"Republican Dissonance"

Sydney M. Williams

Thought of the Day

“Republican Dissonance”

November 16, 2011

The fact that Republican candidates for their Party’s nomination often disagree is a privilege of democracy and a benefit to constituents. The fact that Republicans are unified in their desire to beat the incumbent a year from now should benefit all of us.

Recently there were disagreements regarding China and the allegation of currency manipulation, with former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, alone suggesting that condemning our largest creditor is impolitic at best and fiscally stupid at worse. During tough economic times there is a tendency to circle the wagons. But doing so slows commerce for everyone. Xenophobia is a condition not uncommon during periods of high unemployment and slow economic growth. It is easy to lay the blame for our woes on some distant foreigner. But one of the lessons of the past three decades is the globalization of finance, manufacturing and labor. The United States is still the world’s second largest manufacturer and its third largest exporter. The Chinese Yuan has appreciated 30 percent over the past five years, roughly a 5.4% annual compounded rate. Markets are working. Currency controls or custom duties tend to do more harm than good. The road to protectionism is a slippery slope; as tempting as it might seem, it should be avoided at all costs.

At Saturday’s debate, disagreements about waterboarding surfaced. The New York Times, in their usual sanctimonious bid for the moral high ground, was shocked, shocked that so few had learned their lesson “from the moral calamities of the administration of George W. Bush.” Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul deplored the practice. Mitt Romney remained silent. The others endorsed the practice. But, whether waterboarding meets the definition of torture remains a subject of debate. It certainly would not be a pleasant experience. However, the Times has decided waterboarding is torture, but not everyone agrees. Congress could revise relevant statutes to specifically classify waterboarding as a form of torture. They have not yet done so. And the Supreme Court can interpret existing anti-torture laws in such a manner to include waterboarding. People who are quick to condemn the practice should understand the difference between waterboarding and real torture American soldiers and others have had to experience. Pick up a copy of Mario Vargas Llosa’s book, The Feast of the Goat. It describes the methods used by aides to President Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic in the late 1950s. Or read Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand’s story of Louis Zamperini who was captured and tortured by the Japanese during World War II. Books such as these explain real torture. To compare waterboarding, which our own soldiers experienced before subjecting captured enemies to the treatment, is like comparing a Sunday’s drive in the country to a lap around the Daytona 500 Speedway.

Inconsistencies among Republicans are not limited to those running for office. Last July, as Senator Tom Coburn was introducing his $9 trillion deficit reduction plan, which would have ended tax breaks for historic preservation, Ohio House Republican, Michael Turner was introducing the Historic Homeownership Revitalization Act, which would have provided up to a $60,000 tax credit willing to rehabilitate certified historic structures. We are in this pickle because our heart was bigger than our brain. We promised what we could not deliver. There is not the money to do all the things we would all like to do. Choices have to be made. While the Super Committee is putzing around looking for budget cuts that would amount to less than five percent of the budget, the hole we are digging keeps getting bigger. Theirs is the third committee to meet on the subject in the past twelve months and so far the results have been zilch, nada, nothing. God help us if interest rates start to rise, which they will at some point, for creditors will demand a higher return for the risks they are taking in owning our paper. How can a Republican like Mike Turner keep spending our money at times like these?

Most Republicans want smaller government. Most, including me, want lower taxes, as a means to spur economic growth, which will increase tax revenues. Many people, Republicans and Democrats, seem to have forgotten the dictates of the Laffer curve, which argues that lower taxes increase revenues to government, while higher taxes shrink the tax take. Is it possible that Democrats and Republicans are on the wrong sides of this debate? I don’t think so, but it is curious.

Immigration is another issue that reflects dissension. With the exception of Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul, most of the Republican candidates, at a debate a month or so ago, agreed that a wall should be built along the Mexican border. Notably, Texas Governor Rick Perry, the only one who would be immediately affected, disagreed, stating what to me seemed obvious that a wall represents the antithesis of what America means. (Ron Paul, parsing his words as only he can, added that a wall can keep one in, as well as keeping others out!)

This dissonance among Republicans extends to me. We are, after all, a country of individuals. Very few thinking people hue strictly to a Party line. “Consistency,” as Oscar Wilde once said, “is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Many of my Democratic and “liberal” friends have segregated me into a box reserved for a Wall Street-centric, who is indifferent to the needs of the environment, with a Cro-Magnon type mind and who exhibits a callous disregard for the poor.

While it is generally a waste of time trying to defend myself, I do disagree with many Republicans on a host of social issues. They are too public in their emphasis on religion. People should be free to exercise their beliefs, while respecting those who disagree. Republicans should emphasize the fact that their tax policies will raise revenues, and stop focusing solely on the act of lowering rates. Our country was built on immigration. We should encourage immigration, at the one end offering citizenship to all who complete their college education here and at the other end to anyone willing to work. Those who choose to come to these shores have already demonstrated grit. I get very uncomfortable when candidates for President talk as though they would always do what the commanders in the field suggest, seemingly oblivious that the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, a factor a number of Lincoln’s generals learned to their regret, as did General Macarthur when he deliberately disobeyed President Truman in April, 1951. Listening to generals is one thing; doing their bidding is another.

What keeps me in the Republican camp is the emphasis on individual freedom, the importance of private property, a belief in private enterprise and free markets, and skepticism regarding the omniscience of government.

But dissonance within parties is healthy, as is civil disobedience in our society.