Posted by
Yubaduck on Monday, October 13, 2008 9:02:36 PM
Don't worry, I'm not. I am not avoiding blogging because I am upset with the sudden electoral college surge Obama is showing, nor because I am not an expert in economic affairs. I have just been swamped with work and such. Later this week, I will try to go around and visit all of your great blogs, but in the meantime, let me comment on the last 3 weeks. Keep in mind that I have not been up to date as I should be on all that is going on, so I may repeat things you all have said.
Why the sudden shift in the electoral college? I believe there are three main reasons:
First, oil prices have gone down. The urgency of the issue is not on peoples mind like it was a month or two ago, and it was a great contrast between the two candidates. The price of gas is still insanely high, people are still hurting, but there is some level of relief and other issues have clouded this.
Second, the world is on hold. Russia, China, Iran, they are all quiet and waiting, not rocking the boat, waiting until after the election to act. There is no urgent world crisis, no great and powerful reason to seek a commander in chief. If foreign policy is not on the table, McCain has to win based on domestic policy. This is much tougher ground for him to stand on.
Third, McCain is rivaling Obama in incoherence on economic issues. He does not believe like Reagan did that supply side economics is a cure for any economic ailment, and so he spouts lite liberalism. Lets fix the market with a bailout. Lets play games with incentives and tinkering at the margins of the tax system rather than call for overhaul. Lets propose a pseudomarket approach to health care, not a real market based reform. Lets talk in the language of environmentalism, not discredit it as a scheme of extremists to move Americas market towards socialism. Because McCain does not believe in these reforms, he cannot call for them with conviction. So what should he do?
He needs to bring back the reforms he believes in:
1) Bring energy back on table and tie energy to economic stimulus. Opening our coasts, ANWR, and building nuclear plants in addition to taking regulation off of alternative energy will provide a huge boost to our economy and our long term prospects for growth.
2) Talk about corruption. Inside and outside government. You love this issue. The economic crisis has three causes: People buying houses and consumer goods they couldn't afford because they believed the hype that the bills would never come due, and now are panicked because they came due, the loan companies that made bad loan decisions and gave loans to people they knew couldn't pay them, hoping that the equity that could build up could keep the ball rolling, knowing that eventually the loans would fail, but hoping they wouldn't be holding the bag, and third government regulations demanding that some of these loans to unqualified people be made for reasons unrelated to economics. It was a failure of responsibility on the parts of everyone involved. The last thing that we need to do is force those who were responsible and paid their loans, those banks who did the right thing, the only ones not culpable in all of this, to foot the majority of the bill.
McCain needs to make that case. He needs to make clear that the solution is found in the free market. Investors buy the houses people can't afford, and they rent while repairing their credit and next time buy a home the right way. (The way I and my family will have to) Investors buy the failed companies, reform them, fire those who need firing, and build them up the right way. If anything, the government can loan the money to these good companies to make liquidity available in the short term....invest and see the hope of the retirement age people restored when their investments recover. There will be pain, but most of it is earned pain. That is the problem.
Both parties want to tell us pain is avoidable. They want to be Santa Claus. They want to be liked and popular, and holding people accountable is not fun. McCain needs to be a leader, not our friend. Then he needs to make the case for a vast overhall of regulatory and legal red tape tying up financial activities of all kinds. Get rid of social engineering laws. Free up companies to seek wealth, and they will pull us along with them. Get power out of Washington and people can fix it themselves. McCain loves to fight corruption. There is a plethora of corruption to fight, he just needs to demand it both within and outside of government. Like Palin, fight it inside and outside the party. Line up with Coburn and Jindal and the other few who still have credibility on this issue. And Do It NOW!!!!!
Bring back the free trade issue, reminding us that Clinton supported NAFTA and was right. Explain that trade barriers do more harm than good, and push the Columbia free trade pact both under economic and foreign policy grounds.
Finally, he needs to remind us that unchecked liberalism is what we had from 76-80 and from 92-94 and in both cases, it led in directions people didn't like. Bring up Pelosi as often as possible and remind voters who she is and that Obama has stood with her and the liberal wing of his party over 95% of the time. McCain crosses lines, not Obama. He has proven that. They both have. Keep hammering these points and keep making the case for energy independence as a part of economic policy. People do not want unchecked liberalism, they want leadership. Show some. Be proactive, not responsive, and shape the debate.