As this blog’s resident conservative I have to take umbrage to Sam’s article below, in which he ascribes to Republicans a reactionary stance towards Obama fiscal policy. It’s true, there are many in my party who seem to want to make it the party of no. Yet I would not go so far as to say this is just pushing back without any coherence. Indeed, there seem to me at least three good reasons that Republicans should stand athwart Geithner aside from simple reactionary-ism or obstruction.
1) It fits the philosophy. The joke about conservatives is that you can tell them by their cry, “don’t just do something, stand there!” Still, there is truth behind the humor. The entire intellectual root of conservatism is that of Edmund Burke, no change for change’s sake. Fiscal policy is where the Obama administration seeks to make its largest mark. The problem for a conservative conservative, in this case less the messenger than the message. If one believes the relationship between government and citizen should not swing towards Washington, of course it will be fiscal policy that one opposes.
2) It’s something everyone can agree on. Right now, the Republican party faces a great many questions, as this blog has discussed. The strongest pole in the Reagan coalition remains fiscal conservatism. Both Mitt Romney an Mike Huckabee can agree that the President’s proposals unduly shift the balance of power in favor of the state. Moreover, social issues are messier, and I’m unclear just how much traction they hold with the body public. Fiscal are far more cut and dry, and perhaps more appealing. Which brings me to my last point:
3) It works. Right now, Republicans are favored to pick up the New Jersey governor’s mansion, and hold the best chance (though by no means the advantage) of a senatorial pickup in Chris Dodd’s seat. In both these races, the economic issues, and in particular, the relationship between state and private enterprise, have dominated the discussion. I suspect as the recession muddles through, Obama and the Democrats will face more of the public’s ire. So isn’t it Politics 101 to draw a contrast where that contrast will be most fruitful?
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