The Party Of The Status Quo
By Randall Nunn (02/25/04)
For years, Republicans and conservatives have been portrayed as moss-backed resisters of change and supporters of the status quo—a portrayal that the media, the academic world and opinion leaders actively fostered and disseminated. To those who analyze the two major political parties today, it should be apparent that it is the Democratic Party that is the resister of change and the party that wants to return this country to the days of yesteryear.
If one considers the key issues today and categorizes the positions of each of the two major parties, the Democrats represent the forces of reaction and opponents of progressive change. The labels on the political spectrum need rearranging so that “reactionary” is placed to the left of center. No doubt this will cause blustering and acute discomfort from those on the left who have labored diligently over the years to fasten the “reactionary” label on conservatives and, in particular, conservative Republicans. Take, for example, issues such as tax cuts, Social Security reform, gun control and the use of our military to protect American interests and you will find the Democratic position mired in yesterday’s mud and stuck fast.
With respect to the tax cuts, the Democrats are fighting a rear guard action by appealing to class envy, suggesting that tax cuts benefit the wealthy. Talk about the use of “code words”! It seems that all that is necessary is to characterize a program or policy as one that benefits the wealthy and the liberal mind shuts down any further analysis and goes into attack mode, accusing proponents of being against the common man. Of course, they ignore the fact that the top 10% of wage earners pay 65% of all federal income taxes in the United States and the bottom 50% pay only 4% of all federal income taxes. So obviously a tax cut will benefit those who pay most of the taxes, but it also benefits everyone who pays taxes. The real hoax in this is that a tax cut simply allows the earner to keep more of his or her money and is, in no sense, a “gift” to the wage earner. On this issue, the Democrats are resisting the tide by used the tired old slogans of the graying veterans of class warfare.
The issue of Social Security reforms presents an even more remarkable position, featuring the entrenched Democratic defenders of the status quo relying on the argument that reform is “a risky scheme.” The fact that reform of Social Security is desperately needed if we are to avoid a failure of the system does not matter, because it would represent a defeat of sorts for the socialist mentality that says government programs are good and privatization of any part of such programs is bad. Here again, the Democratic position is in opposition to the majority of Americans who favor allowing workers to invest a part of their payroll taxes in accounts similar to IRAs and 401(k) plans. The Democratic defenders of “more failing government programs just like we’ve had for the last half century” try to use the bugaboo of “market risk” to counter much-needed reform—no analysis or reasoned debate, just slogans and recitation of a parade of horrors if we attempt significant reform.
Gun control is another sacred hill of the liberal Democrats that must be held at all costs. Despite a massive campaign by the liberal media and liberal special interests (yes, the liberal gun control interest groups are “special interests”) telling gullible Americans that concealed carry laws would result in shootouts in the streets and much loss of innocent lives, Americans opposed such gun control initiatives and concealed carry laws are in effect in a majority of the states. Much to the dismay of liberal Democrats, the shootouts did not materialize and, in fact, violent crime actually dropped in those states with concealed carry laws. Again, the defenders of the status quo resisted measures designed to make Americans safer and instead reacted with simple-minded slogans and appeals to fear.
When it comes to the use of the military to defend vital American interests, the liberal Democrats use one of their most effective devices, the “Vietnam quagmire” syndrome—made into an article of faith for leftists everywhere by the media propaganda machine, aided by a lack of will among too many of our politicians. The same old clichés and comparisons are being trotted out with respect to Iraq and the same effort to demoralize and wear down the resolve of Americans and politicians at home is being attempted. Not so many are buying this effort to paint a false image of this country’s actions in Iraq, other than the old hippie types and knee-jerk liberals who would rather see their liberal articles of faith upheld than to see their country victorious in a war that is vastly different than the Vietnam War. But once again, the forces of reaction are hard at work combating reason, logic and intelligent debate.
On issue after issue, the Democratic Party has become the champion of the status quo, even while trying to portray itself as the champion of the little man, the underdog and the less privileged. But when you look at their major sources of campaign funds, those sources are the wealthy, the privileged and the elitists. We owe it to ourselves not to be fooled by the Democratic hokum this time.
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