Kimberley Strassel in the Wall Street Journal writes of the Alinsky "Rules for Radicals" treatment of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who had the temerity to propose solutions to some of the problems facing America. For his trouble, the Democrats have selected him as the target, locked in on him, and are personalizing his proposals in an effort to polarize popular opinion.
So imagine the surprise when, after Mr. Ryan re-released his plan in late January, it became a sudden sensation. Two days later Mr. Obama used his visit to the Republican retreat to thrust it into the national spotlight. The cameras rolling, the president praised Mr. Ryan for putting forward a "serious proposal." He in fact singled out the congressman at least three times. Having done his spotlight bit, Mr. Obama then left it to the rest of the Democratic Party to systematically distort and trash the road map.
Within two days of the retreat, Obama budget director Peter Orszag had begun deflecting questions about the White House's ugly budget by hammering on Mr. Ryan's plan, claiming it "shifted costs" to families. Congressional Democrats held a conference call with reporters devoted to road map trashing, howling that it showed that Republicans would privatize Social Security, voucherize Medicare, and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi lambasted the Ryan plan in a speech to the Democratic National Committee...
Better yet for Democrats, some Republicans are falling into the trap. As with its campaign last year to smear Republican Whip Eric Cantor, the White House's attack on Mr. Ryan is designed to isolate and discredit one of the GOP's brightest thinkers. So it only aids the White House when "anonymous" Republican members—annoyed that they must have this debate—gripe to the press that Mr. Ryan doesn't "speak" for them.
Mr. Ryan, by contrast, isn't apologizing for offering ideas to the very president who keeps claiming Republicans are the party of "no" and who claims to want entitlement reform. A handful of House reformers are calling the Democrats' ruse—reminding voters that what makes this surreal is that the only choice right now is between bad Democratic ideas and worse ones.
The corollary is that, because the media tilts so far left, Democrats seemingly always get the last word. The current fuss on Capital Hill over a "jobs" bill is similar to the fuss at the beginning of last year over a "stimulus" bill. Neither do what they purport to do. The "stimulus" bill didn't stimulate the economy, last quarter's growth notwithstanding (a roller coaster plummeting down a drop must reach the bottom at some point, and start back up). This latest "jobs" bill is just more deficit spending that will create few jobs.
As a result of Democratic spokesmen and Congressmen/women routinely getting the final word, the trashing of Republican proposals - sentiments with which the MSM largely agree - ends up as the conventional wisdom in the press. See if that doesn't happen with the proposed health care summit. The goal there is obviously to get Republicans to propose and discuss openly, then to trash Republican proposals with a sympathetic press. Hey, if you can't get people to like your own proposals, maybe you can convince them to hate the opposition's.
It may not work this year. The people don't like Mr. Obama's policies. They see mountains of deficit spending and mounting debt far into the future. They see health care proposals involving a government takeover with spiraling costs, including phantom Medicare cuts and forever entitlements. They know they'll either pay for it through economy-killing tax increases, which will stifle job creation and growth, and through the mortgaging of their children's future. The one way that it won't be paid for is through actual reductions in spending, reductions in the numbers and compensation of federal employees, or through policies that actually stimulate economic growth instead of government growth.
2/12/10 1530: More on Mr. Ryan's proposals from Robert Samuelson here.
But the larger point is that Ryan is trying to start a conversation on the desirable role and limits of government. He's trying to make it possible to talk about sensitive issues -- mainly Social Security and Medicare -- without being vilified. President Obama recognized that when he called Ryan's plan a "serious proposal." But since then, Democrats have resorted to ritualistic denunciations of him as pillaging Social Security and Medicare. Legitimate debate becomes impossible. If Democrats don't like Ryan's vision, the proper response is to design and defend their own plan. The fact that they don't have one is a national embarrassment.
That's because it's a lot easier to demagogue your opponent's ideas than to come up with and defend your own. And safer. However, as America is looking for leadership, the party with large majorities in both houses of Congress and the President in the White House may need to actually be up front with their ideas instead of springing 2000 page bills at the last minute, saying that once it passes we'll find out what's inside. And if not, the people will notice.
