogs, would connect the dots between federal cuts and States’ fiscal crises. I’d like to read an analysis of this issue by someone more knowledgeable about this than I am. This would give all of us a more realistic view of what is going on.
February 21st, 2005 at 12:16 pmThis explains why the Bush administration needs to have fake “reporters” who make up news. When you make your own reality up, you have to invent support systems to prop it up.
February 21st, 2005 at 1:56 pmThe difference is, in my view, that members of Congress are relatively faceless, unknown usually even to a majority of their constituents. They can hide behind majority numbers as they cast their votes to decimate basic public services in the name of “tax relief”. But Governor have to, surprise, GOVERN, and that means balancing a budget, which includes those pesky programs that their voters don’t much want to pay for, but want the benefits anyway. Reality does suck, for them, I am sure.
February 21st, 2005 at 1:59 pmThe problem is that the Republicans said they were the “conservative” fiscal people, but they came into the White House and spent hundreds of billions more than we collected in taxes.
The massive federal deficit limits the states’ ability to raise taxes.
Under Clinton, we actually had a surplus.
February 21st, 2005 at 9:55 pmThere’s no contradiction. The Bush agenda is to have the federal Government run as a military-industrial corporate machine and get rid of any social programs. The social programs devolve to the states to solve. The only problem is that the right wing bias is to transfer wealth via taxation from the populated areas to the interior. This shores up their voting base of wacko moral values types.
February 22nd, 2005 at 10:22 amActually there is one that mentioned this in discussing Bush’s latest “budget”:
“CUT: Community Development Block Grant programs
February 22nd, 2005 at 12:56 pmThis will likely see the loss of community job training programs, affordable housing projects and day care facilities. Though Bush is steadfast in his tax-cut position at the federal level, this cut will likely result in higher local taxes. This is a strategy which allows him to say he cut taxes when, to anyone who pays taxes at all levels (local, state and federal) he did nothing of the sort.”
Fantasy vs. Reality: GOP Ideals Fail in the Real World
February 26th, 2005 at 9:04 amA post on Think Progress really grabbed my attention. The post talks about the ideals Republicans espoused while working in Washington D.C. for President Bush and compared those ideals to the actual practices these politicians put in place when they…
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