The Politics of Spending

AS the immigration debate raged this spring and summer, Republican strategists connected to the White House said that the party would reunite this fall to fight the Democrats over the budget. By holding the line on spending, Republicans would win back the support of disillusioned conservatives, and reestablish the party’s reputation for tightfistedness.

September should have shown the folly of this strategy. The best story for Republicans that month was the advertisement that Move On.org, the influential left-wing group, placed in the New York Times slamming Gen. David Petraeus for allegedly betraying the country. The worst story was the fight over S-Chip, the children’s health-insurance program that Democrats want to expand. Republicans were winning when they fought over culture, pointing out that some elements of the Democratic party were viciously hostile to military leaders and that other elements of it excused that hostility. They were losing when they fought over social spending. Nervous Democrats crossed over to vote for a resolution condemning Move On.org. Nervous Republicans crossed over to vote to expand S-Chip.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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AS the immigration debate raged this spring and summer, Republican strategists connected to the White House said that the party would reunite this fall to fight the Democrats over the budget. By holding the line on spending, Republicans would win back the support of disillusioned conservatives, and reestablish the party’s reputation for tightfistedness.

September should have shown the folly of this strategy. The best story for Republicans that month was the advertisement that Move On.org, the influential left-wing group, placed in the New York Times slamming Gen. David Petraeus for allegedly betraying the country. The worst story was the fight over S-Chip, the children’s health-insurance program that Democrats want to expand. Republicans were winning when they fought over culture, pointing out that some elements of the Democratic party were viciously hostile to military leaders and that other elements of it excused that hostility. They were losing when they fought over social spending. Nervous Democrats crossed over to vote for a resolution condemning Move On.org. Nervous Republicans crossed over to vote to expand S-Chip.