Today’s Wall Street Journal explores what liberal control of all branches of government will look like: A Liberal Supermajority
Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.
Here are major bills passed by the House that the Republican minority was able to stop in the Senate:
The WSj points out that,
Without that restraining power, all of the following have very good chances of becoming law in 2009 or 2010:
- Medicare for all
- The business climate.
- Union supremacy.
- Taxes.
- The green revolution.
- Free speech and voting rights.
A liberal supermajority would move quickly to impose procedural advantages that could cement Democratic rule for years to come. One early effort would be national, election-day voter registration. This is a long-time goal of Acorn and others on the “community organizer” left and would make it far easier to stack the voter rolls. The District of Columbia would also get votes in Congress — Democratic, naturally.
Felons may also get the right to vote nationwide, while the Fairness Doctrine is likely to be reimposed either by Congress or the Obama FCC. A major goal of the supermajority left would be to shut down talk radio and other voices of political opposition.
- Special-interest potpourri.
As I was saying the other day,
The Republicans lose, and they’re going to be out of the game years, possibly decades. One can even wonder, permanently?
James Joyner makes an excellent point for voting for McCain (emphasis added)
Unless enough Republican Senate contenders win their individual races, then, the veto, not the filibuster is the check on this eventuality.
James also points out that the McCain campaign has barely touched upon this point: the need to check unalloyed liberalism.
It’s high time they do.
As much as I too dread the possibility of a Democratic majority I think there are some things that mitigate the negative effects. One, and the most important is that there is simply no fear of the kind of social unrest and communist subversion, more imagined than real, prevelant during the 30’s. 6% unemployment, while uncomfortable, is not anywhere near the estimated 40% nationally and in some areas 60% of the able bodied out of work. The cities have not come to a grinding halt as did most of the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast and there is no major natural catastrophe to deal with considering that much of the Midwest before the Depression was already in trouble from the loss of topsoil due to excess farming acreage left over from World War I demands.
The second is that the financial systems is relatively healthy, its got a pulse anyway, and the banks that have failed have not created the kinds of runs on banks that depleted them of their depositors cash as it did in 1932 and 1933. Which in turn then starved the banks, Wall Street and industry of ready sources of cash as many of these depositors, or enough of them, had borrowed heavily on margin and then were unable to make their margin calls during th weeks immediately succeeding Black Monday and then lost their homes which had served as collateral for these idiotic investments.
There simply may not be the stomache for the kinds of grandiose social and economic changes that the Democrats dream about. Aside from the fact that the Blue Dog Democrats will probably turn against these reforms just as rapidly as moderate urban Democrats did during FDR’s first and second term. But what is left is the kind of “procedural advantages” that would protect Democrat and Republican office holders alike. The slogan of the incumbent class might well be, “It doesn’t matter what we say we will do for the country as long as we take care of ourselves first.”
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