Ideas 120904

We Have Won The Battle Of Ideas

            The 2012 Republican National Convention contained all the usual accoutrements: lots of red, white and blue; goofy looking hats; balloons and confetti.  And of course the speakers were carefully prepared for TV, with scripted speeches and makeup.  All of that fails to impress.  But if you are able to look beyond the superficial, something quite remarkable took place.  In order to appreciate the significance of what happened, one must put it in historical context.

            In January 1998, I started my first radio job.  I had the good fortune to work as a radio host and TV commentator for more than eleven years.  When I started, nearly all elected officials were either Democrats or “mainstream” Republicans.  There were a handful of rogue politicians (nearly all Republicans) warning of the coming economic apocalypse.  But they were marginalized and regarded as histrionic nuts.

            Over the next several years I argued that if America continued down the same fiscal path, we were headed for economic ruin.  My conclusion was based upon simple math.  You cannot go backward financially indefinitely without consequences.  You cannot pay retirees large and lengthy streams of income from underfunded pension programs.  You cannot sustain a system in which nearly one-half the people are taking money from the other half.

            In the late 1990’s and into the early part of this Century, those of us sounding the alarm were a relatively few voices crying in the wilderness.  But over time more and more people began to look seriously at the dangerous fiscal path we were on.  But it took several years before “mainstream” Republicans had the courage to confront the problem at all, let alone talk about it.  Remember when Medicare was “the third rail” of political discourse?  Ever so slowly more and more people started to acknowledge the fiscal cliff over which we are headed.

Somewhere along the way we went over the tipping point.  Now most politicians admit we are on a path that leads to destruction.  In November 2010 I was elected to the Minnesota Senate along with a group of freshman Republicans who take the fiscal crisis very seriously.  Our numbers are growing.  And our viewpoint was well represented at the Convention.

            On Wednesday evening Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-WI) addressed the Convention.  In reference to Medicare, he stated the following: “So our opponents can consider themselves on notice. In this election, on this issue, the usual posturing on the Left isn’t going to work. Mitt Romney and I know the difference between protecting a program, and raiding it. Ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate. We want this debate. We will win this debate.”  A Republican, asking for the Medicare debate!  Times they are a changin’.  At one point in his speech, Ryan announced the intent of the Romney Administration to limit federal spending to no more than 20% of GDP.

            Many Convention speakers referenced out of control federal spending and the need to reign in the size and scope of government.  A national debt clock graced the Convention hall.

            What does all of this tell us?  It tells us the political insiders believe voters are ready to hear the tough news and elect people who are willing to deal with the problem.  Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) sounded like a father explaining self-discipline and deferred gratification to a son or daughter.

            I am convinced that the majority of voters get it.  They know we must change entitlements, stop with the handouts and get our fiscal house in order.  The only question is whether voters that want to see the problem fixed will outnumber those who go to the ballot box to protect their government largesse.  The problem has been defined and the solution is clear.  I can only hope we have not already created such a large entitlement class that it is too late.