Party of Ideas Officially Out of Ideas

I watched Bob Roberts this weekend for the first time. If you've never seen it, go rent it. It tells the story of a right-wing folk singer and his ascension to Senator of Pennsylvania using a smear campaign, some powerful defense connections, and jingoism. I probably wouldn't have responded to it very well back in 1992. After all, it was written and directed by celebrity opinion-holder Tim Robbins. We didn't like Tim Robbins.

It shows a level of political understanding that, frankly, I didn't think Mr. Robbins possessed. I guess I still have some pretty deep seated biases as far as Tim is concerned. Anyway, what struck me was how little political relevance the movie had lost in the 14 years since it came out. The campaign run by Bob Roberts is right out of the 2004 GOP playbook. "You work hard. You should keep your money through tax cuts. Liberals just want to give all your money away," and most shockingly of all, "Saddam Hussein is only a few months away from having a nuclear weapon."

The more things change, eh?

But the striking wasn't done there. It further struck me at how intellectually bankrupt the GOP has become. Here was Tim Robbins back in 1992 (PRE-Glorious Revolution) calling Newt Gingrich's "Contract For America" shot. And here we are in 2006, and the only change to the playbook has been to add the words "Everyone thought..." to the front of the Saddam Hussein talking point.

The playbook may be the same, but the execution has fallen off considerably. Like an exhausted bartender letting patrons know "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," Frist was left with the ignoble task of asking Americans "what if we gave you $100? Would you shut up then?" Why $100? Because that's what one of his staffers figured would be the amount of the gasoline tax paid by most Americans over a 9 month period. So, yes, the only substantive idea Republicans add to the debate is...say it with me...a tax cut.

What a surprise! The only thing standing between us and economic prosperity for generations is taxes. I was talking to my dad about this over the weekend. My dad's paying a ridiculous amount for health insurance. I mentioned the GOP plan for HSAs with $5,000 deducitbles dominating the landscape. "Nobody wants that! People are too used to co-pays." Yes, but you get a tax cut! "I don't want a $500 tax cut when I'm paying a $3,000 a month for health insurance!"

And there it is in a nutshell. For some reason Republicans get all the play in the media as being the "party of ideas." Really they're more the party of idea, because they don't go a whole lot deeper than that one -- cutting taxes. It's not working anymore. The worm is turning, and if the right can't come up with something better than "We'll cut your taxes" then November will be a cakewalk. If the idea of tax cuts starts to lose traction then the GOP will be left with only one talking point to use on the campaign trail. Coincidentally it was the tag line from Bob Roberts:

"Vote first. Ask questions later."