Michael Barone points out something that Republicans need to keep in mind: successful public policies make old issues irrelevant. Looking backward at what used to work as campaign issues will not be a successful strategy. New ideas are needed.
Back when Republicans were winning elections in the 1980s, Tip O'Neill used to say that it was because Democratic policies made a lot of people rich enough to vote Republican. Republicans who are saying that the party needs to go back to the principles of 1994 or Ronald Reagan should keep O'Neill's lesson in mind: Successful public policies render moot the issues that bring parties to power. They won't keep winning unless they address new issues.
With that in mind, let's examine the successful Republican policies since their takeover of Congress in 1994.
Some of these were on economic issues, addressable only at the federal level. The big budget deficits of the early 1990s were eliminated by the Clinton tax increases and by the one-year standstill in spending the Republicans forced on Bill Clinton in 1995. With George W. Bush in office, Republicans produced tax cuts that kicked the economy out of recession and gave us robust, low-inflation economic growth.
This is fascinating stuff. Barone is quite correct here. Many of the old hot button issues have been either addressed or heavily altered through the years. Welfare reform, crime control, tax cuts and the list goes on. These issues will no longer resonate with voters as they did in 1994. Expectations change as the conditions are altered. So, what to do, then? Barone says look to the states:
What issues could Republicans raise in 2008? They would do well to look to the states, and especially to Florida, where Jeb Bush has enacted innovative policies on school choice and healthcare. They could look at some Democrats, as well, like Tennessee's Gov. Phil Bredesen, who has been reforming an overly generous Medicaid program.
They could highlight the proposal of Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona to allow people to buy health insurance across state lines. They could consider Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's proposal to get lower-income workers to save and invest with tax credits for IRA contributions. Republicans aren't going to win elections with the new ideas of 1980, 1994 or 2000. They need new ideas for 2008.
There are ways to hold to core conservative principles while still addressing the needs of society. Use Reagan's example on how to do that, but apply it to new issues. The old ones won't work.
Let’s not be to quick to throw the baby out with the bath water.
While I agree with Michael Barone’s statement, “Successful public policies render moot the issues that bring parties to power.”
It’s important to note the significance of the first word in Barone’s sentence: Successful. Especially in the context of the midterm election results.
The GOP failed to follow the policies which brought them to office. Their lack of success was their undoing. The very policies which voters approved when they sent Republicans to Congress were largely ignored and thus remain untested. Strong border security is a prime example.
Let me offer the following: Political parties lose elections when they refuse to support the policies which brought them to power.
I agree with Mokus. These other policies sound like small beer next to border security and there has to be an ulterior motive for the Republicans having been so absolutely lame about border security. After 9/11, surely there was more mandate for border security than for invading Iraq.
All across the country, people know that there are areas of their own town chock full of illegal aliens and our government is doing nothing about it. The Republicans talked big about it all year and did nothing, in effect using it the way they use the abortion issue and the gay marriage issue. No surprise that people saw through it.