The Party of No Ideas-The astonishing vacuousness of the GOP presidential campaigns

[babylonsister]

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_party_of_no_ideas

The Party of No Ideas
The astonishing vacuousness of the GOP presidential campaigns.

Paul Waldman | June 20, 2007


Two years ago, in a much-discussed cover article for The New Republic called "The Case Against New Ideas," Jonathan Chait argued that Democrats should resist the pleas of pundits to look for their political salvation in new plans and visions. But as the 2008 race gathers speed, it appears to be the Republicans who have abandoned ideas -- new or otherwise -- in a quest for the GOP nomination that has been remarkable in its utter lack of substance, even by the standards of contemporary campaigns.

Think about it this way: Can you think of a single substantive proposal consisting of more than a sentence or two that any of the GOP candidates has made on the campaign trail? I'm not even talking about some lengthy policy paper or plan for overhauling a major sector of government. But any idea to do something, anything, differently than the Bush administration has? The closest one can come is the immigration bill that Congress is debating, of which John McCain is a co-sponsor. But one gets the impression that McCain wishes no one would bring it up, at least until the primaries are over and all those pesky nativists have nowhere to go but to the Republican nominee. Is there anything else the Republican candidates are actually proposing to do? Any discernable agenda coming from any of them? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

It's true that in practice, "ideas," particularly "new ideas," usually serve mainly as signifiers of change from the way things are currently done. This makes things harder on Republicans, as the party currently in charge of the executive branch. A Democrat can offer a relatively simplistic three-point plan for getting out of Iraq, and it sounds like a new idea. But for a Republican who still supports the war (as they all do, with the exception of Ron Paul), coming up with a "new idea" on Iraq would require some exceptional creativity. And this is not a particularly creative crew.

But one would think they'd come up with something, if nowhere else than on national security. This is where their strength is supposed to lie -- where their knowledge and experience are supposed to keep us all safe. But if anything, on national security the Republicans are even more substance-free than on domestic issues. The national-security discussion coming from the candidates resembles nothing so much as the dominance displays of lower primates ("Ooog! Ooog! Me double Gitmo! Ooog!"). Anyone looking for a serious analysis of our security challenges in the coming years will be sorely disappointed.

Likewise, one struggles to find a domestic issue in which the Republicans display any particular interest. Want to read Mitt Romney's health care plan? Don't worry -- you won't have to stay up all night slogging through mind-numbing details about employer mandates and risk pools. Here it is, in its entirety:

The health of our nation can be improved by extending health insurance to all Americans, not through a government program or new taxes, but through market reforms.

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[ronhardy]

1. Republicans can "Fughettaboutit."

Republicans can "Fughettaboutit." The American people will NOT elect a Republican majority in our lifetime.

[damntexdem]

2. No GOP ideas? No, I'll go with Lewis Black's characterizations:

Democratic Party: party of no ideas.

GOP: party of bad ideas.

Of course, Black said that three years ago. Since then, the Dems have been cooking up some ideas, they just haven't been able to come together on them, nor enact any in Congress.

And the GOP is still full of bad ideas. It's just that their prez candidates appear to have none because, by and large, they don't dare enunciate them in public anymore.

[Demeter]

3. Cookie Cutter Candidates And All Empty Suits

animated by the ghost of Reagan. Gives me chills!