This week's Time magazine has a curious article that brings us into the still-clueless world of the White House. It seems that new advisor Josh Bolten has a bold five-point "recovery plan" for victory that includes such pointers as "Brag More." Yes, in the wake of a growing civil war in Iraq, the looming nuclear threat of Iran, chaos in the Medicare prescription drug plan and the criminal negligence of the Katrina response, what the President needs is some more of that good ol' Texas swagger. Along with pandering to his nativist anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant base and cutting more taxes to please Wall Street, the President could, even with his plunging job approval ratings, make things right again for his party and his tattered "legacy," Bolten believes. Call it the "Bolten bubble."
The five-pronged plan includes even deeper cuts in capital gains to make investors happy, getting tougher on national security by, presumably, attacking Iran, and a massive show of force on the U.S.-Mexican border to pander to the GOP's immigrant-haters. You can read more about it at the Mojoblog
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Is this just wishful thinking by the White House -- or insanity?
Even so, these strategies are either doomed to fail or could have a disastrous impact on the Republican Party and global stability. "Reclaim Security Credibility" essentially means "bomb Iran," as the neo-cons who brought us the Iraq war are so eagerly seeking. By a show of meaningless strength on the border, it could serve to alienate the increasingly important Hispanic-American community that is inflamed by the GOP's tough policies on immigration and the many Americans who take a more nuanced view of immigration than GOP hard-liners. And by giving away more in tax breaks to the wealthy, it will only worsen America's debt, weaken the economy and make it impossible for us to remain competitive in the global economy by investing in education and other vital needs.
As Bill Burton, the spokesperson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says about Bolten's grand scheme: "He's trying to put a positive spin on awful policies - rather than change the policies that are having no positive effect on Americans."
The Democrats can fight back by showing, in part, that there's nothing at all to brag about, and asking the fundamental question, "Had enough?" Democrats, so far, may not need a Contract-with-America-style plan to win -- disenchantment with Bush and Congress might be enough to win. The good news: Democrats have a 10-point advantage among voters, and low regard for Congress is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, less than 30 percent of the public wants to vote out their own member of Congress, and Democrats seem to face an uphill battle to retake the House of Representatives, thanks in part to gerrymandering.
So, along the way to the November election, it might be worth it for Democrats to come up with a positive message, too. Burton's boss, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), did it in a concise way last October on Meet the Press. It's too bad other leading Democrats aren't doing so in a more visible way. Russert asked about him the Iraq war and what positive message Democrats had to offer.
Here's the exchange, with the best points on domestic policy:
MR. RUSSERT: So was it a mistake for Democrats in the Senate and House to vote to authorize the war?
REP. EMANUEL: Given the information that we were given them, they made their decision. What has been a mistake is to let this type of administration basically run a policy of incompetence when it comes to Iraq.
Let me address, though, the future of this country. I'll give you five quick ideas. One, we make college education as universal for the 21st century that a high school education was in the 20th... Second, we get a summit on the budget to deal with the $3 trillion of debt that's been added up in five years and structural deficits of $400 billion a year. Third, an energy policy that says in 10 years, we cut our dependence on foreign oil in half and make this a hybrid economy. Four, we create an institute on science and technology that builds for America like, the National Institutes has done for health care, we maintain our edge. And five, we have a universal health-care system over the next 10 years where if you work, you have health care. That says fiscal discipline and investing in the American people by putting people first. The policies that the Republicans have offered have gotten us in the ditch we have today.
Bolten's plan won't get us out of that ditch, but just digs us deeper.Still, the questions remains: Will the Democrats know how to beat the White House political strategy?