Hypocrisy in politics is nothing new, but it’s healthy to point it out when it rears its ugly head. The latest example is the Democratic leaders’ outrage that Republicans want to kill the health care bill. Of course Republicans are going to try and kill it—ObamaCare would send the country lurching toward socialism, cost over a trillion dollars and drive up health care costs.
Republicans are apparently supposed to swallow this horrible legislation because…well, Democrats want them to. According to Rep. Henry Waxman, “It appears that the Republican Party leadership in the Congress has made a decision that they want to deny President Obama success, which means, in my mind, they are rooting against the country, as well!”
Imagine the thundering faux outrage MSNBC and The Huffington Post would have worked up if John Boehner had said opposing President Bush was un-American.
At least Republicans have put forward alternative reform ideas. From the Washington Post: “GOP bills focus on reducing medical malpractice lawsuits; making it easier for self-employed people to buy health insurance; and encouraging businesses to set up programs that reward employees who lose weight, stop smoking or take other measures to improve their health.” Basically, Republicans don’t want to take the government-funded easy route, but rather want to encourage personal responsibility. Of course, the chances of Democrats considering legislation that actually promotes personal responsibility is about as likely as The Huffington Post not driving its traffic with pornography.
But besides being arrogant, narrow minded, and socialist, what elevates Democrats to the level of a hypocrite?
Let’s harken back to a time long forgotten: 2005 AD. In this ancient time, a President named Bush identified a failing government program called Social Security. Social Security was, and is, going insolvent, ripping off millions of taxpayers in the process. Bush, realizing that reform was needed, expended significant political capital on an issue that has often been called “the third rail of politics.” And what happened? Democrats went for the kill and pushed Bush onto the electric rail.
The Washington Post reports that Democrats didn’t even bother to offer an alternative: “Top Democratic lawmakers intend to hold back on their ideas for now and instead hammer away at Bush’s proposal.” It seems killing a reform bill was okay only four years ago. Not only did the donkeys kill it but they pushed the meme that fears about Social Security’s financials were overblown. Rep. Rush Holt, D-NJ, “warned that Bush and his GOP allies are overstating the system’s long-term problems of insolvency and are proposing a risky solution that would make them worse, not better.”
Only a few years later, Republican fears were bolstered when Social Security’s Trustees revealed that the system will become insolvent even sooner than originally predicted. If 2005 wasn’t the right time to address social security reform, then when should the country do it? Dems never gave an answer.
Let’s review from a Democratic point of view.
2005: Minority party scuttles badly needed reform, offers no alternative, and lets system continue to crumble. This is great and sticking it to the president pushing the reform is even better.
Four years later.
2009: Minority party attempts to scuttle reform, but offers alternative that won’t bankrupt nation. This is horrible and opposing the president is not only wrong, but un-American.
Guess who said, “If we do nothing, as the … ‘Party of No’ would have us do, we not only will ensure more of the same but guarantee a growing crisis that will put a burden on our children that they will never overcome.” It was Virginia Gov. and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, whose comment fits Democrat’s behavior in 2005 much better than Republican tactics in 2009.
What a difference a few years makes. It is the purest hypocrisy, bottled at its source in DNC headquarters.
And let’s not forget that these are the same Democrats who embrace the “never waste a crisis” philosophy. If you can’t place that quote, it’s from Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama’s Chief of Staff. He was explaining that Democrats were going to enact as many of their legislative priorities as possible through the stimulus bill so they could avoid actually debating and voting on the issues. Even Democrats recognize that when they have to debate issues they usually lose.
Of course Republicans are going to be wary when Democrats are on record essentially saying, “If we see a crisis we are going to take every opportunity to Rahm (sorry for the pun, it’s perfect) our political agenda through.” Republicans shouldn’t budge an inch on health care, cap-and-trade, or any other politically motivated legislation the Democrats have proposed as “reforms.” Actually, it’s their job as the minority party to oppose and halt the worst excesses of the majority party. Democrats did under Bush and now the roles are reversed.
As a final note, it should be obvious hypocrisy isn’t a partisan disease; it afflicts both Democrats and Republicans. Remember in 2003 how Republicans claimed high unemployment was simply a lagging economic indicator that would catch up with the rest of the economy? Compare that to statements from 134 Republicans on the House floor a few days ago asking, “Where are the jobs?”
The majority party always changes but the politics never do. Unfortunately, hypocrisy will probably always be a part of the process, but that shouldn’t stop the country from letting politicians know we’re keeping track.
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