The Democrats Cobble A Contract

From IBD:
Posted 6/9/2006

Politics: Congressional Democrats love to rail against partisanship. That explains why they walked out on Republican Tom DeLay's parting celebration of partisanship. They work too hard at it themselves.

The former House majority leader, in a Thursday farewell to his colleagues, refused to reminisce about "across-the-aisle camaraderie."

He just couldn't do that, he said: "For all its faults, it is partisanship—based on core principles — that clarifies our debates, that prevents one party from straying too far from the mainstream and that constantly refreshes our politics with new ideas and new leaders."

For all the indicted Texan's faults, he was accurately following the prescription of the nation's founders, who, though mindful of the perils of "faction," saw the clear benefit of clarifying debate. Beware the high-minded partisans who deny their interests and muddy their principles.

The Democrats might ponder that and what psychologists call paradoxical intention. If they actually focused on solid principles first, they might then perform as more competent partisans.

Since 1992 they have been transparently envious of the Newt Gingrich-inspired "Contract with America," which, by stressing a rollback of government, vaulted the Republicans into control of Capitol Hill.

Consequently, for months we've been hearing about the apparently aimless efforts of Reid, Pelosi & Co. to cobble together their own version of a contract with voters. This past week a draft, curiously called "6 for '06," finally seeped into the blogosphere:

1. A minimum wage increase.

2. Repealing the portion of the Medicare prescription drug law that prevents Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices.

3. Implementing all of the 9-11 commission's homeland security recommendations.

4. Reinstating pay-as-you-go budget rules.

5. Making college more affordable.

6. A sixth plank that has not yet been settled on.

The draft was posted the other day by ABC News' well-sourced blogger Jake Tapper, who welcomed it as a sign of Democratic vitality. What struck us, however, was just how substantively stillborn the effort might be.

Last first: Thinking there's something magical in the number six in this sixth year of the century, Democratic numerologists came up short. Memo to Dems: Consult your core principles, elusive as they might be. You might, just might, find something, anything. Comb through the European Union's constitution if you must.

Back to the top: Increase the minimum wage? In other words, above all, shore up labor union support. And ignore the near-global view of economists that mandated wage hikes are job killers, especially for the unskilled and minority youths.

Let bureaucrats negotiate drug prices? Why not empower patients by lifting anti-competitive restrictions on pharmaceutical research, manufacturing and marketing?

Implement the 9-11 commission's security recommendations? So why does the nation's security come third? There's much to be debated about this, but why does it sound too easy, a cheap panacea designed to take the politicians' minds off the hard work?

Back to pay-as-you-go budgeting? A nice way to hoist Republicans by their own petard, but do high-spending Democrats have credibility? Any credibility?

Universalize formal schooling at taxpayers' expense? Why not realize the late Russell Kirk's burlesque of the educrats and have Behemoth U bestow a doctorate upon every child at birth? Or is our view of the merits of post-secondary schooling too uneducated?

Indeed, last Tuesday California voters, notoriously sentimental about their children's classrooms, rejected a soak-the-rich scheme to universalize preschool. Will Americans get excited about paying for schooling for all at the other end?

At least the authors of the Republicans' Contract understood the resonant appeal of individual freedom and limited government. It's true that, 12 years into it, the Republicans seem to have forgotten how to restrain spending. But for now, the GOP has the edge.

Maybe that sixth plank, if the Democrats can find one, will clarify things.