The Aughts: The Failed Conservative Experiment
Devilstower’s at Daily Kos blogged today about the lost decade of aughts. I recommend reading the whole thing if you get a chance but here’s an excerpt:
Don’t forget the naughts, because this decade, no matter what anyone on the right might say, was conservatism on trial. You want less taxes? You got less taxes. You want less regulation? You got less regulation. Open markets? Wide open. An illusuion of security in place of rights? Hey, presto. You want unlimited power given to military contractors so they can kick butt and take names? Man, we handed out boots and pencils by the thousands. Everything, everything, that ever showed up on a drooled-over right wing wish list got implemented — with a side order of Freedom Fries.
They will try to disown it, and God knows if I was responsible for this mess I’d be disowning it, too. But the truth is that the conservatives got everything they wanted in the decade just past, everything that they’ve claimed for forty years would make America “great again”. They didn’t fart around with any “red dog Republicans.” They rolled over their moderates and implemented a conservative dream.
What did we get for it? We got an economy in ruins, a government in massive debt, unending war, and the repudiation of the world. There’s no doubt that Republicans want you to forget the last decade, because if you remember… if you remember when you went down to the water hole and were jumped by every lunacy that ever emerged from the wet dreams of Grover Norquist and Dick Cheney, well, it’s not likely that you’d give them a chance to do it again.
Because they will. Given half a chance — less than half — they’ll do it again, only worse. Because that’s the way conservatism works. Remember when the only answer to every economic problem was “cut taxes?” We have a surplus. Good, let’s cut taxes. We have a deficit. Hey, cut taxes even more! That little motto was unchanging even when was clear that the tax cuts were increasing the burden on everyone but a wealthy few. That’s just a subset of the great conservative battle whine which is now and forever “we didn’t go far enough.” If deregulation led to a crash, it’s because we didn’t deregulate enough. If the wars aren’t won, it’s because we haven’t started enough wars. If there are people still clinging to their rights, it’s because we haven’t done enough to make them afraid.
Forget the naughts, and you’ll forget that conservatives had another chance to prove all their ideas, and that their ideas utterly and completely failed. Again.
I think this is something that hasn’t been emphasized enough. The lost decade didn’t happen by accident – it’s a direct consequence of the policy decisions made in the decade. The Bush administration with assistance from the Republican Congress carried out the ultimate experiment in Reaganism. They cut taxes for the wealthy, they cut enforcement of regulations already on the books and repealed others. And what did we get in return – the worst decade since the Great Depression.
Tags: Economy, Republicans, Worst.President.Ever
Devilstower is spot on, I think. But then, I’ve been making this argument that the BushCo years showed the complete failure of modern US conservatism as a method of governing. Mostly, because its project s not in governing, it is in implementing the key bits of its ideology which is tax cuts (not spending cuts), decreasing regulations (on businesses, not on individuals) and working at enough showbiz to stay in office.
Not only is this not an accident, it is not an accident that they can’t manage any new ideas, either. Because actually governing isn’t what they are after, just selling the snake oil is.
The GOP hasn’t so thoroughly screwed up a decade since they caused the Great Depression. Unless they change their policies, we won’t see total conservative GOP control again until 2080.
i disagree. never before have they had an entire “news” channel devoted to reinforcing their lies. Also, conservatives have always hijacked and perverted God and Christianity, but never before have they been so vile. There are A LOT of morons in ths country folks, and unless the Democratic party, or the progressivies can find a way to speak to them as well as the conservatives are always able to… i see Palin in our leadership future.
“i see Palin in our leadership future.”
Et je suis heureux que je parle francais un peu, parce que je vais partir.
I’m guessing you’ll be headed to France, M. McKain. 😉
LOL!
Je vais avec vous, M. McKain!
or the progressivies can find a way to speak to them as well as the conservatives are always able to
Democrats and Progressives need to start kicking some butt on the communications front. Although the Fox is definitely the PR arm of the GOP, there is simply no reason why people speaking for Democrats can’t do a better job. Even better, insist on better people speaking for Democrats, period. Get rid of the class of Alan Colmes and get more people like Cliff Schecter on the tube. Beat up TV producers to stop putting on some journalist to represent the Dem side. They don’t. All they do is try to strike some MOR stance. And play the game. GOPers do not mind saying whatever helps them even if it is not true. And they don’t mind because there is no downside to just saying what works.
If there is a long term project that might help move the Overton window further to the left, remaking the Democratic presence on TV and radio to a group of people not afraid of their own shadows would be an excellent (and relatively easy) place to start.
In… I wanna say 1980, somewhere thenabouts, I went to the chair of a “Peace and Justice” department at a large liberal state University, and BEGGED him to create a persuasive writing office, where we could teach rhetoric to people with progressive politics. I said, “These people have the best intentions, but they can’t communicate & we need to teach them how.” He just looked at me.
Sad.