Big Labor’s victory over John Kasich’s reforms in Ohio is a reminder to conservatives that we’re still a long way from closing the deal. A majority of the citizenry seem to agree that the nation’s mired and that their homes and jobs and futures are sinking with it. But that same majority is not yet sold on transformative rollbacks of government and the public sector. They seem to think that out there somewhere there’s a way to get the good times back that’s more or less pain-free. More fool them – which is to say Obama & Co will have a pretty good shot at fooling them.
Somewhere in either my current book or the previous one (or possibly both), I cite the line Gerald Ford used to use to ingratiate himself with conservatives: “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” That may be true, but there’s an intermediate stage: A government big enough to give you everything you want isn’t big enough to get you to give any of it back. That’s the problem Mr Papandreou’s ministry has in Athens, and the Kasich administration in Ohio, and many other governments around the western world.
So it’s easy for reformers to get voted in, and easy for their opponents to make sure their reforms get voted down. I’m afraid things are going to get a lot worse before that dynamic shifts.
Papandreou is probably a bad example as he was elected to STOP the austerity measures.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMr. Steyn,
Have you ever written a phrase as unnecessary as this: "....a reminder to conservatives that we’re still a long way from closing the deal"?
With Obamacare a central and winning issue, the Republicans are once again poised to nominate a feckless, useless candidate in Mitt Romney. And you wish to remind us that "we're still a long way from closing the deal"??
Heck, we don't even have a conservative negotiator ready to enter the room.....
With stark lines drawn in 2010, we've now have an "opposition" party gone squishy, ready to offer up a Democrat-lite.
So, yeah, I think we know conservatives haven't quite sealed the deal -- we haven't even done so with (what should be) our own Party.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseObamacare a winning issue? Apparently you missed the vote on Issue 2 in Ohio. Google it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI live in Ohio, and on one hand, the PR and ads for SB5 were handled poorly from start to finish. The Republicans really need to learn how to market their message a lot better. However, despite what pundits are saying about this reinvigorating the Ohio Dems and Obama's chances to win here in 2012, there are parts of SB5 that were polled to have major support, like requiring workers to contribute toward paying a small portion of their health insurance and retirement benefits. So there are plans to break down SB5 into bite-sized pieces that do stand a chance of passing without turning it into class-warfare again, or an us-against-them head-butting contest with the unions.
But on the other hand, Ohioans voted to defeat government mandated health insurance on Issue 3, essentially voting against Obamacare - which doesn't seem to be getting any real press, not even here. For a state that has such a strong liberal streak, it's interesting that Obama's signature legislation got voted down here. Just sayin'...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'd have more faith in the GOP if their economic "blood, sweat and tears" rhetoric applied as much to billionaires as to retirees and the working class. For the business lobby, the Republican answer to our problems comes with copious quantities of painkillers in the form of further tax cuts and a refusal to adopt a sane immigration policy.
That may be one reason why they have yet to seal the deal with the working class.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLets see if I have this right.
You are arguing that if you have to give up a small amount of the Other People's Money that you have been getting, that Other People must agree to give up even more of Their Money.
There is no right to stolen goods, receiving less in stolen goods than you have gotten used to, is not a sacrifice.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAgreed. We have just handed Obama the keys to the White House again.
We might as well have McCain run again.
Even this OWS mess is better run than our party.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI do understand your frustration Johnniebgoode, but Ohio voters' rejection of the health care individual mandate (by a large margin) shows that GOP arguments and GOP Presidential candidates still have a chance in that key state.
Also, the GOP gained big in the Virginia State Assembly and may have (it's very close) just taken control of the Virginia State Senate and the Mississippi State House from the Democrats.
I don't think Obama is going to win Virginia (nor Florida, or Indiana) next time around. Ohio, who knows?
Good news and bad news for all sides, this election night.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell you might both be right, but even if Ohio had done the right thing and even if we win in 2012 by an 8% margin, we will never, ever "close the deal."
I've come to realize that conservatives only ever lose on policy, when it comes to restraining government. Look at marriage--even Jonah Goldberg thinks that in the year 2011 we've reached this point in time whereby now the government must finally step in to redefine the institution after all these thousands of years. And Jonah is the voice of anti-fascist state at NRO.
I've come to realize that the point of conservatism isn't to win. It's the fight that's the thing. Latch yourself to tradition (I recommend the Eastern Orthodox church, but conservative Roman Catholicism won't kill you ;)), forget about having any hope of achieving political victory, and then jump into the political arena and start swinging. I doubt what I'm about to say will make much sense, but for me, the fight is how I answer the question "Who do you say that I am?". The fight is the thing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat's not the half of Jonah's position on marriage, unfortunately; late last year, he described Judeo-Christian sexual ethics as both immoral AND irrational, writing that he finds it "cruel and absurd to tell gays that living the free-love lifestyle is abominable while at the same time telling them that their committed relationships are illegitimate too."
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I think that's the most disheartening thing he's ever written.
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I agree that it's important to fight, even if ours is a losing cause, but I do not believe we should accept the ineffectiveness of the Republican Party. If individual politicians cannot show some spine and do what we elected them to do, we should replace them in the primaries; if (as I fear) the entire party is so broken that it's not sufficiently responsive to the will of the voters, we must find another vehicle to advance our agenda.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLawrence,
Agreed, the most disheartening thing Jonah has ever written (he went from being the NRO guy I read the most to the guy I just read on occasion).
If you check out the comments on that piece you'll see I'm all over it, including the first comment after he posted it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYour responses were entirely justified, and I hate saying that Jonah's writing isn't as essential as it used to be, but... there's still the G-File email, but not as much stands out as the Saturday morning Steyn and McCarthy.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTrue 'dat.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRocket, Agreed. Jonah's part of the Wishful Thinking that Steyn refers to obliquely -- things will have to get worse before the scales fall from the eyes. Jonah is a fool. He looks everywhere for Good but its source.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRelax. If there is one candidate you can count on to roll back Obamacare, it's Mitt Romney. Precisely because this is the number one area he knows conservatives have doubts about him. The first thing he's going to do as President is destroy Obamacare like Rome destroyed Carthage. What he might do after that we can wonder, but as far as his intention to blow up Obamacare, you can have no doubts.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTwo steps forward, one step back. Think of this as a reminder not to get cocky.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAlso, a government big enough to give itself everything it wants is big enough to fail.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMark, as you well know, Liberal sightedness goes about as far as the end of their noses. The only losers tonight in Ohio are public servants with little seniority - they will be laid off. Our "Alice in Wonderland" public sector is heading straight for the brick wall called ECONOMIC REALITY. Obama/Union Thugs/Crony Capitalists etc. are just putting their foot on the accelerator. Last Call is sooner that we think - plan accordingly.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes, Gerald Ford. There's a real Republican hero.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's a perverted thought but when I see things like this Ohio vote, part of me wants to see Obama win a second term. Mark is right--things are going to get much worse before they get better. If Ohio is unwilling to reign in unions-- let alone the collusion of government unions--then what's the point of voting for a Republican, just so the Ohios of the country can shackle him?
We aren't going to vote the right guys in, change a few policies here and there, and then get ourselves out of this mess. Mitt Romney will turn down the heat a bit and hold us at a slow cook. At least with Obama there's the chance that with his hard boil the country might figure out what's going on and jump out of the pot. The Ohio vote shows we aren't even a fraction of the way there.
Oh I'll vote for Romney. I'll probably end up donating $1,000 as I'm wont to do. But really, maybe we're better off with the hard boil so we can get on with a more serious fight.
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