With less than four weeks from the midterm elections in November, it seems the Democrats continue to forecast failure. Most predict they will lose many, if not their majority of, seats in Congress. One central character in the predicted shift in political power climate change (allusion to Al Gore intended), described by talking heads as “a conservative storm,” is the surprisingly enthusiastic Tea Party. This far right wing movement, led by Sarah Palin and her lookalike Christine O’Donnell, was founded under the premise of moving Republicans and the American political center to the right using radical partisanship. This is direct contrast to Democrats fantastically successful presidential campaign strategy in 2008 which ran under the label of change, bipartisanship, and progress of the long term variety. McCain and Obama, particularly because of a seemingly unavoidable discussion of race due to a striking contrast in ethnicity, sought to make the campaign non-personal and policy oriented (or at least that was the goal anyway). A foundational element of Obama’s success seems to have stemmed from his message of hope, which was a light of optimism for much of the American public, tired of being goaded by the darkness of fear brought on by Bush/Cheney and the War on Terror.
The emerging Tea Party movement seems to surf the shifting tide by doing more of the same, the direct opposite of the man in power. While Obama pursues long lasting reform from the American center using bipartisanship, the radical right of the Tea Party seeks, by means of Filibuster, to stop any meaningful legislation to be let through the legislative. In the eyes of the Tea Party to allow such legislation to pass would constitute a “win” for the Democrats, something now deemed unacceptable in an election year. While Obama pursues policies of change, innovation and reform, the members of Tea Party on the other hand want to return to “real America.” This somewhat fictional time is a place where Little House on the Prairie meets Reagan economics, the point being the Tea Party wants to use answer the problems of today synthesizing policies from an American past. However the radical right wing movement, partly because of its very nature, focuses on emotional issues rather than political policy. After all guns, alternative marriages, and abortion strike more chords of American hearts than logical discussions of foreign policy. This advertising industry has known this to be true for decades and it seems those on the Hill have finally come terms with this assumption of selling the party rather than the policies.
For example is has been difficult to say the least for Democrats to successfully win over the majority of the American public through a logical argument for tax increases on the wealthiest bracket (although this is really just an expiration of previous tax decreases). The argument is not unsuccessful because of any counter argument based in logic. Even the theory of “trickledown economics” has largely been discredited by economists. Instead the expiration seems to be unlikely because of emotion. Most Americans, even in this very depressing state, still believe in the American Dream. In the back of everyone’s mind seems to be the notion that “maybe I too will be rich one day.”
Currently the economy is at least not shrinking. The latest jargon for the current state our economy is the very politically charged “jobless recovery.” Most hard working Americans want to have back “the good ol’ days” and the once seemingly unshakable American confidence has been lost. For the first time people believe their children’s future may not be better than that of their own. It seems uncertainty has allowed these very same people to forget it was exactly those ol’ days of careless spending that put us where we are in the first place. High unemployment does indeed need to be resolved and both political parties seem to combating the issue, albeit in opposite directions, head on. In the next four weeks to I will be addressing exactly this, the increasingly divergent perspectives of the Republicans, and their Tea Party, with that of the Democrats, and their president and the reasons why. I will start with a full length article discussing the more symbolic discussion of future- via a discussion on Education Reform (primarily the Race to the Top Program)- which will be followed by healthcare, energy and environment. The last two weeks will be devoted to less theoretical and more down to earth (and therefore grittier) discussions of foreign policy and wrap up with the most pressing issue of the economy. I will do my best to touch on the most important issues of each subject and hope that in reading this you will be better informed in why both parties advocate the policies they do. At the end of the day, and after the foggy game of politics, both parties represent real and logical views with policies they truly want to implement. Let us now wade throw the smoke.
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