Now that their worst fear has come true–the healthcare bill has passed–conservative Republicans are swiftly closing ranks. If any Republicans think the party could have better handled the reform process they should probably keep it to themselves. That is, if they don’t want to be fired. Just ask conservative writer David Frum.
Sunday evening Frum posted the following statement on his Web site:
“A huge part of the blame for today’s disaster attaches to conservatives and Republicans ourselves.
At the beginning of this process we made a strategic decision: unlike, say, Democrats in 2001 when President Bush proposed his first tax cut, we would make no deal with the administration. No negotiations, no compromise, nothing. We were going for all the marbles … I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead.”
Three days after he posted this statement, he was involuntarily ousted by the American Enterprise Institute, the conservative think tank at which he had been a fellow for seven years. Coincidence? I think not.
His termination was probably not a total shock. Frum has been at odds with the more conservative side of the Republican party for some time now. Last year he wrote a piece for Newsweek in which he called Rush Limbaugh “a walking stereotype of self-indulgence.” And Bruce Bartlett, who coincidentally was also fired from a conservative think tank for being too critical, wrote the following Thursday evening:
“Since he is no longer affiliated with AEI, I feel free to say publicly something he told me in private a few months ago. He asked if I had noticed any comments by AEI ’scholars’ on the subject of health care reform. I said no and he said that was because they had been ordered not to speak to the media because they agreed with too much of what Obama was trying to do.”
Frum’s criticism of the party is completely accurate. At the start of healthcare negotiations Republican Congressmen had two choices: to offer constructive ideas and compromises or to do everything in their power to prevent healthcare reform with a single goal of making the Obama administration look bad.
They chose the latter, throwing away any chance to significantly affect what is arguably the most major legislation to be passed in over 40 years. As Frum said to The New York Times, “It was a go-for-all-the-marbles approach. Unless they produced an absolute failure for Mr. Obama, there wasn’t going to be any political benefit.”
Now that more Americans consider healthcare reform to be a “good thing” than a “bad thing,” Republicans are scrambling to retain their supporters. Forcing out any members who voice dissenting opinions, however, is probably not the best strategy. That may be the fastest way to create a homogenous and dedicated group, but it’s also the fastest route to a small group.
The healthcare bill has passed, and the doom and gloom Republicans preached doesn’t seem to be happening. Will they be able to recover their credibility? Maybe–though not by alienating all but the most conservative and sheep-like members of the party. At this point Republicans seem to be embarking on a path to self-destruction. They certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to hold onto their seats in November. —Shea Connelly
