Democrats Fear Losing Power, Respond with Politics of Fear

Republicans and Democrats — rather than coming together and generating the political authority needed for us to take our castor oil to compensate for our binge — are just demonizing one another. As the Israeli political theorist Yaron Ezrahi points out, governance is based on authority “that is generated in one of two ways — by trust or by fear. Both of those sources of authority are disintegrating right now.” . . the Western democracies governed by generating trust, but their societies today are more splintered than ever.

--Thomas Friedman, New York Times

Another look at how fear is gripping today's elite.

Friedman may be sincerely pointing fingers at both Republicans and Democrats when he talks about the need to take our “caster oil.” More likely, he ritually chides Republicans because his audience is mostly Democrat, and he wants his party to listen, not feel lectured to. To review, we have two parties, only one of which is serious about the need to cut the deficit, and to take on the entitlement spending that’s at the heart of our future debt problems. And Friedman and other thinking Democrats know it.

Also, by ignoring the need for entitlement reform and turning to “Mediscare” tactics to win in 2012, Democrats seem to be making clear how much they fear loss of power. And as Friedman suggests, having lost the people’s trust, the only tactic they have to hang onto power is fear itself—scaring voters away from Republicans.

Look at these facts:

1. When Democrats had all the power, they favored a bipartisan effort to reform entitlements.

Here’s Obama in January 2010:

“We’re not going to be able to do anything about any of these entitlements if what we do is characterize whatever proposals are put out there as, ‘Well, you know, that’s — the other party’s being irresponsible. The other party is trying to hurt our senior citizens. That the other party is doing X, Y, Z.”

2. Once Republicans earned a share of power, they initiated an effort to reform Medicare, the entitlement program that goes broke in 13 years.

Here’s House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) on the Republican effort:

“You cannot ever fully balance the budget and pay off the debt unless you address the drivers of the debt. The drivers of our debt are our health care entitlements. We need a leader who is willing to address this. . .

“Let’s be clear about what we’re proposing . . . We’re saying no changes for Medicare for people at or above the age of 55. In order to keep the promise to current seniors who have already retired and organized their lives around this program, you have to reform it for the next generation. [Our reform] for the next generation – in keeping with Bill Clinton’s bipartisan commission to reform Medicare – is an idea that’s been around for a long time called premium support: guaranteed coverage options for Medicare, where the government subsidizes the poor and the sick a whole lot more than the wealthy, and people get to choose. We’re saying: do not affect current seniors, give future seniors the ability to deny business to inefficient providers.”

3. The Democrats’ comeback? 100% “Mediscare” (see video here).