I want to disclose up front that I am not a political strategist by trade – either professionally or non-professionally. I am a lawyer who writes about economics. The reason for this admission is it has a direct bearing on my reasons for arguing for realignment rather than impeachment.
There is a debate occurring in the Democratic blogsphere about the Democrat’s course for the next 2-3 years. The debate is whether the Democrats should impeach the president or go for realignment of the current political landscape. Below I argue for seeking realignment rather than impeachment.
Bush is now the Republican Carter. Most Republicans that I know dislike Carter (at best). They pull out the 1976-1980 President whenever they want to make Democrats look weak or appeal to the Republican base. Personally, I think Carter was one of the most basically decent people to ever be President. However, I also think the office swallowed him.
One year into his first term, Bush has incredibly low poll numbers, indicating the only people who still firmly support him are hard-core, I “would rather die than vote Democrat” Republicans. In addition, the percentage of poll respondents who think the country is going in the wrong direction is very high.
With three years left, Bush is already in one of the worst positions relative to his public standing of any president. He also shows no desire to effectively change the policies that are hurting his standing with the public. As a result, the chances of Bush leaving an increasingly bad taste in the electorate’s mouth are very high.
While Bush is steadfast in staying the course, underlying problems of the country go unfixed. 44 million Americans have no health insurance. Those who do have insurance face premium escalation far beyond the annual inflation increase. College is growing more and more expensive, placing graduates into indentured servitude from college loans rather than entering the workforce able to begin accumulating equity. The trade deficit is already at economically disastrous levels, and is only getting worse. The Federal deficit is out of control. The great exodus of high-paying manufacturing and high-tech jobs continues, further eroding the middle class’s standard of living.
By combining the electorate’s dissatisfaction with the country’s direction with solid policy initiatives, the Democrats can achieve solid gains and perhaps majorities in one or both Congressional bodies in the 2006 elections. By advancing our policy objectives on Bush, he will be placed in the position of either vetoing popular ideas of health care reform, education initiatives etc… or bowing to the obvious will of the people. Should he veto, he will further sink Republican prospects.
Should the Democrats seek impeachment, they will hinder Congress’ ability to solve problems that need fixing. I would love it if Congress could do more than one thing at a time. However, they can barely do one thing at a time. And impeachment, being a special situation, would simply prevent a Democratic majority from helping the country deal with its problems.
While I would personally love Bush and Cheney to face criminal sanctions, I would be far happier if I saw the US standard of living increase, college graduates with the ability to increase their new worth without the burden of mammoth college loans, and US citizens with the ability to care for their family’s medical needs. By solving these problems, The Democrats will increase their goodwill with the vast majority of people, further strengthening the Democratic majority.
I see impeachment as a short-term solution, whereas realignment would be long-term solution. In my opinion, long-term is better, for everybody.
