What Independents Want
From the New York Times:
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Liberals and conservatives each have their own intellectual food chains. . . Independents, who are the largest group in the electorate, don’t have any of this.
Independents are herds of cats who find out what they think through a meandering process of discovery. Right now, independent voters are astonishingly volatile. . . According to Gallup, the share of independents who describe their views as conservative has moved from 29 percent last year to 35 percent today. The share of independents who believe there is too much government regulation of business has jumped from 38 percent to 50 percent. Independents are in the position of a person who is feeling gravely ill at the same time he has lost faith in his doctor. This does not mean that independents are turning into Republicans. G.O.P. ratings are still in the toilet. But it does mean the Democrats have to fight to regain some of their most crucial supporters. . . First Wall Street got disproportionately big, then Washington. It’s time to return to fundamentals. No short-term fixes. Government should do what it’s supposed to do: schools, roads, basic research. It should not be picking C.E.O.’s or setting pay or fizzing up the economy with more debt. It should give people the tools to compete, not rig the competition. Lines of restraint have dissolved, and they need to be restored. Independents support the party that seems most likely to establish a frame of stability and order, within which they can lead their lives. They can’t always articulate what they want, but they withdraw from any party that threatens turmoil and risk. As always, they’re looking for a safe pair of hands. [AO: David Brooks identifies two problems when he says “First Wall Street got disproportionately big, then Washington.” Yet, his solution, making government smaller, may exacerbate the first problem. This is because all of his recommended solutions only address the second problem. Furthermore, his recommended solutions explicitly include suggestions that would allow the first problem to grow. There is also tension is the larger premise of the column. Brooks argues that independents want stability. He states that “They can’t always articulate what they want, but they withdraw from any party that threatens turmoil and risk. As always, they’re looking for a safe pair of hands.” Yet, one problem most conservatives have with the Obama administration is a concern that it is, in a way, removing too much risk. In other words, by accusing President Obama and Democrats of wanting to turn America into an European-style welfare state, Conservatives mean that Obama and Democrats seek to place the government in the position of assuming responsibility for the welfare of its citizens by creating social safety nets. All of this is the opposite of uncertainty and turmoil. As such, it doesn’t explain why, if fear of uncertainty and turmoil is really what is moving independents, why they would move away from Democrats. ] |
Read the full opinion HERE.
