“It is a misfortune incident to republican government, though in a less degree than to other governments, that those who administer it may forget their obligations to their constituents, and prove unfaithful to their important trust. In this point of view, a senate, as a second branch of the legislative assembly, distinct from, and dividing the power with, a first, must be in all cases a salutary check on the government. It doubles the security of the people, by requiring the concurrence of two distinct bodies in schemes of usurpation or perfidy, where the ambition or corruption of one, would otherwise be sufficient.”
and
“A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the object of government, which is the happiness of the people; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be best attained. Some governments are deficient in both these qualities: Most governments are deficient in the first. I scruple not to assert that in the American governments, too little attention has been paid to the last. The federal constitution avoids this error; and what merits particular notice, it provides for the last a mode which increases the security for the first.”
‘Publius,’ The Federalist LXII [James Madison] Independent Journal (New York), February 27, 1788
The media worldwide resonates increasingly to the tune that the United States has become ungovernable, that the country is so deeply divided that governance is now all but impossible, that the country is committed to the fate of 18th century Poland, doomed to disappear as a nation for the better part of a century (Paul Krugman as reported in The Economist, February 20, 2010).
The media, and Paul Krugman, are simply wrong in this assessment. The United States currently is being governed precisely in the manner predicted by the Founding Fathers (albeit with one exception). The Founding Fathers never anticipated the emergence of the Imperial Presidency. The Senate presently is fulfilling its role of ameliorating damage that might otherwise have occurred as President Obama forgot his obligations and moved forward with a policy agenda rejected by a significant majority of the United States electorate.
The 2008 presidential election was a very unusual event. With the presidency of George W. Bush widely and correctly discredited for gross incompetence, the election was fought out for the most part in the Democratic Party primaries, pitting a relatively experienced (and therefore controversial) (female) Senator, Hillary Clinton, against a relatively inexperienced (black) Senator, Barack Obama. Obama arguably defeated Clinton not on the basis of salience (policy positioning in multi-dimensioned political space) but on the basis of valence (better looking, much more eloquent, more energetic). The general election ran greatly to Obama’s advantage because of the financial crisis that unexpectedly engulfed the United States in September 2008 and paralyzed the uphill political campaign of John McCain.
I have little doubt that Barack Obama mis-interpreted the nature of his significant victory, uplifted as he must have been by the tumultuous welcome that his victory received from a population rejoicing that the evil stain of slavery, in part at least, finally had been scrubbed clean. In reality, a frightened electorate was looking to its new President for a moderate policy agenda that would ease the country out of the financial crisis and economic recession, and return it to the era of The Great Moderation, 1984-2000, when stagflation had been eliminated, and steady economic growth, high rates of employment, and low rates of inflation blessed this exceptional nation.
Such moderation, however, was not to be. Flushed by his victory, and reinforced by significant Democrat majorities in both Houses of Congress, the new president forged ahead with a left-leaning government- expanding policy agenda that put both FDR and LBJ into the shadows. At first, his policies were quickly enacted into law by Democrat majorities that basked in the President’s overwhelming personal popularity. Budgets bursting with pork and overflowing with huge deficits were quickly passed into law, with little attention paid to the opposition of the disheartened Republican minority.
By the summer of 2009, however, the electorate began to awaken to the true nature of their President’s political agenda. This was no program of moderation designed to return the United States to its usually well-functioning market system. This was a systematic attempt to redirect the United States to a social market economy. The examples of old Europe, of France and Germany do not resonate well in the American psyche. So Obama’s poll ratings trended downwards. With respect to his three major initiatives – healthcare reform, cap and trade, card check – clear and growing poll majorities showed strong opposition.
The House of Representatives, under the insensitive, ideologically-driven leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, completely ignored the warning signs. Ideology trumped politics as the House rushed to pass Obama’s agenda into law. This is exactly what the Founding Fathers anticipated. The House, after all, was designed as the engine of the legislature, fired up by the enthusiasm of transient majority impulses, and operating on a two year treadmill.
Enter the brake, the Senate of the United States, operating through seemingly arcane rules that had evolved through the centuries – most notably through Rule XXII that requires the assent of three-fifths of all senators to bring a debate to cloture – to slow down the pace of legislation, to provide time for the reflection and reconsideration that a sound republic must demand of its representatives.
And the brake has proved to be effective. Even when the Democrats possessed the requisite three-fifths majority, the Senate was slow to act, slow to release bills to the floor for debate and vote. This provided sufficient time, by a hairs-breadth or a whisker, for the people to respond, to take away the two third majority and thereby to freeze bad legislation before it could be rushed irreversibly into law.
‘God bless the United States Senate’ should be the cry of the world’s media, at least that part of it that bears Americans good will. ’Go back to the drawing board, Mr. President, and pay particular respect to the great people whom you are honored to represent. By paying such respect, and by honoring your oath of office, you may well secure your second term and, with it, ample time to move the United States back to a second episode of The Great Moderation. And be thankful that brave Republican Senators,and a yet braver few within the Democratic majority, saved your political bacon by resisting your irrational exuberance at a time when it must have seemed to be political suicide so to do.’
Tags: Obama versus Clinton, Obama versus McCain; Obama's political misjudgment, political salience, political valence, the desire for the Great Moderation, The House as the engine, the lurch to the social market economy, The Senate as the brake
February 23, 2010 at 1:47 pm |
Ungovernable is used as a partisan tactic. It’s only used because the country doesn’t want to do what they want to do. The country is quite governable, albeit gullible at times. It’s just a big PR campaign.
The problem with Obama and the Democrats is they are lousy at actual leading. They are make for a great opposition party. They are good for holding others accountable, but given a position of leadership succumb to the same incentives that the last guy faced. But even W was able to pass legislation for further his agenda. Democrats were so sure of their intellect and superiority over Bush, even though they were duped by him multiple times, they assumed governing was the easy part.
Obama is learning the hard way that campaigning and leadership are two very separate things. As a result, the market is doing what markets always do, correct past mistakes when allowed to do so. The Democrats are making a huge mistake in their handling of the Tea parties and the growing Libertarian movement. By demonizing them, the Democrats are relegating themselves to Minority status for another 20 years.
I’m afraid that the Republicans will also mis-interpret that as well. Hopefully that will change and the two parties will start talking to each other instead of talking past each other, but that might be a pipe dream as well.
I think you capture the 2008 election quite well. It was all style over substance. Hopefully the market will correct that as well.
February 23, 2010 at 1:56 pm |
Dr. Rowley, I hope you don’t mind me linking to you and quoting you. I think the few readers I have will benefit greatly from your words.
February 23, 2010 at 1:57 pm |
[...] wrote that in response to another great post by Charles Rowley. Everyone seriously needs to put him on your daily blog-roll, stat! The media, and [...]
February 23, 2010 at 2:11 pm |
For zombiehero213:
I am delighted that you wish to quote me and to provide links. I also appreciate thoroughly your always thoughtful and insightful contributions. The aim of my columns is to help to avoid serious damage to the United States economy.
February 23, 2010 at 3:16 pm |
Prof. Rowley,
Serious damage – if not fatal – has already been done to the economy, and done to it long before Obama. He is simply exercising the coup de grace.
The Republicans are misreading all of this as a vindication of their warfare-welfare policies in stark contrast to the Democrats welfare-warfare polices. Through some Jedi Mind trick, conservative believe they are completely different from the socialist left.
Ron Paul wins CPAC and the Conservative movement reels in shock and dismay. What does that say about the conservative movement? It says it does not exist except by name and most certainly not by policy.
The Federal System – regardless of what nation one points to – is a dead-man-walking.
Time to stop wasting energy trying to save it or revitalize it. The real work at reconstructing after the fall must occur locally and all the energy and effort focused on centralized government is worse than a waste as it distracts attention and focus away from the real job that is necessary at the local level.
February 25, 2010 at 5:39 am |
@BF
It wasn’t the Conservative movement that reeled in shock and dismay it was the out of touch Republican faction leaders and their followers.They feel that Ron Paul’s CPAC straw win was some clandestine attack against their political culture.They do not want to be associated at all with Ron.Perhaps the Republican faction leaders should rethink their belief of what the conservative movement is really all about and incorporate that into their political culture?
February 24, 2010 at 7:17 am |
@Zombie,
few readers or not, your comment here is excellent, and this outsider, this foreigner is learning all of the time from such comments.
February 24, 2010 at 7:40 am |
@Blackflag, the straw poll at the CPAC is actually quite meaningless. I have been reading a few of the blogs and comments about the matter. I am with those who reel in horror at the idea of Ron Paul as a prospective candidate….. my gut feel towards him is a definite bleah. Yes, I know he comes across as a fiscal conservative, but it is the other things that make him unacceptable to me.
One thing that I am learning is that when people talk of Right and Left in regard to Marxism and Fascism or Hitler and Stalin or even Mussolini, what they do not say is that these are extremes on the left side of politics. What I mean is that both Hitler and Stalin were made of the same cloth, both were tyrants, and both wanted that State domination. Hitler is viewed as right wing, but I disagree with that view because he is in fact on the left but he is right of Stalin.
You need to have a Federal System but what the USA has is supposed to be a limited system of Federal governance. You are right to say that the rot started a long time ago… but it was not with GWB…. it was with Hoover and FDR, and in particular it was FDR who caused that rot.
Your Federal system needs to be restored to the point where the Federal Congress only looks after those issues that are for the good of the country as a whole, which includes maintaining the Defense services. It should not include health insurance or even health care because that belongs to the States, just like in Australia.
The USA has a Constitution for a reason, but what has happened in the past 12 months is that the Constitution has been progressively ripped to shreds.
It is a good thing that one side in the Congress has been doing everything possible to stop the tearing up of your Constitution. This is one reason why the filibuster is a good idea.
On the other hand the ones who are howling now about filibuster and who are screaming about the country being ungovernable (and really Krugman has no idea because he is nothing more than an ideologue just like Obama) have used the filibuster to their own advantage in the past. They cannot have it both ways.
I am hoping that those voters who do in fact believe that there is no place for Marxism in the USA will be the ones to get out and vote in November and that there will be a landslide that will put the DNC into temporary oblivion. Now is not the time for 3rd parties either.
In any government, whenever one group of people are in power for too long corruption sneaks in. Well the Congress is corrupt. However, the White House Administration was corrupt from the very beginning. This is an unusual situation. Not even the Nixon Administration was corrupt from the time of inauguration!!
What really stinks about the White House present is that there is the attitude that they are the elite, that they are better than everyone else, yet they fail in so many directions. They failed within the first few weeks when it came to economics. Following Keynesian style policies was never going to work because of the unique circumstances of the causes of the panic in October 2008. Even though I am not a conspiracy theorist and I have little time for such things, I do in fact accept that there is a possibility that something happened that was deliberate, and it was done so that a certain billionaire would benefit in the mid to long term.
The stench of Congress at the moment makes it hard to see how the government can survive into the future. However, there is a touch of deja vous to this story. It is historical and it goes back to the period of Reconstruction, only the parties were switched. According to what I have read recently, it was the Radical Republicans who had control of the Congresses in the South. At the same time Blacks were in charge in Congress and there was massive corruption. The rest of the story involves the antics of the Ku Klux Klan and the rise of the whites once again, as well as the concerted effort to deny blacks the right to vote. It is Deja Vous because we now have a Federal Congress that is corrupt, only this time the blacks are busy voting for the the other side.
The stench to which I referred is that corruption that is found in so many ways from the bribing of Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu to other attempts at bribes (there are probably more revelations to come regarding some allegations about attempted bribes). Either way, all of those involved from both parties need to be booted from the Congress.
February 25, 2010 at 5:48 am |
@ ozzieaussie
What would be wrong with having a President such as Ron Paul in Washington that advocates for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency?
ozzieaussie stated-”it was done so that a certain billionaire would benefit in the mid to long term.”
I couldn’t agree more!How Soros has not been connected to a bit of hedge fund manipulating is beyond my understanding.
February 24, 2010 at 4:02 pm |
Maggie,
” I know [Paul] comes across as a fiscal conservative, but it is the other things that make him unacceptable to me. ”
I’m interested in hearing what these ‘other things’ are?
February 24, 2010 at 4:10 pm |
Maggie,
“You need to have a Federal System”
Why?
“It was with Hoover and FDR, and in particular it was FDR who caused that rot.”
No, I’d suggest the rot started in 1787 and was all but permanent by 1865. From that point is merely metastasized and accelerated.
“The USA has a Constitution for a reason”
As was wisely stated, either the Constitution created the USA that exists today or was wholly impotent in preventing this occurrence. Either way, it is worthless.
The Supreme Court have said such, that the Civil War put to rest any doubt that the Constitution only applies – not on the government – but by the government by its whim. If the government decides to change or suspend any part – it can.
“This is one reason why the filibuster is a good idea.”
There is no greater danger than an efficient government. An moribund, entangled, muddled government lowers the risk to the freedom of the people.
“In any government, whenever one group of people are in power for too long corruption sneaks in.”
All government is corruption.
Corruption is using force and coercion upon non-violent men to enforce edicts. This is the root premise of government action, therefore, government action is wholly corrupt.
February 26, 2010 at 4:22 am |
Man… People, our democracy don’t seem to seems to work so good anymore. I wonder sometimes if european or other countries are laughing at us. We are starting to turn into a third world nation nowadays …
April 10, 2010 at 11:08 pm |
Excellent Article, and a shame your version did not come true! We are a Republic with a representative democracy, where those who were sent to represent the will of the people, decided to represent their own self interest and power placement in the new world order!