It was a landmark election in ’94. Just two years after Bill Clinton unseated an incumbent President the Republicans captured both houses of the Congress in what many referred to as a landslide. Drawing on the current lexicon, one could say it was a crying out by the country for change. The young and idealistic new Congressional class showed up with a mandate from the moral majority to clean up the morass which Washington venality had created in the halls of government.
A new, dynamic leadership in the House created a sweeping agenda for change and set it against a running clock of 100 days to accomplish it. They got it done and sent a package of legislation to the Senate with the dramatic title of “The Contract With America.” It was an impressive achievement and signaled a new direction for the country. It could have been referred to as “change we can believe in.” But then something happened. The inertia that the Founding Fathers built into the bicameral legislature with the long-tenured Senate slowly unraveled the momentum of the House bills. Of the ten major acts in the Contract, none of them ever got out of the Senate and into law.
Despite that demoralizing failure, the Republicans managed to retain control of both ends of the Capitol building until two years ago when they were unceremoniously unseated. The new government promised change as well. But, they didn’t have the enthusiasm of that class of ’94 and they didn’t have a powerful reform agenda. What they had, as we have seen for the last two years is a commitment to a form of politics which can best be summed up as “not Bush.” There’s been no action on any of the problems facing the nation. There was a popular dictum in the military that could be shouted from the center of the rotunda, but wouldn’t be taken seriously: “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.” They have been committed to “None of the above.”
What happened to the Republicans in the last fourteen years? Today, the approval rating for the Congress hovers around 12% and they seem to be taking great pride in the achievement. Despite the obvious failings, the predictions are that in November the Democrats will increase their margin of control in both houses, possibly even reaching a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Where did the Republicans go wrong and why can’t they capitalize on the current dissatisfaction of the electorate?
The idealists of ’94 simply got co-opted. We sent Mr. Smith to Washington and he decided to get rich and get laid. And, he discovered he liked it.
Rather than continue to put forth an agenda of reform and minimalist government, it became easier to stick their noses deep into the trough. In the process they began to believe that they were some sort of royalty, above the common man and not subject to the same behavioral limits that an ethical society expects. The list of names that have been shamed is long and embarrassing. Mark Foley, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Randy Cunningham, Tom DeLay and more were accused, indicted and disgraced. You don’t need to be convicted to be irreparably tarnished. When the supposed “good guys” are stained as darkly as the villains in the scene the voters become disaffected and begin to search for the man on a white horse, a Bolivar to come to rescue them.
What will it take for Republicans to recapture their mojo? A good start would be an honest appraisal of their behavior. Then possibly a few quiet nights at home reading the speeches of Ronald Reagan. A review of Adam Smith on economics and de Tocqueville on America’s political greatness couldn’t hurt either. A commitment to act as though their every movement were being observed by their mother might add some accountability. Throw in some selfless attempts at achieving real solutions to problems rather than pandering to get votes through dispensing of bread and circuses.
My bet is that maybe the people would notice.
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