What: "Why progressives need a Big Idea", The Washington Post
When: July 28, 2011
Those who would chronicle events in Washington can find no richer source of analogy and metaphor than the Three Stooges. These days, I’m thinking of the times when an exasperated Moe, having suffered the indignity of an accidental spritzing or clobbering, turns to Larry or Curly and demands, “What’s the big idea?”
The premise of the debt-ceiling fight is too far-fetched for a Stooges film, since no audience could imagine leaders of a great nation stumbling into such a mess. Moe’s trademark line is still relevant, however, even if it’s not followed by the two-fingered poke in the eyes that our elected officials richly deserve ....
.... Conservatives are on a winning streak because they have a Big Idea that serves as an animating, motivating, unifying force. It happens to be a very bad idea, but it’s better than nothing — which, sadly, is what progressives have.
The simplistic Big Idea that defines today’s Republican Party is that taxes are always too high and government spending is always wasteful. Therefore, both taxes and spending need to be reduced.
That’s basically it. There are a couple of asterisks: Many conservatives, perhaps most, don’t consider the military a part of “government” per se and are more amenable to defense spending; and even a Tea Party freshman is more likely to keep an open mind about the publicly funded infrastructure project in his or her own district. There is also an overarching philosophy about the relationship between government and the individual, and some conservatives imagine a “return” to a Jeffersonian Arcadia that never was.
In terms of the ongoing rivalry between Democrats and Republicans generally, Robinson is absolutely correct that Democrats have no "Big Idea" to pitch to voters.
But I think the key word above is that Robinson is describing the simplistic Big Idea of the GOP. Consider what we have long heard from Republicans about government, taxes, and entitlement. And then consider what happens if that simplistic Big Idea comes true. The two conditions coincide.
To put it bluntly, the GOP is presently attempting nothing more than the destruction of the United States government.
Perhaps this sounds hyperbolic, but ask yourself what is going to happen if the United States cannot borrow any more money. Constitutionally, the government is not allowed to default on its debts, so we need money and it has to come from somewhere.
Defense is largely off the table, as Robinson notes. Which means we need to pay our debts with money otherwise intended for Social Security, Medicare, education, infrastructure, and other needs.
In other words, the main result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling will be exactly what the Republicans have sought for decades.
It's not just a neat coincidence. At some point, too many neat coincidences start stinking something sinister.
Of course, people must be cautious with their rhetoric. Conservatives often seek to cower behind the pillars of civility. That is, they can advocate destructive outcomes, but it is unfair to hurt their feelings by describing their behavior or outlooks as destructive.
They may be trying to destroy the United States of America, but they should never have to answer for it, because it isn't civilized to suggest they are so hurtful or hostile to the nation.
Even more than derailing President Obama, they seek to wreck the United States of America and all the progress it has seen over the last century, at least.
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