REPUBLICANS FACE THE PROSPECT of losing a substantial number of Senate and House seats today, but it didn’t have to be that way. For sure, the war in Iraq was always going to be a drag on Republicans. And an election in the sixth year of a presidency is often perilous for the president’s party, a pattern that’s held true in year six of the Bush era.
But Republicans have made matters worse by abandoning the reform agenda that animated their capture of Congress in 1994 and helped George W. Bush win the White House in 2000 and keep it in 2004. With scarcely a fight, Republicans gave up on Social Security reform in 2005, immigration reform in 2006, and never really got started on tax reform. Bush also cast aside the overarching theme for his domestic policy–the Ownership Society–without an explanation.
The consequences have been dire. Republicans have little to boast about in Bush’s second term except the strong economy–and it’s largely the result of tax cuts enacted three years ago. When Democrats bring up Iraq or corruption, Republicans have no countervailing issues. The president has made a strong case against Democrats on national security and taxes. But voters have been unresponsive and it’s easy to understand why. It’s Bush himself who causes them to feel safe from lax security and tax hikes. Whatever happens in tomorrow’s election, he’ll be in the White House for two more years to protect them from Democratic excesses. But what if Republicans had followed the president’s lead last year and tried to overhaul Social Security and enact personal investment accounts? If they’d succeeded, voters would now be perusing the stock tables to decide how to invest their payroll taxes. Had Democrats blocked reform, Republicans would be pointing out the gains voters were missing in the bull market. Either way, Republicans would be ahead. So would the country.
