In Iowa two weeks ago, Newt Gingrich said this about Jefferson's phrase "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence:
There is no guarantee of happiness, or that we get happiness stamps, or that (government) redistributes happiness from the overly happy to the unhappy.
It was classic conservative False Equality.
More below the fold....
False Equality, Part I - Wealth
This week Morning Feature will unpack the core of conservative ideology: more wealth and privilege for the wealthy and privileged. I say "unpack" because they hide that ideology beneath a rhetoric of False Equality, the idea that government should be 'neutral.' Today we'll discuss wealth. Tomorrow we'll discuss other forms of privilege. Saturday we'll conclude with ways to talk to Fred, our archetypal median voter, about wealth and privilege.
More wealth for the wealthy.
Tea Party Republicans are running on a radically regressive platform in 2010. The big legislative showdown going into November is over whether to extend budget-busting tax cut for the wealthy. Paul Krugman likened the TGOP position to racketeering: threatening middle class with tax hikes unless the wealthy get to keep their cuts. Even if the middle class tax cuts survive this battle, it may not matter if the TGOP win a House majority in November.
The budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) would fund more tax cuts for the wealthy by raising taxes for the middle class and cutting services for the poor. They also want to repeal the 2010 health care law, reduce or eliminate the federal minimum wage, and privatize Social Security and Medicare. And they have promised to shut down the federal government unless President Obama and Senate Democrats accept their demands. Racketeering, indeed.
How can the TGOP dare to run, let alone hope to win, on such a radical platform with unemployment near 10%, 1-in-7 Americans living in poverty, and other measures showing both of those worse than the official statistics? They have two strategies:
Negative voting: redirected outrage.
First, they've spent the past 20 months redirecting Americans' fear and anger away from the wealthy gamblers who crashed our economy and onto President Obama and the Democrats. From Birthers to Deathers to Tenthers to Browners - my term for hyped threats of immigration and Islam - the TGOP's outrage factories on Faux Noise and talk radio have manufactured a complete product line.
They've done this because they know midterm elections have lower voter turnout. On average, only 37% of registered voters cast ballots in midterm elections. Negative voters - those who are angry or fearful and "voting against" the other party - are more likely to vote. Thus, a 25% minority, outraged and fearful enough to turn out en masse, can be a midterm electoral majority.
Many may not agree with or even know their own party's ideas. They're angry with or afraid of the other party. That both makes them more likely to vote, and gives cover to candidates in their party. The candidates don't need to offer and defend a platform of their own ... and that's very convenient if a central plank in your party's platform is more wealth for the wealthy.
Even if every one of the wealthiest 5% voted and all of them voted TGOP, that wouldn't be an electoral majority. Tea Party Republicans need votes from people who will not benefit by more wealth for the wealthy. But they may "vote against" the other party if they are outraged and scared enough.
False Equality.
Still, some will look at the party's platform. How do you sell "more wealth for the wealthy" to people who are not wealthy? Perversely, you couch it in the language of equality. Look at Newt Gingrich's quote again:
There is no guarantee of happiness, or that we get happiness stamps, or that (government) redistributes happiness from the overly happy to the unhappy.
The essence of his argument is that government should treat people equally and not take the side of the (unhappy) poor. Wisconson TGOP Senate candidate Ron Johnson did not invent the phrase "pick winners and losers" in his comments last week about the stimulus bill. Google [government pick winners and losers] and you'll get a laundry list of Tea Party Republicans who've used that phrase. Ask them if they want more wealth for the wealthy, and they would deny it. Instead, they'd claim they want government should treat everyone equally and let the "free market" determine who is wealthy or poor.
But that is a False Equality. In the words of Brazilian educator Paulo Friere:
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.
The TGOP's "hands off" approach is not about equality. It's about letting the powerful win. Their economic platform is more wealth for the wealthy, and as Democrats we need to make them own it.
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Happy Thursday!
Crossposted from Blogistan Polytechnic Institute (BPICampus.com)