Fred Bauer in National Review has a prescription for the GOP:
Unless Republicans want to follow the 2010–14 downward trajectory of Democrats, they should consider making a course correction: Adopt a more moderate tone, defer austerity politics, and promote policies that help shore up the working class. A big-picture infrastructure bill could deliver resources to struggling communities, win over Democratic votes, and give voters the rare sight of a functioning Washington. Health-care reform that prioritizes cutting the cost of medical care (not slashing subsidies for the working class) could be an opportunity to combine a conservative belief in markets with a populist interest in the social-safety net. Tax reform could be recalibrated to deliver sustained benefits to working families — less estate-tax repeal and more credits for children. Policy reforms to advance the economic interests of Americans of all colors and creeds could win support across the socioeconomic spectrum.
So what? The GOP has shown precious little interest in reform or moving back to the center of the political spectrum – and there’s been a tacit admission of such an inability in the horde of Republicans who have signaled their intention to retire at the end of this cycle – or are already gone.
Indeed, following Fred’s prescription would be an admission of error by whichever donor is running the GOP these days. Between a horrendous ACA ‘reform’ bill, awful judicial picks, and a tax reform bill which the public, by and large, doesn’t believe is needed, the GOP looks less like a governing party and more like a party in crisis, jerked around by the puppeteers’ strings – and puppeteers who are intent on getting what they want.
I rather suspect this is what you get when you have government by Man, rather than government by Law. The divergence from public opinion over issues which, frankly, have little urgency and could have been treated with minor modifications and optimizations, but instead appear to be amputative, suggests someone with an ideological axe to grind, and not a thoughtful person in close contact with the issues on the ground.
I also found this off-the-cuff deceit by Fred to be fascinating:
While the American press has often treated President Trump with a hostility that would make a partisan super PAC blush, the administration’s own decisions play a considerable role …
A clear implication of an unfair treatment of the President, rather an acknowledgement that President Trump’s behavior patterns in terms of mendacity and treatment of women, subcontractors, wives, etc, has been dishonorable and undesirable in a Presidential candidate. Fred is actually missing a huge story in how the President’s character flaws are not only damaging his Administration, but also inflicting long term damage on the United States as he fills the judiciary with unqualified personnel, and damages the Party itself by facilitating the admittance of more flawed characters when it desperately needs to move away from extremists with unrealistic ideologies.
In his automatic reaction to maintream media, he misses out on one of the most important stories of the year decade.
