The No Nothing Freshmen Arrive in Washington
The U.S. House of Representatives changed overnight from a bastion of blue dog ambivalence led by a liberal true believer to a mosh pit of ideological arsonists led by an orange guy. Welcome to 2011.
The watchword for the 100 or so fresh faces on Capitol Hill this week seems to be, “Leave me alone!” That’s what they think voters told them on November 2nd, meaning: “Tell government to leave me alone.” It seems that Americans want government off their backs, or more to the point, out of their wallets.
That sentiment lets you know that not too many unemployed people voted for this wrecking crew, the most notable freshman class on the Hill since 1994. Truth is, no one really knows what the American voter said on November 2nd, other than “Throw the bums out!” But this crew thinks they have an inkling, which they refer to as a mandate.
The fundamentals of said mandate include:
No compromise: This is the one-note wonder theme the No Nothings are bringing to Washington. Expect it to last at least until we arrive at the precipice of a government shutdown; then Orange Man Boehner will step-in and remind the neophytes what happened to the Gingrich class after they shut down the government in the era of President Clinton.
Starve government: This neo-con tactic has been adopted wholesale by the freshman class because, again, they want government out of their wallets. It’s a largely cynical ploy. If you hate a law, take it on directly, rather than just strangling the beast with the purse strings. For example, if you think large corporations should be able to refuse to offer health care insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, bring it on. Not likely? Well then, there is always subterfuge. But, then again, that’s what the House does… freaks around with the budget.
Gut regulation: Why the average tea partier would care so passionately about this is beyond me. What, have they all tried to open Quiznos franchises only to be told that they would have to mitigate wetlands, sponsor orphans in Appalachia, clean up the air and only use electric sandwich delivery vehicles? No. Big Oil, Big Ag, Big Coal, Big Electric and Big Money all care passionately about gutting regulation in order to prosper according to their Constitutionally-mandated sense of entitlement. And there is only one way to do this: control the government. As the last meltdown illustrated all too well, it doesn’t really matter what laws are on the books as long as they are ignored by those entrusted with the mission to enforce them. And that is why, in the end, in order to promote business as usual, Obama must go.
Repeal “ObamaCare”: Every time I hear the term “ObamaCare,” I marvel at the lockstep discipline of the No Nothing Party. Such snark and audacity—the audacity of lies—all rolled into one loaded term. Bravo. Now can we cut to the chase, put this quixotic quest on the floor for a vote in the Senate (stalemate), and quick legislative death? Once that business is attended to, we can go back to starving health care reform as a component of our first order of business, starving government.
With these four simple “pledges” to the American people, we can assemble the blueprint for the gridlock that will ensue. Sure, we can expect some little compromises like a mere “temporary” extension of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1%, and dropping the “1099 clause” in the health care reform law. But beyond that, expect a wild rumpus.
A minor flap occurred this week when a freshman orientation set up by the Tea Party Patriots was challenged by another offered by the Claremont Institute. The latter organization is an old-line conservative think tank representing the interests of Aged Whales like William Bennett, with a judicial philosophy that favors Clarence (“Hey, it was 19 years ago”) Thomas, and likes to debate topics like whether Lincoln was good for conservatism. They had the unlucky fortune of naming flagrant Halloweener Christine O’Donnell as a Fellow (at least it so appears on O’Donnell’s resume) and allegedly gave some sort of Order of the Garter award to Sharron Angle. At least they are trying to be relevant.
Such conflicts represent the natural order of predation in D.C. While the freshman class will be trying to get close to, without touching, the Republican Kevlar Polyester Power Types, they will inevitably be wooed and subdued. Once that happens, what can we expect?
Starve government, gut regulation, and itsy-bitsy compromise.
Meanwhile, the campaign for 2012 has begun. The mistake that Obama made was he assumed that after the election, governance would ensue. Republicans never got that email and kept right on campaigning, as this freshman class will apparently continue do, starting the day they are sworn in.
Steve Klingaman | Contributor
Steve Klingaman is a nonprofit development consultant and nonfiction writer living in Minneapolis. He blogs on public policy and politics from a progressive point of view at Open Salon and writes on personal finance at Wisebread.com. His music reviews can be found at minor7th.com.
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