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Saturday, December 06, 2003
Conservatives are blasting Bush for the Medicare bill, but it won't matter. Here's why.
In a two party system, the constituency is inherently polarized. You're either with one, or the other. Bush's political handlers know this, and they know something else. Conservatives, whether they like Bush's spending propensity, or not, will still vote for him. He is the most viable choice for conservatives. To them, he is their moral beacon, and their commander-in-chief. He threw them a bone by cutting their taxes. Bush's political moves have been calculated, just like every executive predecessor.
It is fully understood that, to broaden your constituency, you may have to alienate a majority of them some of the time. Bush did this by expanding the scope of Medicare into the arena of prescription drugs. But, because of his overall appeal to them, Bush will still get the vast majority of conservative votes.
Compartmentalized politics was the reason Bill Clinton was able to serve eight years as the American CEO. Bush has taken yet another page from the Clinton play book, and executed its contents to his advantage. Remember when Clinton instituted welfare reform to appeal to moderates? He did so, knowing that the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party" (to paraphrase Howard Dean) would stil vote for him, because he was their only plausible option.
Bush will have to soothe conservatives, but he won't lose them. This is why his Medicare policy won't mean a thing, politically. But it will mean the American taxpayer will take a hit for years to come. Such is American politics.Labels: Archives_2003
.: posted by
Dave
5:26 PM
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