Views » February 11, 2005
Budget Bloodbath
“It’s not something we’ve done with a meat axe,” Vice President Dick Cheney told Fox News in defense of the administration’s FY 2006 budget. Cheney’s words bring to mind the first rule in deciphering the Bush code of conduct: Reverse what they say to divine what they’ll do.
This budget goes straight for the jugular, proposing $212 billion in cuts to domestic discretionary programs over the next five years, coupled with tax cuts for the rich that aim to radically shrink government and anger middle- and low-income voters. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, described the doctrine to U.S. News & World Report: “The goal is reducing the size and scope of government by draining its lifeblood.”
The audacity of these cuts lays bare yet another Republican strategy: Overshoot the mark, call anyone who questions you partisan and then look “compassionate” by offering a small concession. To wit, as happened in early January: Have your party’s right flank propose to dramatically weaken House ethics rules, and then appear reasonable when this proposal is scaled back to a seemingly minor rule change that still effectively protects Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
The Bush administration sets its targets and pursues them with no qualm or quarter; the budget is more mean than lean. Children (remember: reverse!) are left behind in droves; Almost one third of the programs selected for cuts are in education, including $400 million for after-school programs and $300 million for vocational education. Funding for national parks and clean water is on the chopping block. Soldiers seem to be worth more dead than alive—a Pentagon-backed bill in Congress would raise soldiers’ death benefits from $12,420 to $100,000, but the proposed budget would double prescription drug prices for veterans. The poor and elderly are also out of luck: Cuts are proposed for Medicare, job-training programs, food stamps and heating subsidies.
Meanwhile, the Bush darlings—the military, corporations and the ultrarich—benefit not only from increased budget spending, but from the promise of such extra-budgetary sops as the continuation of current tax cuts and the generation of fat financial fees for proposed Social Security “personal accounts.” All of this contributes to a mounting deficit that the administration cynically uses to justify future Social Security cuts.
Of course, this budget won’t pass without a fight—but that’s the point. Democrats—estranged from and ashamed of their progressive flank—wear themselves out to retain gains gruelingly won through nearly a century of grassroots action. Weak protests about the White House’s “wrong priorities” make little headway against Republicans who shamelessly trumpet their ill-founded and contradictory creed.
On the defensive, Democrats cast about for a narrative, grasping at pale imitations of the tactics that work wonders for the right. This dynamic played out in the Democratic responses to the State of the Union address. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid tried for homespun and small-town, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi played the fear card. Like adults trying too hard to be cool, it all rang false.
The Democrats need to commit to a firm set of principles sturdy enough to block the Bush administration’s meat-cleaver politics. Through a little overreaching of their own, the Democrats could not only widen the spectrum of political possibility but also ignite the same passions that animated former populist movements.
Some signs are hopeful. A few brave members of Congress, like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), continue to boldly speak out against Republican tactics. Howard Dean is a lock for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship. And his popular 2004 campaign, along with the election efforts of grassroots groups like Rainbow/PUSH, have spurred the formation of the Progressive Democrats of America, a group dedicated to retaking the Democratic Party from corporate influence, state by state.
We need more of this—and fast.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Jessica Clark is a writer, editor and researcher, with more than 15 years of experience spanning commercial, educational, independent and public media production. Currently she is the Research Director for American University’s Center for Social Media. She also writes a monthly column for PBS’ MediaShift on new directions in public media. She is the author, with Tracy Van Slyke, of Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (2010, New Press).
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Reader Comments
The anti-Bush narrative should be the truth? The government has been hijacked by a group of radical right wing zealots. They have created a massive propaganda machine, including numerous paid covert reporter/spies; and even the members of mainstream media not on the payroll refuse to do their jobs and expose the numerous Bush crimes. The rest of the world hates our president because he thinks the world is his wild west and those who oppose him are no better than the poor American Indians. He seems proud of our international isolation. It is embarrassing that we chose this imbecile as president.
Tell the American people about Halliburton and all of the other corporate criminals stealing our money in Iraq. Tell them about the Bush Medicare pay-off to the pharmaceutical companies, thereby selling out seniors and our future. Tell them about Bush and his band of merry neo-cons allowing 9/11 to happen so they could invade Iraq. Their plans are on line. http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
Appeal to the good intentions of Americans. Demonstrate to America that Bush wants to bring America back to the world of Charles Dickens “The Christmas Carol,” where Bob Cratchit worked long hours but couldn’t pay his bills and Tiny Tim was dying for the lack of healthcare.
Most Americans know Bush lied about WMD—the reason for the war; and now they know Bush is lying about Social Security. He lied about medical malpractice to cover up the abuses of the insurance industry. Bush has endorsed the torture and unlawful imprisonment of countless uncharged detainees.
The truth about this despicable man must be told to his country. Blind nationalism is Bush’s weapon but the brutal truth can defeat this imperialist. Don’t count on the mainstream media. Expose them for the frauds they have become. We must find a better way to spread the truth. The internet may be the way but I think we must show the American people how far the Bush administration propaganda has gone. Make them question every media story and the truth will be revealed. And Karl Rove’s propaganda will be ridiculed instead of worshiped.
Posted by AmericanInsurgent on Feb 11, 2005 at 7:52 PM
It will be nothing short of a miracle if Democrats grow a spine(the fabulous Boxer notwithstanding). They are more critical of Dean and Moore than they are of Bush and Cheney. Many of them vote for republican legislation as often as not. I’ve only just heard of the “Progressive Democrats of America” and intend to find out more, but most of the party leadership has spent the last two decades destroying the progressive & liberal wing of the party. They seem incapable of seeing their opponents for the ruthless anti-democratic fascists that they are. Or perhaps they are (as I’ve said often before) the good cop to the republican’s bad cop, the house slave to the republican plantation owner, the concentration camp capo that feels our pain, but sends us to our fate anyway. Which American’s are you referring to when you say to appeal to their good intentions? If we don’t count the wealthy, who vote the way they do for venal reasons, and don’t count the Kerry voters, that still leaves a nearly equal number of people in this country who are just as right wing, and just as zealous, just as fanatical, as any of the neo-cons. They voted for Bush for the same reasons Germans voted (yes, voted) for Hitler. He’s the only daddy that’ll walk the line, as the song says. He’ll “get ‘em”. He’ll kick ass and take names, or have someone take names. He’s proud of his lack of education, and so are his followers, they make fun of people who have one. Their shills in the press make fun of the “Reality Based” community as if it’s some kind of UFO cult. They want to turn science on it’s head to fit their ideology. And their followers cheer them on. Do You know what will happen when and if the true length and depth of his complicity in 9/11 are exposed? NOTHING. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Did people stop watching and sending money to Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Baker, Oral Roberts, or Robertson & Falwell (after their remarks following 9/11)? For that matter, it’s clear that none of the lies Bush told, nor the revelations (to some) of the 9/11 commission, during his first term cost him any votes at all. He has faith, don’t ya see, God is working through him. How do you reason with people who think this way? You don’t think showing them evidence of his crimes is going to shake their faith in him, do you? No, it’s going to take a miracle to save this country, indeed this planet, from the consequences of his actions. And as I’ve also said here before, I hope for one, I pray for one, but I don’t expect to see one.
Posted by Kenneth D. Brown on Feb 11, 2005 at 10:36 PM
Where’s Hitler now? How about Germany? If we were only as progressive as them. It can and it will be done Kenneth. It won’t be easy, but there are so many smart people in this country who are organizing now. Howard Dean was elected chairman of the DNC today. Howard gets it. I think Harry Reid gets it.
Eventually Chimp Boy will slip up so bad that it will blow up in his face. We have to be there to catch him. I too get very discouraged at times and have nearly given up on the mainstream press’s ability to tell the truth. I won’t give up because the only alternative is giving my country to the idiots and I simply can’t do that. I won’t do that to my daughter.
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 12, 2005 at 6:00 PM
How can you say the democrats don’t support Dean? He was just announced as leader of the DNC.
Posted by brad on Feb 12, 2005 at 11:46 PM
I think Kenneth was referring to the Republican-lite Democrats who previously dominated the DNC and still dominate the DLC. And they most decidedly did not support Dean. Dean’s election as leader of the DNC is a great sign that the party is being majorly influenced by the grassroots movement that Dean seemed to harness in the primary election, before the establishment that Kenneth refers to brought him down.
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 13, 2005 at 8:18 AM
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