WP (Eugene Robinson): 'The Reagan era in American politics is about to end...'

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Fri May-16-08 08:58 PM
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WP (Eugene Robinson): 'The Reagan era in American politics is about to end...'

The GOP's Ideas Deficit

By Eugene Robinson
May 16, 2008

The Reagan era in American politics is about to end, and we have George W. Bush to thank for its demise.
In this respect, it doesn't matter who wins the Democratic nomination or even who wins the general election in the fall. I was going to try to write this column without using the word "paradigm," but already I've failed: Regardless of who takes the oath of office in January, the paradigm that reigned for nearly three decades -- the notion that government is useless, if not inherently evil -- is no longer operative.

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It took a leader of the Decider's uncommon gifts to kill the philosophy he worships. To be fair, there is one area in which he has been the most proactive of presidents, to our nation's lasting discredit: Violating the basic rights of citizens and noncitizens alike in the name of his "war on terrorism."
Otherwise, he has interpreted Reagan's small-government mandate as an excuse -- or an instruction -- to abdicate government's most fundamental responsibilities. Anyone who wants to argue this point need simply remember the "heck of a job" our government did in handling the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

Almost every day, there's more evidence that 2008 is turning into one of those watershed years in American politics -- 1980, say, or 1968, or even 1932. You can start with the fact that the Democrats are poised to nominate the first African American major-party candidate for president.
Even more telling, though, are the polls showing that soaring numbers of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction -- more than eight out of 10, according to a new Post-ABC News poll -- and that Bush's popularity has fallen to historic lows.

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It turns out that Americans don't want their leaders to simply shrug, as George Bush shrugs, at the fact that 47 million citizens do not have health insurance. It turns out that Americans don't want their leaders to simply tsk-tsk, as George Bush tsk-tsks, at the wrenching economic dislocations that stem from globalization.

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Throughout the year, the Democratic primaries have drawn far more voters than the Republican contests. Democratic coffers are brimming, and the party is bringing in millions of new voters. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are glamorous and exciting candidates, but this Democratic surge isn't all about them. It's also about the Republican Party's utter exhaustion. Since Ronald Reagan's first term, Republicans have set the nation's ideological agenda. This was true even during the Clinton years. But it's not true now.

Party leaders speak of the need to refurbish the "Republican brand." The problem goes far beyond packaging, though. It's not that the box needs to be more colorful; it's that the ideas inside have long since gone stale.

We are reaching a pivotal moment for our country's future.