The Window is Closing

James Valvo

It was a race against the clock from the beginning.

America doesn’t like single party government.  The hold Democrats have on Congress and the White House was fraught with pitfalls from its inception.  No checks and balances, no real negotiating power for the minority, no one to temper well-intentioned but ill-drafted policies.  Democrats have run wild the first year of the Obama Administration and it’s cost them dearly.

Democratic leaders are shrewd politicians; they follow historical and electoral trends along with the rest of us.  As they took firm control of Washington in January 2009, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Reid, President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel knew they had one short year to legislate before Members of Congress began looking toward midterm elections.  History portends that the party that doesn’t own the White House will lose seats in the midterm elections, and 2010 looks like it will be no different.  Progressive leaders salivated at the huge majorities—79 seats in the House and a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate—and they intended to use them.      

However, the new ruling class misread the mood of the country.  America is a center right nation and fundamentally objects to far left policies.  The latest NBC/WSJ poll shows that although the two political parties trade control of Washington, 38% of respondents remain moderate, while 34% are conservative and just 21% call themselves liberal.  These numbers are no surprise; they’ve been consistent for years.  Additionally, 46% said they are independent of either political party.  This is Middle America.  These are the people whose views changes elections and appetites sway policies.  And these folks were mad at Washington in 2008.       

Democrats missed their chance to seize the middle.  Moderate independents were hungry for commonsense leadership and policies that spoke to their issues.  But instead power hungry Progressives rolled out a decades-long policy wish list.  Big Labor advanced card check in an attempt to save floundering union rolls.  Environmentalists pushed cap-and-trade to drive up the cost of fuel and centralize control of the energy sector.  The Obama White House seized control of auto companies, big banks and insurance agencies as punishment for their poor decisions, while shielding Fannie, Freddie and organized labor from the consequences of their’s.  And the coup de grace, a full-on government takeover of the nation’s health care system, replete with enough corporate hush money (individual mandate and prescription drug buy off) to quiet much of the opposition.     

The people don’t think bigger government is the answer to the nation’s woes, but the ruling elite didn’t care.  They had a unique opportunity to advance their most dearly held policies, and they took it.  Unfortunately for them, the American people noticed.  The summer saw the rise of the Tea Party and the off year elections trended decidedly conservative.          

Democrats are feeling the heat and several have already retired.  Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) perked up at the news that the late Teddy Kennedy’s seat had been returned to the people, saying he thought all health care votes should be stayed until Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is seated.  Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) can feel the storm in his center right Midwestern state, noting, “Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem[ocratic] party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country — that’s not going to work too well.”  Our country’s political leaders have an opportunity to change course.  The canary in the coal mine died in its cage long ago.  But will Democrats notice in time?

In November 2008, America was frustrated with Republican leaders and they voted for change.  One year into the new administration, the country is starting to learn that the centrist bipartisanship they thought they were voting for is really a hard left agenda characterized by higher taxes, more government and centralized control.  The pushback is well underway: governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, and now the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.  Phil Kerpen duly notes that there are no more safe seats.  Progressives have large majorities and it is still possible they can shove their unpopular policies on the American people.  But the window is closing fast.   

Mr. Valvo is government affairs manager at Americans for Prosperity.