Obama Democrats Accent Bullying Over Governing: Amity Shlaes Commentary by Amity Shlaes May 5 (Bloomberg) -- So Michele Bachmannâs version of history is âfrom another planet.â Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, is âchronically stupid.â And Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking Republican in the House, is âbusy lying constantly.â That at least is according to posts on three left-leaning blogs. Writers who are not pro-Barack Obama are suffering character assassination as well. George Will of the Washington Post, the nationâs senior conservative columnist, has been so assaulted by bloggers that his editor, Fred Hiatt, recently wrote, âI would think folks would be eager to engage in the debate, given how sure they are of their case, rather than trying to shut him down.â The disconcerting thing isnât that the bloggers or their guests did this slamming. Weâre used to such vitriol in campaign time. What is surprising is that the attacks are continuing after an election. In the past, politicians and policy thinkers tended to be magnanimous in victory. They and their friends focused, post- victory, on policy and strategy -- not on trashing individuals. It ought to be especially true this time, given what wonders are befalling the Democrats. Between Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Al Franken in Minnesota, it looks like the Democrats are in the process of making their Senate majority filibuster-proof. Then thereâs the presidentâs new opportunity to mold the Supreme Court, with the resignation of David Souter. Still, somehow, the magnanimity isnât there. Indeed, the closer the Democrats get to total power, the nastier the commentators friendly to them have become. Wild Internet The explanation for this perpetual venom is threefold, and starts with the Internet. Years ago, out of a sense of civics, gentle and gentlemanly newspaper editors used to allow a certain honeymoon period post-election. Winners got to bask, and losers sulk. Internet scribes are not into civics. Most bloggers lack editors: Even as he attacked Bachmann for errors, the author on The New Republicâs Plank blog misspelled her name. Even when editors are involved, they often leave blogs alone, on the lazy premise that spontaneity outranks accuracy. Another force at work is the relevance of history. The most recent attack on Bachmann came after she misspoke and called the 1930 tariff âHoot-Smalleyâ rather than its accurate name, Smoot-Hawley. Bachmann also implied that Franklin Roosevelt signed the tariff into law, rather than its actual signator, Herbert Hoover. Bidenâs Slip Vice President Joseph Biden made much larger slips when talking about the same period on the campaign trial. In an ecstasy of anachronism, he told Katie Couric, âWhen the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on television and didnât just talk about the princes of greed. He said, âLook, hereâs what happened.ââ The problem for Bachmann was also her implication that the New Dealersâ policies failed to bring recovery. Since this happens to be accurate, itâs a sensitive point, as I myself have noted watching the bile poured on my own 2007 book on the period. But the most important factor here is Democratic weakness. The party isnât comfortable yet at the summit of political power. The unsteadiness began with Obama: Instead of shaping the stimulus package himself, according to his own principles, he handed over the work to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Appropriations chairman, who in turn produced a porky package without discernible philosophy. Unsure Policies Unsure of whether it wanted to punish or stimulate -- and so choosing to attempt both -- the administration generated legislation to help financial institutions and legislation that hurts them by restricting rates and terms for the credit cards they issue. Obamaâs call for putting more student loans in federal hands is clever politically, and may even save students money in the short term, but it likely will restrict the availability of such loans in the future. In short, Obama speaks beautifully but is on his way to a âDâ grade when it comes to making the U.S. attractive for international investment, a fact the Chinese are already noting by shopping for non-U.S. bonds. The Democrats of 2009 are showing less awareness than their predecessors did in President Bill Clintonâs time on the importance of low taxes and reasonable regulation. Only these permit strong growth, a point made articulately by none other than Bachmann herself, in the now-infamous âHoot-Smalleyâ TV clip. Mission to Distract Because the ruling Democrats have tilted too far left, their allies are out on a mission of distraction, trying to prove that everyone else is too far to the right. On the key question of trade, Americans are pretty sympathetic to Bachmannâs pro-trade views, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Citizens donât necessarily line up with the protectionist unions and House Speaker Pelosi. So hereâs a new motto: more leadership, less bloggership. Voters tend to tire the ad hominem approach. By smearing others, rather than putting forward ideas, the scribblers smear themselves instead. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aWVgBVC0L05w
The unsteadiness began with Obama: Instead of shaping the stimulus package himself, according to his own principles, he handed over the work to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Appropriations chairman, who in turn produced a porky package without discernible philosophy. Good article but what are his principles actually?? Go to his past and there is only one principle. Self-promotion. He is a pawn because he himself has no real philosophy. Right now the only principle I can see is if you are productive entity,individual etc., you are a target. That's all. I resigned myself to the fact that future will be tough. I can't see any other alternative with regard to what's going on.
I remember how absolutely horrid the democrats were in 1994 when the Republicans came in.. I was astounded that grownups could be such little evil children. We can see it here on ET any day of the week for sure...